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Paul Workman · 08-02-2008

I'm not a chemical engineer, but from my days of specifying, building, writing about, and inspecting lead acid batteries and systems for remote radio and microwave repeater sites, I can tell ya that 17 volts across a twelve volt battery in typical summer temperatures will boil the crap outta the lead/acid battery in no time! I would expect to see some evidence of that on the top of the battery; 17 volts being the case.

I would put a volt meter across the battery terminals (engine running) and see what is really going on. If the charging voltage is in fact around 17, chances are your regulator is whacked, or there is a bad ground in the charging circuit, perhaps.

But, if the voltage across the battery is "normal" (approx. 14.5 immediately after normal engine start or 13.5 after driving for say an hour or so in normal summer temps), I'd say it was your gauge or perhaps a bad ground in the instrument cluster(?).

First thing tho...Ya wanna know what that charging voltage actually is, so I'd start there first.

Good luck. Hope it is just a funky gauge reading and your battery is not cooked!

P.

08-02-2008	#7
Paul Workman Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Squires (near Ava MO in the Mark Twain N'tl Forest) - Missouri Posts: 6,466	Re: Over charging..YIKES! I'm not a chemical engineer, but from my days of specifying, building, writing about, and inspecting lead acid batteries and systems for remote radio and microwave repeater sites, I can tell ya that 17 volts across a twelve volt battery in typical summer temperatures will boil the crap outta the lead/acid battery in no time! I would expect to see some evidence of that on the top of the battery; 17 volts being the case. I would put a volt meter across the battery terminals (engine running) and see what is really going on. If the charging voltage is in fact around 17, chances are your regulator is whacked, or there is a bad ground in the charging circuit, perhaps. But, if the voltage across the battery is "normal" (approx. 14.5 immediately after normal engine start or 13.5 after driving for say an hour or so in normal summer temps), I'd say it was your gauge or perhaps a bad ground in the instrument cluster(?). First thing tho...Ya wanna know what that charging voltage actually is, so I'd start there first. Good luck. Hope it is just a funky gauge reading and your battery is not cooked! P.