Alternator/Voltage problem (1 Viewer)

[FineWynsFJ40]

Ok, so a couple of weeks ago I noticed that my battery was venting and spraying acid all over my engine bay. So, after I quarantined the area with baking soda, rinsed it off, and scrubbed everything with a wire brush and then painted, I decided that I did not want that to happen again... I took the battery in, got a new one, and talked to the guy at CarQuest (they really know their stuff). He told me to check the voltage, which is ~12 off, and a little over ~15-16 when idling. I have a Painless wiring harness hooked up, and I know I hooked it up properly using schematics and such, plus a brand new Toyota alternator regulator. The vehicle in question is an October 1974 Federal model.

Where should I start and what should I do? Should I put some resistors in line to cut down the voltage? Thanks.

 

[cardinal fang]

Run a search. There was a thread on this not to long ago.

 

[FineWynsFJ40]

ok thanks.

 

[Pin_Head]

I can think of two possibiities:
1. Two bad regulators in a row (not likely). The voltage can be adjusted by bending the tab that the spring attaches to, but you have to remove the cover to see it.
2. Bad ground between the regulator and the battery. Run a jumper tmporarily from a good ground tothe voltage regulator to see if it drops to a normal 14V range.

 

[Tejas Cruiser]

I ran into a similar problem with my battery. My red top was gassing acid and I had a rebuilt alternator, new voltage regulator, and the battery was fairly new. I took it by the shop that did the rebuild and they tested it. It was running perfect at ~14 when running at 1500 RPM. He noticed that there was no body ground from battery to negative post, so I put one on and it stopped. Make sure you get a good clean place to ground the neg battery post and see if that helps. I had contacted Optima when this was happening, and they sent me a new red top to boot, so now I'm in good shape.

 

[FineWynsFJ40]

Which way would I bend the tab to decrease the voltage? I am thinking bending them so there is increased distance between the contact points on the arm. Am I correct? Thanks very much, guys.