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Overcharging battery or alternator

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by Zekria99, Jan 10, 2011.

  1. Jan 10, 2011 #1
    Zekria99

    Zekria99 Light Load Member

    75
    8
    Nov 25, 2010
    Toronto,Ontario
    0
    I was driving on i30 yesterday in Benton Arkansas and there was snowing a lot and came by battery light on. I checked the cluster board it was showing a charging of 15.1 v. I parked the truck on snow and didn't see the light and I have webasto heater so I turned it on. I30 completely closed the highway was like parking lot. So this afternoon I left and on the way to texerkana my battery light come on again. Now I don't know if it is the battery or alternator. Maybe since there was no ground On snow I might have fried regulator but i see all the acid on the battery. Thank u in advance for ur advice
     
    Zekria99, Jan 10, 2011
    Zekria99, Jan 10, 2011
    #1
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  3. Jan 10, 2011 #2
    country29

    country29 Medium Load Member

    518
    157
    Feb 27, 2010
    Arkansas
    0
    well if the internal regulator on the alternator went bad, overcharging the batts, causing them to boil over, then that would explain the acid on the batts. take it to a reputable shop and have the alt checked and batts checked. good luck.
     
    country29, Jan 10, 2011
    country29, Jan 10, 2011
    #2
  4. Jan 10, 2011 #3
    rocknroll nik

    rocknroll nik High Risk Load Member

    4,490
    5,770
    Oct 18, 2008
    can't read the sign
    0
    What Country29 said is the right thing to do....
     
    rocknroll nik, Jan 10, 2011
    rocknroll nik, Jan 10, 2011
    #3
  5. Jan 10, 2011 #4
    canuck in da truck

    canuck in da truck Road Train Member

    4,352
    2,601
    Aug 6, 2010
    western pa
    0
    no ground on the snow?
    that sure cant be good
     
    canuck in da truck, Jan 10, 2011
    canuck in da truck, Jan 10, 2011
    #4
  7. Jan 10, 2011 #5
    Zekria99

    Zekria99 Light Load Member

    75
    8
    Nov 25, 2010
    Toronto,Ontario
    0
    if there is no ground then could that have caused the regulator to get fried, and also when the truck is running it shows a 14.4 v and when it is off it shows 12.5 v. I think one of my batteries no good or am I wrong. is there away i can check the alternator or the batteries for the problem
     
    Zekria99, Jan 10, 2011
    Zekria99, Jan 10, 2011
    #5
  8. Jan 10, 2011 #6
    country29

    country29 Medium Load Member

    518
    157
    Feb 27, 2010
    Arkansas
    0
    if those are the readings from your guage, that sounds ok, with it running 14.4 sounds a little high, should be 13.8-14.1 depending on how many lights you have on, etc., but off 12.5 is normal. unless you have a multi-meter and a load tester, theres not an accurate way to test either. with the truck running you can take a multi(volt) meter and touch the pos and neg post on the alt to read the voltage it is putting out, should be 13.4-14.1. the batts you can check with the multimeter with the truck running to make sure they are receiving the charge, and with the truck off, usually after it has set for several hours, you can check the volts to see if they have the same amount of charge, but to check for a bad cell, or bad battery you need a good batt tester. hope this explains it, but if you dont have the tools, you need to get your charging system checked at a reputable shop. good luck
     
    country29, Jan 10, 2011
    country29, Jan 10, 2011
    #6
  9. Jan 11, 2011 #7
    truckbiz

    truckbiz Light Load Member

    103
    17
    Sep 22, 2010
    North East corner of Illinois
    0
    I think you may be on the right track, it sounds like you may have a bad battery. You at least need a hand held volt meter. If you have the time what I do is unhook the ground cables to separate the batteries, let them sit overnight, then check the voltage on each battery. If one is 1 or 2 volts below the others it's bad.
    The best test is a load test with a carbon pile load tester.

    http://www.harborfreight.com/500-amp-carbon-pile-load-tester-91129.html

    This is the one I use, I have used it for several years and it works great. For $50. you pay for it the first time you use it. Good luck!!
     
    truckbiz, Jan 11, 2011
    truckbiz, Jan 11, 2011
    #7
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