les
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 posted on 1/5/08 at 02:18 PM |
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battery acid! / alternator / fuel pump- help!!
dear all,
had massive problems today after a quick run out.
noticed a squeal from the alternator belt, nothing major so decided to sort it when i got home. this got louder until i stopped,
on looking under the bonnet I found the battery was red hot and had spilled acid all over the engine bay / scuttle, the alternator was also hot (
although that could just be the engine bay) - the ran to germany last year with no problems, the only thing I have changed is to add a second fuel
pump in a swirl tank system to stop fuel starvation at the track, I wired this by running a thick wire direct to the positive terminal on the battery,
with a switch on the dash and inline fuse, then earthed at the fuel pump to the chassis.
seems to much of a coincidence?!! could this have somehow caused the battery to get hot and spill over? then the alternator to stiffen up with the
added load, causing the belt to slip?
help!!!
les
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Mr Whippy
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 02:24 PM |
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don't think it's to do with the pump, sounds more like the alternator is going nuts and overcharging. Check the voltage across the battery
should be not much more than 14v, rev the engine, I suspect the voltage will climb quite high.
[Edited on 1/5/08 by Mr Whippy]
Fame is when your old car is plastered all over the internet
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02GF74
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 02:40 PM |
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hmmm - I wonder if there is some fault with the wiring for the second fuel pump or the pump itself so that it increases load on the battery;
not sure if that will boil it but certainly would put a strain on it and the alternator.
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pewe
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 03:10 PM |
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Les, and now the bad news........ if you haven't already done so you need to urgently wash everything (and I do mean everything) with at least
plain water or better a solution of bicarbonate of soda - as strong as you like to neutralise the battery acid.
Do it a few times to make sure it's all gone.
Be aware that battery acid is very, very corrosive.
Also avoid any contact with skin, eyes and don't inhale any fumes.
As a lad I left a loose battery in a customer's car and the acid when spilled quickly ate through the carpet and attacked the floor in no time.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Pewe
In fact agree with miniciti .... flog it quick. The on-going problem is that if you don't kill every last drop each time it gets damp it will
re-activate and eat into whatever it's sitting on!!
[Edited on 1/5/08 by pewe]
[Edited on 1/5/08 by pewe]
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minitici
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 03:16 PM |
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As above - treat the spilled acid quick - or sell the car even quicker before it dissolves.
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les
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 04:08 PM |
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hi thanks guys,
What i have done so far is soak up all the acid and throw away the cloths, then disconnected and removed the battery (and thrashed it with a branch
for damaging my car!!!) then washed out the bonnet / inside the car with a hosepipe. after thinking further I tghen washed out the underneath of the
dahsboard where the wiring is as some had got through- thought washing it, although bad, was not as bad as leaving the acid- did that twice. as you
say, everything iti touched is now either a funny colour or melting.
dont really know where to start as electrics are my weak point- new battery as a start then check voltage across it? anyone know how I should change
the pump wiring?
les
- every time i drive its a different problem.......
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Paul TigerB6
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 04:29 PM |
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As Mr W suggests, is sounds very strongly like the voltage regulator in your alternator has packed up and is seriously overcharging your battery.
The regulator limits the voltage to about 14V so if you put a voltmeter across the battery terminals and then rev the engine you will probably see
much higher than 14V if the regulator has died.
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Bluemoon
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 04:29 PM |
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Reminds me of why I should look for a plastic battery box in the scrap yard..
Dan
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RazMan
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 04:39 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by les
everything iti touched is now either a funny colour or melting.
As already said, you will need to nutralise the acid with bicarb or it will continue to munch away at everything 
Cheers,
Raz
When thinking outside the box doesn't work any more, it's time to build a new box
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MikeRJ
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| posted on 1/5/08 at 05:47 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Paul TigerB6
As Mr W suggests, is sounds very strongly like the voltage regulator in your alternator has packed up and is seriously overcharging your battery.
Almost 100% certainly the voltage regulator. This would also put a high physical load on the drive belt (as the alternator is pushing a lot of
current into the battery), hence the squealing belt.
Battery will probably also be knackered, if they get hot the plates tend to distort.
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les
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| posted on 5/5/08 at 01:54 PM |
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thanks guys,
ill try to test it and report back- alternators seem to be a real problem on these cars- i have only had this one a year and it was brand new,
anyone know why they fail so often?
les
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Paul TigerB6
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| posted on 5/5/08 at 02:02 PM |
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Depends on your setup but i fried 3 Lucas LRA101 alternators on my old Zetec car as the Tiger supplied pulley was too small. This was allowing the
alternator to over-rev and fry basically. Solved this by fitting a small Nippondenso alternator with a larger pulley. Other problems could be caused
by high underbonnet temperatures, especially if the alternator is near the exhaust.
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