I just went out and adjusted the timing on the Mav, and I noticed what looked like antifreeze on the shock tower. However when I wiped it off, it took the paint with it, leaving just the primer. I also found some on the firewall. I noticed there is some sort of liquid around the caps on the battery, which I'm suspecting could be battery acid. There is some white residue on the radiator hose adjacent to the battery. If it is battery acid, is overcharging the most likely cause? Been looking for an excuse to put that 100 amp chrome alternator on, maybe this is it.
overcharging a battery will cause it to boil over.. That said, you probably dont have an excuse to put in a new alternator though overcharging is usaully the result of a bad voltage regulator, which is seperate on old fords. should be a little silver box parked on the fenderwell
I left out an important detail that would have made me look less stupid: my 100 amp alternator is a 1-wire, so the regulator goes bye-bye. I do know if it is overcharging it would be the regulator.
Matt, I would get the battery tested. Be careful with it,, they are dangerous in that shape. Now I am thinking out loud,, if it isnt the battery then you have to suspect the regulator/ alternator. Wonder if a larger pulley would slow down the charge rate? That is if the regulator is bad,, if so,, put the 1 wire on. Dan
Get a digital voltmeter and put it on the battery while the engine is running in a fast idle. Ideally, it should be 13.8 volts. Anything over about 14.2 and I'd start replacing things.
A BAD battery can cause an overcharging condition. As Dan already mentioned; I would also test the battery first. Your 1 wire alternator should have a internal regulator.
Yeh, what they said! Also neutralize the acid by sprinkling Baking Soda on it and then rinse it with water.
yeah might just be the regulator... had that happen to me before. way over charging the battery.. and yes be very careful.. wear like goggles, long sleves gloves etc.. or something while testing that thing!
I haven't had a chance to check it, but I'd say the regulator is definitely bad and it's overcharging. While I was over at Kilgore's new place, he noticed that there was a bunch of it in the battery tray as well, which I did not notice yesterday in the parking garage. I'm happy to come away without acid burns, because I could faintly hear the hydrogen gas escaping from the battery. The battery is only a year old, so I'm fairly sure it was not the cause, and the regulator is at least 15 years old (pretty sure I've never replaced it, I've never had a problem with it). If it is due to the regulator, will the battery be ok or is it ruined?
Yes , what he said. I`ve seen what can happen when a battery go`s kaboom in you`r face , it isn`t purdy at all .
The battery may be OK. Look for buldging sides and loose terminals. Let the car sit for a while before you mess with it. The hydrogen gas escaping during the overcharge state is what ignites during the explosions.
Matt, if the battery has cell caps, you can do a cell test. If you do this, you must be very carefull to do it as I explain. First, there must be electrolyte in each cell above the plates (not just filled with water). If not you can't do the test. Until new water is mixed with the acid. If there is, a voltmeter test on the 2.5 volt range +/- will pick up a bad cell. To do this, lower the test prod into the electrolyte ONLY, do not tuch the plate structure. What you would read on a good fully charged battery would be this; 13 volts divided by 6 cell = 2.16 volts. Each cell will read close to that voltage if good. Any cell/s greatly lower than 2 volts is a bad cell and becomes one of the reasons the alternator is charging so high. It is trying to charge a battery that can never be fully charged so boils it to death. In any event, with the battery beat this much, you may need to replace both battery and alternator if the voltage is to high with a known good battery in place.
I put the baking soda on tonight. Lots of fizzing and also lots of brown gunk bubbling off the battery tray from all the rust I put a meter on the battery with the motor running and it read just over 14 volts the first time, then 13.8 the next time i checked it. Sounds right to me, is that too high? That wasn't fast idle though, was low idle. I did pull the RPM up to about 3 or 4k to make sure the alternator was energized first.
