Zapa89
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Pamplona, NA, Spain
I drove a 30min roundtrip and I didn't see that the voltmeter was in the red zone, so apparently I cooked my original battery because the next morning it read 2.2v in my multimeter.
It was just a 50Ah 440CCA battery, so it's not a great loss, and I bought a new -proper- Bosch 74Ah 680CCA one.
Now, onto the CAUSE of this battery cooking: The alt is pushing too much voltage.
At first, when I installed the new battery to restart and check everything, it was pushing 18.5v right away at idle.
That same day at night it was pushing the proper ~14v at idle, but it would go up with the rpms, as high as 19v.
I turned the engine off and turned on the lights until the battery read 12.4v and then disconnected it from the car. It's been sitting like that while I was trying to ascertain if I need a new alternator or the problem is solvable any other way.
Tried just now again: Connected the battery on a (very) cold car, engine on, voltmeter right to 18v again.
So here's the question: Could that problem be caused by a bad alternator ground or any other cable related issue?
- If it could be cable related, I might try and clean all connections first, then install an extra ground.
- If it cannot be cable related I'll see to either rebuild or substitute the alternator (finding a new Delco CS130 here in Spain is going to be a PAIN). Rebuild kits can be found at a reasonable price on eBay... except for the shipping and taxes, that is.
Thanks for your expertise on this.
It was just a 50Ah 440CCA battery, so it's not a great loss, and I bought a new -proper- Bosch 74Ah 680CCA one.
Now, onto the CAUSE of this battery cooking: The alt is pushing too much voltage.
At first, when I installed the new battery to restart and check everything, it was pushing 18.5v right away at idle.
That same day at night it was pushing the proper ~14v at idle, but it would go up with the rpms, as high as 19v.
I turned the engine off and turned on the lights until the battery read 12.4v and then disconnected it from the car. It's been sitting like that while I was trying to ascertain if I need a new alternator or the problem is solvable any other way.
Tried just now again: Connected the battery on a (very) cold car, engine on, voltmeter right to 18v again.
So here's the question: Could that problem be caused by a bad alternator ground or any other cable related issue?
- If it could be cable related, I might try and clean all connections first, then install an extra ground.
- If it cannot be cable related I'll see to either rebuild or substitute the alternator (finding a new Delco CS130 here in Spain is going to be a PAIN). Rebuild kits can be found at a reasonable price on eBay... except for the shipping and taxes, that is.
Thanks for your expertise on this.
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