AutoTech Alternator & Battery Gassing

[psea17]

Anyone running one of these alternators w a flooded lead acid battery? mine puts out a very steady 14v. seems it might be causing the battery to gas excessively.

anyone experienced similar?

is there something i could put inline to get a lower float voltage when the battery is fully charged? i think the alternator may be overcharging.

 

[ArthurKotb]

Have you checked to see if you have a dead/weak cell? If you do the battery will not reach the float stage.

 

[psea17]

battery is brand new.

the last one gassed badly and died but that one was neglected by 2 cs144 alternators that went bad.

 

[fourwd1]

You need 13.8V minimum to charge a battery, 14V should not be a problem. My '84 alt puts out ~15V and never had an issue with a battery.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Mine puts out between 14.3-13.6V and have no battery issues. If the battery is brand new I would suspect a manufacturing defect.

 

[psea17]

just to be sure, i checked all cables for resistance, went back and sanded off paint where the frame ground is located, redid my body ground by adding a rivnut screw sized for 5/16 lugs, cleaned all contacts, add dielectric grease on all lugs/terminals and re-did the alternator's positive cable lug at the battery. it wasnt good.

so i guess I'll wait a bit to see if the gassing damage (corroded connections) was actually from the old battery.

appreciate all the input. sounds like a steady 14v to an FLA battery isnt an issue.

 

[ArthurKotb]

Is there a different voltage regulator for that alternator? If it's a high amp alternator it may need a matching regulator.

BTW, dielectric grease is non-conductive. it's purpose is to prevent high energy spark from going where it shouldn't. It probably won't make a difference on your battery terminals but don't put it on your spark plug connection, only on the plug boot. :-D

 

[psea17]

it is a hi output alternator. but dont really understand the implications of the point youre making.

is there a specific question i should ask the manufacturer or certain features the regulator should have?

appreciate any further info you could share.

 

[ArthurKotb]

it is a hi output alternator. but dont really understand the implications of the point youre making.

is there a specific question i should ask the manufacturer or certain features the regulator should have?

appreciate any further info you could share.

I was just wondering if the new alternator had an internal regulator. I'm not up on alternators and thought maybe if the OEM alternator had an external regulator that it might need to be changed as well. I would expect the voltage at the battery to change, particularly right after startup. There would be a heavy drain on starting, high voltage until it reached maintenance level, then remain between 12.7 and 13.1.

While 14 is a little high, it's not bad. As long as you're electrolyte level is okay then you're good to go. If you're constantly adding water then maybe you do have an issue.

 

[psea17]

voltage was much higher when i started it (14.6 +/-) in the morning but quickly returned to 13.9-14v within a minute or so.

guess I'll call autotech and see what they say about the regulator, if any.

 

[brillo_76]

Charging voltage 13.8 to about 15v would be fine. you start heading to 16 volts you are getting too high. I wouldn't be concerned at all for ranges in the 14 volts and bouncing around at times.

 

[psea17]

Hey guys,

An update....As best I can tell, my problems originated from the pos cs144 alternators. They weren't charging well and my battery was damaged. putting a solid alternator in just exaggerated the battery's death.

I redid my positive wire from alternator to battery. I also redid all grounds. i'm starting to find having a rivnut tool is the bomb!! Now that there's a new battery, I'm not having any problems. Battery stays charged. There's no corrosion on any contacts after a few months and there's no battery gassing.

I'm very happy w/ the autotech alternator's performance.

regards,