Boiling Battery Issues

[ferdball]

ok, So I've got a problem with my battery boiling over (brand new battery not too much water)

Preface: My voltage gauge reads in the middle of 0 and +50 at idle and bounces a little, then at about 2,000 rpm+ it almost hits +50 and stays there...

I started with the simple solution of polarizing the generator at the voltage regulator by running one wire from "bat" and touching "arm" then fired it up and the gauge was the same, took a cap off the battery while idling and it was bubbling pretty darn good.

I then proceeded to do the field to ground test to see if the generator was working and the gauge just stayed the same, if im correct it should peg to +50.?

Is there any other steps I can take to test anything? what's next? Im just a shade tree mechanic but common sense says the generator cant be bad if it's cranking out enough amps to boil my battery...??

Side notes:

I've opened up the voltage regulator and its really clean inside as well as the connections. (cleaned all the connections)

could it be a bad ground? how would I check for that?

too many questions? I'll stop here..

Appreciate any input, im stuck.

[TodFitch]

If it's boiling the electrolyte then the voltage is too high. Possible causes:

1. Bad regulator.

2. Bad ground between regulator and generator

3. Shorted field wire

4. ... I'll have to think some more but I'd guess the above would cover the vast majority of the cases.

[Rusty O'Toole]

Most likely a bad regulator but you should check the wiring while you are at it. Something is causing the generator to overcharge the battery.

[greg g]

what happens if you run it with your head lamps on, on low beam and high beam?

Sounds like the cutout circuit isn't working correctly. if it moderates with head lamps on, take the cover off the reguator and dress the point with a points file. Do not use sand paper or emory cloth. Then start the car and watch the operation of the regulator.

you should see the points opening and closing as the regulator works, If one set is closed while the gauge is pegged, you might need to adjust them a bit, ot the VR may be defective.

[ferdball]

Thanks Greg, Before I got the message with your suggestions . I just cleaned up the two cables running to the generator and re-taped them, gave the posts a quick wire brushing and then reinstalled the battery and went to pull it in the garage and noticed that the gauge sat on 0. Pulled the lights on gauge goes to -20 and does nothing when I revv it up!

Could it be my generator just gave up the ghost and before it did I gave it it's all!? I also noticed that every 20 seconds or so a grunt comes from what seems to be the rear bearing of the generator.??

I'll still try your suggestions tomorrow.

[Dave72dt]

To start with, you're reading amperage output, not voltage and whatever it reads on the high end is likely the max amp of the generater so it's defintely working. The problem is you're not controlling it which is done in the regulator. As said earlier, some cleaning and/or adjustment may be necessary

[ferdball]

Just for kicks I threw in a VR that I had sitting around here. The handwritten tape on it says '53 willys (Autolite VBE-6105-A126) and fired it up. needle was riding just above 0 and up with some throttle, and high/low beams worked fine. Seems like everything was 100%. Horray!

BUT

Then I noticed that on the VR it says "negative ground" uh oh...

Is this a issue? will it wreak havoc on the system?

double thanks again

[Dave72dt]

3 relatively common systems for gens back then, depending on companies. Delco, Autolite, Prestolite. You likely have a Delco pos ground gen which is designed to be regulated and polarized diffferently than the Autolite or Prestolite systems. What you have may work but I've got to believe will work better with a matched system.

[Dodgeb4ya]

Do you have a volt meter? Max reading should be some where around 7.0-7.5 volts max at a rev with accessories off. If its too high check grounds loose wires. Probably a out of adjustment regulator-if so better replace it unless you work on regulators.

[ferdball]

ok, just thought I'd throw in my findings.

The VR i found that had "53 willys" on it worked for a while then just kicked the bucket.... or I might say that the generator kicked the bucket because I put in my old VR that was boiling the battery and nada, zip...

so I found an old generator and wired it up and with my new multi meter its reading 7-8 volts. No boiling issues.

I dont understand but it seems like the old generator just gave it it's all before killing over. but how the VR let it crank all those amps through tells me it's might just do the same. So I went ahead and put a new on e of those on too.

Thanks for all the help gang!