peteretep Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 the battery in my escort is showing a red light to say check battery, and appears to be sitting at 13.8 volts when not being charged. i first found out there was a problem when i tried to start the car and it wouldnt turn over. i tried charging it with a trickle charger, but it has done nothing in the last 24 hours the battery is a gold supercharge battery with 600cca, im going to take it back to the shop tomorrow and see about getting a new one (36tmonth warranty but i dont have a receipt) but what causes a battery to have high voltage? is it something in my car that did it? ive had my alternator checked out because the dash light doesnt work and apart from the light everything else worked fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R100 Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 A faulty battery can cause over charging or a faulty regulator. 13.8v to 14.4v is what i would expect to see as charging voltage at the battery. Anything over 14.9 volts is definatly too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowzer Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 A fully charged lead acid battery should be sitting around 13.8 V. Max charging volts should be 14.4 V.\ Basing it on that voltage I would consider the battery as sweet. Maybe measure the voltage across the battery while cranking, see what happens. Should not drop any more than 2 volts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0R10N Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Have you tried another battery? I'd rule out a faulty regulator for now, as you only see the voltage increase with the car running, and in that case it's likely that it would be far more than 14.4V. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAGRANT Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 a fully charged battery at rest should be 12.6v!!! if its high it could be just coming down to 12.6 after being charged by alt.. r100's comment earlier about charging voltage 13.8 - 14.4 is correct. any higher than 14.5 would indicate a fault which could be due to a faulty battery or alt. If your alt charges higher than 14.5 you'll start blowing light bulbs and your battery will turn into a balloon. P.S. warning light staying on while the engine is running would indicate alt fault (or regulator if external) or slipping belt. Or slim chance the wiring has shorted out. Definetly need to check volts while engine running (13.8- 14.5) may need slight rev to kick alt into life. then check with lights on to make sure the voltage stays about the same.... means regulator doing its job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 hey thanks fo the input i trickle charged my battery for 2 days and it was charged, normally when showing a 'clear light' it only takes a day to charge so something funny is going on there. But my battery sitting 5 mins after taking off the trickle charger was showing 13.8 volts, i then tried starting the car although still reading 13.8v and it started ok, i have not gone back and had a look at the voltage now. i took a current reading off the battery when the car was off and the current was 2.4mA, is this considered ok? i have a feeling my multimeter has an accuracy of more than 2.4mA just to be clear, when talking about the red light, am i talking about the little indicator on my battery, which changes color based on battery condition. My battery charge light on my dash does not work, there is a fault in my alternator which i have had looked at. the regulator does not work, but the rest of the alternator works as it should, sensing voltage and charging correctly, although maybe a little high, i think it charges at 14.9V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMcdoll Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 sounds like a short in the wire from the dash/whatver scrots roll to the alternator to me, going by the BV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted July 29, 2010 Author Share Posted July 29, 2010 nah ive fully rewired the car and checked it, there is a problem somewhere in the alternator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VAGRANT Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 a lot of alternators and external regulators need the power supply through from your warning light to 'excite' the alt into life..... might be as simple as a new bulb in your warning light, but i would be looking at fixing your warning light as that could fix your whole problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horse25 Posted July 29, 2010 Share Posted July 29, 2010 my red light in my Dash blew, this created an open circuit and my alternator wouldn't charge, replaced that bulb in the dash and i was away charging again, But then again it may be wired differently in mk1s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteretep Posted July 30, 2010 Author Share Posted July 30, 2010 ive completly rewired my car, had my alternator checked out, and checked my dash bulb which is ok, it is definately the alternator, the alternator is an almost new unit from a subaru justy, obviously the justy had some electical problems which is the reason they bought a new one and the bulb still blew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.