It is intermittent I was idling and This showed up.


So I jumped out and hit the battery with the Volt meter . When I revved the engine It jumped up to 18-19 volts.


A few min later I when back to normal. But last week I had a dead battery but it had loose lugs so I clean them and it seems ok now. But my alternator is greasy from a leaking (Loose?) power steering hose. I think it failing. I will try cleaning it tomorrow but what do you guys think?

 

WHile idleing it could just be the belt slipping from the oil. I have had this many times. That 17V is high though. Is that with the battery connected?

 

It's not slipping. I sprayed it down with electronic cleaner so I will check it out in a few hours. But who knows it does not do it all the time more like once every few days.

 

It appears that your voltage regulator is going bad. Did you check all the wiring connections? Loose connections can cause all sorts of issues. It is definitely overcharging at 17.07 volts.

 

+1
yes, most likely bd regulator...
However, bad connection could do it. IF "S" wire that senses battery voltage is disconnected, regulator will think that battery is badly-discharged and it would try to give it more juice. You can check for this by probing "S" wire from the back of the alt connector. The "S" wire is usually the white wire.

 

17v will ruin your battery.

i'd find the power steering leak and fix it asap.

 

Ok just an update. The connector on my battery disconnect was a bit corroded. It cleaned it .
I hosed down the alternator with a can of electronics cleaner (non flammable) .
I will check the s wire later today. but I have not had a problem after i cleaned the connection and alternator.
The leak was from a lose home clamp to i fixed that. I will check it again in a few days to see if it is still leaking.

 

Its still running fine. I really suspect it was the bad connection on the battery cut off.

 

From my experience I have never had a Voltage Regulator to go bad. Not sure what caused my alternators to fail and it could of been an internal Voltage Regulator that went bad just not sure what it was. In most cases the External Voltage Regulator was on the 84 and older trucks. Might be unneccessary information but thought I would toss it out there.

As far as your leak on to the alternator, most likely it is from the Power Steering and I fixed a truck that had caught fire from a power steering leak. Luckily it just ruined the alternator and it did blow the 80 amp fuse which will kill all power to truck caused no further damage to the truck. I get after any power steering leak now if I see one as that could of been bad.