Re: Vent in Battery

[evangelo@mecf.wustl.edu]

Hi everybody,
  after reading Tom Feller's very interesting mail, I
have some generic questions ...

>...
>car you draw down the battery. So your alternator then tries to charge
>the battery back up. The alternators put out say 25 to 30 amps right after
>starting but this only lasts for maybe 4 or 5 minutes at the most. When

How is this time period decided ? By the volts in the battery ?
What starts/stops the alternator high current production ?

>...
>exposion could result. I have seen this happen in a 911 which was being
>charged at a high rate for a hour or so. Someone then removed the
>charger without turning the charger off. A spark resulted and BOOM
>battery acid everywhere.

My 5000 has a layer of battery-related-white-powder under the battery.
Does this indicate that the car had a bad alternator ? (overcharge ?)

Is there anywhere a Battery/Alternator FAQ ?

Vangelis
(Whose 5000 just got the second free battery from Western Auto (warranty).
The Die Hard died hard in a month or so. This one has an 80 month warranty.
If it goes wrong I am in for some digging ...)