Is my alternator overcharging my battery?

[Tommy]

I didn't see anything in your description that made me think of anything more than a four year old battery that had come to its natural end.

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by CHANMADD

I would never use an ammeter anyways, change it for a volt meter.

The voltage meter works fine...checked it against a VOM, it's right on..14.5 volts. Sadly, there is no function to check the amperes on the VOM, though .

Given the choice, I would rather fill the hole occupied by the ammeter with an oil temperature gauge, or a fuel pressure gauge, they appear to be standard VDO gauges.

I do notice that the new battery, despite having only slightly over 50% of the CCA of the original battery, starts the car better...when I would try to start the engine with the older battery it seemed like it was trying to get it spinning but having trouble...very much like having the timing advanced too far. The "newer" battery has never displayed that behavior, just spins the engine like a champ

When the Bosch battery went belly-up, it went all at once , SO glad it failed here in the town where I live and not as I was on the highway to the place where I spend weekends...110 miles away, one way, and I have to drive right through the center of Houston, TX's downtown area...that would have been a real PITA to get stranded there!!

I think Tommy hit the nail on the head:

Originally Posted by Tommy

I didn't see anything in your description that made me think of anything more than a four year old battery that had come to its natural end.

Cheers!

Dugly

[Jaydee]

It sounds like your battery went open circuit. Check the cells. If one of them is dry, you have a bad cell. If you jump start a car with an open circuit battery, It can make an alternator run away to 17 volts and destroy many things. Some ammeters a wired to stay on zero, some to show how much charge goes into the battery, depending on the load.
A volt meter is a better way of knowing what the system is doing, and if the alternator stops working, it'll give you a countdown to when the engine will quit. I really like optima batteries. No fumes, will hold a charge for 6 months or more, 800cca. solid construction. Quickest way to check for earth problems is a test light. From the centre of the battery neg post to the block, try to crank, if light comes on, bad earth, also from pos, to starter solenoid bolt, if light comes on, a bad connection. Keep touching along the connections, until light goes out is where the fault is.
JD