Battery Over Charging?

[ben90tsi]

I was driving today and noticed some white smoke coming out my hood 9not a lot) , temp was fine and everything, when i pulled over i noticed one of the caps on the battery exploded and got acid eveywhere :thumbdown . I checked the volts when it was running and it was like 17... does that mean is time for a new alternator or what? thanks-

 

[LTUSPE]

Check all your grounds, especially the one on the battery going to the firewall. Also check to make sure you don't have an exhaust leak blowing hot exhaust gasses directly on the alternator where the downpipe bolts up to the o2 housing.

Justin

 

[ben90tsi]

Also can spilling fluids on the alt. cuase problems like this? I had another problem tonight, as i went to turn on my lights ( i think they were on bright) and there was this big pulse of blue swirl in front of me, which looked cool, but then both headlights burnt out... im just wondering if a new alt. would fix these problems because i did get a lot of water/oil/power steering fluid on it.

 

[luv2rallye]

fluids on alternator = kiss it goodbye

 

[Doug99RS]

If the battery caps have blown off then I would recomend replacing the battery and going from there. If the battery was weak then the voltage regulator and altenator could be working properly.

In all of the diagnostics manuals I've worked out of, the first step for an electrical problem was always to verify the battery was properly charged and the charging system is working properly. If you've got a bad battery then every electrical test you perform will be based on readings taken using a poor voltage supply.
Doug