It all started coming home and I noticed a foul stench from under the hood. I popped the hood to find smoke shooting out from underneath the battery's cover. I replaced the battery and the voltage regulator and it ran fine for awhile. Now, for the past few days, I noticed the same smell but really bad today and the same smoke. I replaced the contacts in the starter with the big contacts thinking that maybe they were somehow sticking causing a constant drain. I also measured the voltage at the alternator and it reads a steady 11, but at the battery the voltage reads a steady 17! How do I pick up 6 volts between the alternator and the battery? Thanks for any info.

 

The alt puts out a lot more than 17, the reg is sposed to keep it at correct voltage. The alt is working but reg is not, you may have just got a bad reg, it happens. Replace it and make sure you have a good ground, the starter has nothing to do with charging.

 

Thanks, I'll grab another reg. right away.

 

It is most likely the votage regulator. I just when through the same thing wiht my jeep cherokee. But the regulator is in the altanator on those things. Good luck

 

I thought that maybe the volt. reg. might not be grounded well enough since it grounds by it's mounting and maybe that body ground isn't the greatest so I ran a new ground wire from the bolt to a known good ground and I put my voltmeter on the output of the volt. reg. and it read a steady 12 volts. However, if I put the voltmeter on the battery while the engine is running it still reads a fluctuating voltage that started out at 12 then 15-16 sometimes 17. Is this normal because of the grid heater cycling since I cold started it? I got a new battery and don't want to fry this one too. If I need a volt. reg. I'll get it but it seems to work alright if it reads 12 volts out. Maybe the ground was the problem. This seems to be a recurring theme with my electrical problems. Still, should I be concerned with the voltage spikes at the battery? I didn't let it run too long to see if this would settle down after the grid cycling.

 

I checked my alternator and it turns out that it is bad so I guess I found my problem... I hope.

 

Do yourself a favor grab another reg, it will save you headache later.