I just had a new alternator installed about a month ago...jus yesterday i saw my battery light comming on and off...when i check the battery it was leaking from the caps. I just replaced the battery with a new one and it continues leaking. Is it that my alternator is overcharging or there is some fault in the electrical wiring??

 

anybody??

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 96Sedan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">... Is it that my alternator is overcharging or there is some fault in the electrical wiring??</TD></TR></TABLE>Measure the voltage at the battery terminals under a bunch of different conditions:

1 - Right after turning off engine.
2 - After being parked for a long time (overnite).
3 - Turn on headlights & everything else, don't start engine, measure again.
4 - If #3 is much lower than 12v, turn it all off & measure again with it off.
5 - Start engine, stuff turned off, let it idle for a minute or 2, then measure.
6 - Engine running, stuff turned back on.
7 - After driving around, engine running.

Voltage from #1, 2, 3, & 4 tests whether your battery holds a charge properly. Voltage from #5, 6, & 7 tests whether your alternator is overcharging.

edit.... fixed #4



Modified by JimBlake at 11:51 AM 6/24/2005

 

Car was left over night and now the battery is dead.....

 

Well, if you can jump-start it or use a battery charger, you can do everything else except #2. Instead, measure it after 10 or 20 minutes shutdown, or whatever time it takes to begin seeing the voltage go down.

If you disconnect the battery cables, does it still go dead? That would pretty much prove a bad battery. The other measurements might show whether your new battery was damaged by a bad alternator.