On Mar 21, 12:37 pm, "j" wrote:
> I have a 1994 Chevy Corsica with a 6 cylinder engine. In recent days a red
> light that is shaped like a battery on the instrument panel has began coming
> off and on intermittently. It comes on for a few seconds to a couple
> minutes, then stays off for a while. When it comes on, my headlights get
> very bright and my heater blower goes very fast. The battery is good. I took
> a voltmeter and measured the voltage at the cigarette lighter socket. When
> the battery-shaped indicator light is off and everything's normal it reads
> 14 volts. When the red battery-shaped light is on it reads 16 volts. The car
> runs fine either way. This happens during both hot and cold operating
> temperatures, light and full electrical load, and there doesn't seem to be a
> pattern. I also hear a faint whining noise coming from somewhere when the
> light is on. I thought the alternator was dirty so I sprayed it with a
> garden hose and Joy dish soap, but that didn't change anything. I thought
> about the voltage regulator, but can't find it. Does anyone know what is
> going on here and if it's okay to continue driving the car? Thank you.
Fix it right away. I used to have a car with a voltmeter display.
One Wednesday I saw an overvoltage condition (usually failure of the
voltage regulator). I figured to wait till the weekend, when I would
have time to replace the regulator. Friday evening the battery was
fried. Had to replace BOTH regulator and battery.
The overcharging heats the battery and drives off electrolyte. As the
electrolyte gets lower, the internal impedence of the battery goes up,
generating more heat, with boils it off even faster. This is a
positive feedback runaway condition. It can happen fast, especially in
warm weather.
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