battery shaped like a football.....

well my Optima battery finially died ,we pulled into MPC's camp after ALL day on the trail ,went to leave and nothing ,not even a click ,all the accessorys work including headlights but no starter , we open the hood and the battery is shaped kind of like a foot ball., both Mike and I thought it might explode I disconected it dressed like a bomb squad defuser........... I can see now that the 1200 watt power inverter is also competely toast ,that was off so IDK what happened, maybe the voltage regulater took a dump and got the battery and the higher voltage took out the inverter?.I have the stock alt,and external reg , how do I start to check the reg and how many amps the alt is putting out? bummed mostly 'cause the battery was the last of the good ones,,,,,,, bought back in dec. 03! when a Optima was the best. bet the new Optima does not last half as long

 

auto electric shop can check alt.

 

how do you check the external reg?

 

dunno as I'm new with jeeps but all the old ford guys will tell you we carry a spare voltage regulator behind the seat of our trucks... they are cheap and have a very finite life span

 

oh,I have a spare in the glove box ,but the light never told me anything was wrong.

 

Do you have a volt gauge?

 

Does the light actually work?

 

Sorry, the light is for non charging situations, not going to do anything if the VR is shorted and overcharging.

 

My dad's ford blew a regulator and over charged most of the time and sometimes didn't charge. If we would have had a volt meter on it sooner we would have figured out the problem much quicker.

 

no ,no gauge ,just the amp light from the speedo cluster.and the light is good and reliable,

 

Steve, I have lots of old gauges, take your pick. I'll mail you one when I send the book back.
I can e-mail you some close up photos of them.

 

I really only have 2 gauges ,a old SW oil pressure gauge ( which has read 0 way more than once when jeep is in a tight spot on it's side ) and the amp light from the speedo cluster ,nothing else, I have a stick for the fuel gauge and a nose for the temp gauge . and common sense for speedo . oh ,,,,,,,,,but I do have a gyro from a b-29 bomber to tell me when it's laying on it's side . Mike I'll take a volt gauge if you have a reliable one , let me know what you have $ ? ...... I have a vdo temp gauge but I need the sender for it . did that book come in handy later that night?

 

Yeah, I read through most of it. I wanted to take the family to check out a couple of those spots, but we just couldn't work out the logistics between going to the Discovery Center and naps for the kids.
Here's a sample from the junk box:

Mostly ammeters, maybe a newer volt meter. I haven't actually tested any of them. I'll check them out and e-mail pictures of the ones that work. Take your pick, no charge. I still owe you for the rope.

 

Dude !!!!! thats awsome , hook a brother up ..........I need volt gauge not amp right?

 

correct, amp really don't tell you too much from my opinion, also if you take the alt, reg, and battery (we all know its junk) to a NAPA PARTS store they should have all the test equipment test all three. Some times the NAPA repair shops like to charge for this service. they (parts store) should also check the new parts you replace also. (esp the alt, seen some miss boxed as rebuilt and not been, I.E. late Friday and beer is calling syndrome)

 

ok up to date ----new battery ,new rebuilt alt and now just checked the parts house VR(bought in '98). 12.8v on just the optima battery at rest .... at rpm with 2 clicks of the hand throttle it jumps to 17.8/18 volts at the battery . no wonder the battery was fat! I switched it for the very old (60's),alum.Motorola VR(R2K1) and that one knocks it back down to a stable 13.4 ,is everything ok now?priced a new VR and was shocked it was $43.

 

You can buy an internally regulated alternator for about $60. I got rid of my external regulator 13 years ago and have never looked back.

 

thanks pat.

 

Here is a really good one for $60. That's what I'm going with, its a 94 amp Delco 12 SI.

Link