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alternator charging to high?
On 19 Aug 2003 13:12:22 -0700,
(Richard Malcolm) wrote:
thanks again for your help. I will reread it until it all sinks in.
but for now, let me tell you what I did today. I did test both
batteries (one at a time with both load and while being charged) and
guess what, the baterries are with in normal limits, as defined by the
tesater, both with load and while being charged. I even left the
tester on while I cruised around for a couple of hours keeping and eye
on it at different speeds. all seemed fine. I did however check the
water and battery one (the one without the inverter)was low in all 6
channels. so I went to CVS and got some distilled water and filled
them up. So, I do not really know if the alternator or what is a
problem, but I do know that the 50 Amp circuit breaker, with one red,
one red/purple/ and one orange wire on the engine near the solinoid,
did trip twice this month. bad circuit breaker? spiking alternator?
battery needed water? bad connectors?
Ok, I have no idea how long it has been since these batteries were
properly watered, so can't estimate whether it's being overcharged or
not. Let's go boating for 20 hours before we pass judgement on them.
If you go cruising for more than 20 or 30 minutes, it might be
interesting to put your hand on the batteries to see how hot they are.
Overcharging wetcell batteries get REALLY HOT when they are being
overcharged. You can also take a look at them as soon as you shut the
engine down. Open the caps and look into the cells. Does it look
like it's boiling? A little percolation, occasional bubbles, is
normal. A rolling boil is not. What will happen to hard overcharging
is the plates will warp, and will melt the parts of the battery
holding it all together. If this happens, there's a good chance the
plates will short together INSTANTLY causing a battery explosion
spraying acid electrolyte all over the place. That's why all battery
boxes come with hold-down straps lazy people leave off because it's
too much trouble to strap them on and off. A battery box with a lid
sitting on it loose is useless confining the explosions.
A charging battery does use a little water, even in this modern age.
The plates aren't perfect lead and there is some gassification from
the impurities in it. But, if you run it 20 hours and find those
plates exposed again....you're definitely overcharging them....either
with the AC charger or the alternator. When you're not using the
boat, with the AC charger on them, keep an eye on the electrolyte
level monthly. Even the automatic shutoff chargers lose a little
electrolyte to gassification.
Sure glad for you the battery test came out good. You might just need
a new regulator. Don't hesitate to take the posts off the batteries
and CLEAN THEM with the steel brush post cleaner available at any
discount auto parts place. If any of the connections are loose, that
may be what tripped your fuse, too. When you're running, leave a 12V
light running you can see. It should light up brighter when the
engine starts and should be STEADY, not flashing
brighter/dimmer/brighter/dimmer. This would be an indication of bad
regulators, loose connections in the charging circuits.
still trying to find out, but
each day, I am learning a little more. thanks again
PS the fuse that I have on the invertor is a 250 anl. and the guage of
the wire is 4 aught.
Larry W4CSC
Maybe we could get the power grid fixed if every politician
regulating the power companies wasn't on their payrolls.
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