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Charging to much! #1162169 01/21/12 06:59 PM 01/21/12 06:59 PM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX M mod5v OP mopar
mod5v OP mopar M Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX	Well had to go to the JY to get parts for the DD so had to drive the duster. On way home (about 40 miles) started smelling sulfer? Any way when I got home poped hood and my red top Optima was smoking. Case was real hot and the alternator felt hot to. Felt the voltage regulator and it was cold. So after I let it cool down I checked the battery voltage and it was 12.9vdc so I started it and it was 13.4 at Idle and 14 reved up. I unpluged the VR and it made no diffrence so then I unplugged one field wire at a time and on the second wire it finally quit charging. Any way I would like to figure out what failed> I would have guessed the VR but after my expiriment I'm thinking the alternator is bad. Please someone educate me on how a stock 70's alternator can over charge or am I just overthinking this and the VR is bad.

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162170 01/21/12 07:14 PM 01/21/12 07:14 PM
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 21,822 Kirkland, Washington Pacnorthcuda Too Many Posts
Pacnorthcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 21,822 Kirkland, Washington	14.00 volts is not overcharging. 14.99 is...

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162171 01/21/12 07:17 PM 01/21/12 07:17 PM
Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA Kern Dog Striving for excellence
Kern Dog Striving for excellence Joined: Feb 2010 Posts: 18,493 Granite Bay CA	I thought that this was another topic about paint jobs.......

Re: Charging to much! [Re: Pacnorthcuda] #1162172 01/21/12 07:23 PM 01/21/12 07:23 PM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX M mod5v OP mopar
mod5v OP mopar M Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX	Quote: 14.00 volts is not overcharging. 14.99 is... I understand that but what is causeing my battery to get so hot its smokin?

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162173 01/21/12 07:42 PM 01/21/12 07:42 PM
Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 616 TP Exit 7, NJ, USA DANA60 mopar
DANA60 mopar Joined: Sep 2006 Posts: 616 TP Exit 7, NJ, USA	Smoking? 14.0 is not over charging, and agreed that 15 plus is. Are you running a volt meter or an amp meter? Are the lights too bright? If you were over charging then one of the fields on the alt could be bad and cause this. 7030277-IMG_3511.jpg (44 downloads)

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162174 01/21/12 07:42 PM 01/21/12 07:42 PM
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 21,822 Kirkland, Washington Pacnorthcuda Too Many Posts
Pacnorthcuda Too Many Posts Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 21,822 Kirkland, Washington	Quote: Quote: 14.00 volts is not overcharging. 14.99 is... I understand that but what is causeing my battery to get so hot its smokin? It may be overcharging during a condition you have not replicated during your VOM test. Is the alternator hot? Are all other electrical draws working ok?--Lights?

Re: Charging to much! [Re: Pacnorthcuda] #1162175 01/21/12 09:36 PM 01/21/12 09:36 PM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX M mod5v OP mopar
mod5v OP mopar M Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX	Quote: Quote: Quote: 14.00 volts is not overcharging. 14.99 is... I understand that but what is causeing my battery to get so hot its smokin? It may be overcharging during a condition you have not replicated during your VOM test. Is the alternator hot? Are all other electrical draws working ok?--Lights? 50 deg sunny north texas day. had the radio playing didn't notice any problem there. YES the alternator was very hot. the Voltage reg was cold and the sealed gell cell battery was steaming out the vent holes. went about 100 miles round trip with the last 40 in one leg no stops. Noticed a smell when I got home poped the hood and saw battery "smokeing". I guess I'll just change out the VR and see if I have the problem come back.

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162176 01/21/12 10:16 PM 01/21/12 10:16 PM
Joined: Nov 2003 Posts: 36,040 Lincoln Nebraska R RapidRobert Circle Track
RapidRobert Circle Track R Joined: Nov 2003 Posts: 36,040 Lincoln Nebraska	Quote: so then I unplugged one field wire at a time and on the second wire it finally quit charging. Any way I would like to figure out what failed> unplugging 1 field wire will disable the alt so for both to need to be unplugged it's shorted inside. Check both brushes/holders then mark the alt case so you can easily reclock it to the same position on reassembly & open it up & see what you see. Check rotor continuity to ground/any obvious improper grounds live every 24 hour block of time like it's your last day on earth

Re: Charging to much! [Re: DANA60] #1162177 01/21/12 11:38 PM 01/21/12 11:38 PM
Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 989 WI, USA 6 67dodge67 mopar addict
67dodge67 mopar addict 6 Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 989 WI, USA	Quote: Smoking? 14.0 is not over charging, and agreed that 15 plus is. Are you running a volt meter or an amp meter? Are the lights too bright? If you were over charging then one of the fields on the alt could be bad and cause this. I had this happen exactly. The poreclain thread/fitting had a slight crack in it and caused my alt to over charge - saw the numbers on my voltmeter jump up to nearly 17!!! Pulled it apart, found a hairline crack in the threads. Replaced it, never happened again. Hope that helps. Dave

Re: Charging to much! [Re: 67dodge67] #1162178 01/22/12 11:12 AM 01/22/12 11:12 AM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX M mod5v OP mopar
mod5v OP mopar M Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX	Thanks finally some real ideas on what to look for. The alternator is only 3 years old with maybe 3k on it so I think it had a limited life time warrenty. I will check and just get it replaced.

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162179 01/22/12 11:43 AM 01/22/12 11:43 AM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,719 Space Station #5 471Magnum master
471Magnum master Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,719 Space Station #5	Check your VR for good ground. Also, a shorted cell in the battery can cause high charging voltage. -Jim I can fix it... my old man is a television repairman. He's got the ultimate set of tools... I can fix it. Currently Mopar-less

Re: Charging to much! [Re: 471Magnum] #1162180 01/22/12 12:11 PM 01/22/12 12:11 PM
Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,643 A certified culture free zone. 74RALLYE top fuel
74RALLYE top fuel Joined: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,643 A certified culture free zone.	I had the same problem on my 74 charger. Everything was new as I had just finished the resto. Replacing the voltage regulator fixed it. I also re-sanded and tighted every ground under the hood. It's possible that an intermittent ground killed my regulator even though all of the connections looked good.

Re: Charging to much! [Re: mod5v] #1162181 01/22/12 12:13 PM 01/22/12 12:13 PM
Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,688 Marlboro, NY, USA R Rick_Ehrenberg top fuel
Rick_Ehrenberg top fuel R Joined: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,688 Marlboro, NY, USA	There's also the possibility that the battery has a simple shorted cell. Rick E.

Re: Charging to much! [Re: 471Magnum] #1162182 01/22/12 12:15 PM 01/22/12 12:15 PM
Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 3,886 Lost and Spaced B bboogieart master
bboogieart master B Joined: Jan 2008 Posts: 3,886 Lost and Spaced	(quote)I unpluged the VR and it made no diffrence so then I unplugged one field wire at a time and on the second wire it finally quit charging. Just wondering why you kept going back to the voltage regulator after this. I have mechanical Aptitude. I can screw up anything.

Re: Charging to much! [Re: Rick_Ehrenberg] #1162183 01/22/12 09:44 PM 01/22/12 09:44 PM
Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,822 Colorado D denfireguy top fuel
denfireguy top fuel D Joined: Jun 2008 Posts: 1,822 Colorado	Quote: There's also the possibility that the battery has a simple shorted cell. Rick E. My vote also. The voltage you read across the battery is too low for a recently over charged battery unless a cell has shorted out. 2014 Ram 1500 Laramie, 73 Cuda Previous mopars: 62 Valiant, 65 Fury III, 68 Fury III, 72 Satellite, 74 Satellite, 89 Acclaim, 98 Caravan, 2003 Durango Only previous Non-Mopar: Schwinn Tornado

Re: Charging to much! [Re: denfireguy] #1162184 01/22/12 11:52 PM 01/22/12 11:52 PM
Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX M mod5v OP mopar
mod5v OP mopar M Joined: Nov 2005 Posts: 589 Fortworth TX	I've had a couple of people say shorted cell in battery. Never had one go like this before but theres always a first. I will wait a few days and check the battery voltage if its under 12 volts I'll pull it and take it in for a load test. I have checked all the grounds and they are clean and solid. I bypassed the amp guage a few years ago and have a 10ga wire directly from the alternator to the battery so that held up well. I'm thinking of putting a inline fuse or breaker in the circut tho.

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