more electrical issues

So this has been going on for a few weeks and it is a PITA.

First off its on my 2001 DD 4x4 aw4

The problem: the voltage will spike, and remain maxed out, at ramdom times. After I shut it down some times it will start back up and sometimes not. when it does start back up the voltage goes back to normal. If it will not restart and it seems there is no power to anything I unhook the battery and hook it right back up and then I get power again and can restart with normal voltage again. I know the meter is correct because you can see scoring and smell the electrical.

What I have tried:

I have tested the battery voltage and altenator myself, with numbers from 5-90 on a now lost thread. Numbers all checked out and I cleaned the grounds to the body and engine block. That seemed to do the trick, well for about a week.

The voltage spiked again and I was near kregan so I stopped by to have them test the Alt. and battery. Everything checked out normal as I shut off and restarted the jeep, which sets the voltage back to normal on my gauge.

Is the voltage regulated through the Alt in an '01? Maybe time for a new one? BTW this one did take a dip in a creek back in May.

oh boy aren't electrical problems fun...not! according to the FSM (i've also got an 01) voltage is regulated by a circuit within the PCM, not in the alternator. so you've eliminated the battery and alt as probs....well, again according to the FSM, the voltage regulating circutry in the PCM is in series with the alternator and constantly monitors/controls the alternator's output thru the wiring harness between the two (alt/PCM) so...maybe worth a try at cleaning up the PCM connectors and inspecting the wiring between.

this really sounds like a physical prob tho vice a component failure. i don't think the water bath in May is the cause...tho it may have accelerated an already brewing corrosion prob?? good thing, i guess, is you said you can see scoring and notice an electrical smell (i'm guessing like hot/burnt?). i'm assuming you've already dug around to find the source of the smell and traced from where you found scoring... where is it you see scoring?

the scoring is on the battery terminal post and the burt smell is comming from the same area. The positive wire has a bit of corrosion, green in color if that matters. Could corrosion on the battery cable cause this spike?

I don't get why disconecting and reconnecting the battery restores power either. I thought it may have to do with resetting the computer. Any ideas?

P.S. Thanks for the info Otter

Anyone have any suggestions???

green corrosion indicates copper is being corroded. i would wanna see how far into the cable the corrosion has traveled and also ensure the clamps are not toast...it could be your problem. it may be causing an intermittent disconnect which could be why you sometimes have to re-attach the terminal clamp to get it to start. i suspect you are getting a "load dump" from an intermittent/poor battery connection at some spot, could be pos or neg side, which would cause a huge (but very brief) voltage spike. i think the area where you see/smell problems is the spot to dig thru. just my .02, hth

I figure that it wouldn't be a bad idea to change out the cables. the green corrosion is all through the last inch of the positive cable. Looks to be throughout the metal in the cable in this area. ie. its hard to see the bare metal of the cable.

My spike is sustained though. Once it goes up it will not return to normal with out shutting her down. Thanks for the suggestion, I will start there.