i headed to take a ride today and got about 1/2 way on my journey when i started to smell something burning... i pulled over and could smell and see the battery leaking water and making a hissing noise.. i was going to remove the battery cable and just run the car on the alt. but i didnt have any tools...

i eneded up making it to where i was going and decided on the trip back i would just disconnect the cable.. i disonncted the negative cable from the battery and the car died...

im now assuming my alternator is dead and maybe it was pumping too many volts to the battery which caused it to over heat...

any thoughts?

thanks

Todd,you should not remove the battery cable when the motor is running,it could damage the alt.

As for the boiling battery if your running the stock setup on your 69 the external mechanical voltage regulator has simiply gone bad & the points in the reg burned/stuck in the charge position. This could also happen with an internally regulated alt but its less likely to happen then with the externally regulated charging system like your 69 had as stock equip.

Normally you could correct that by replacing the volt reg but since you removed the batt cable with the motor running the alt may have been damaged too.

So install a new regulator and then check the battery with a voltmeter to ensure the alt is putting out approx 13.8 volts at idle and then no more then approx 14.5 at like 2500-3k rpms with no load. With a load like with the lights and heater blower motor on a min of 13.5 volts at approx 2500rpms would be good,but 13.8-14 would be better.

But before you check the alt voltage check the battery to see if it needs any water from being overcharged/boiled. If yes add distilled water not tap water untill its approx 1/4" over the plates and recharge it if the battery needed a lot of water. If you have a sealed battery many of them are really not really permanantly sealed and you can really remove the caps to check the cells.

I would also check the cells with a hydrometer to look for a cooked/bad cell & have the battery load tested to ensure it wasnt toasted from being overcharged/overheated when the volt reg was stuck. But make sure to check the fluid level & refill if needed ,and then charge the battery if the hydrometer shows it needs charging before you load test it.

Scott

When you get your new voltage regulator, be sure to get the solid state one as it does not have points and is accurate on the charging.:D

Here is the info on the electronic replacement for the delco D635 given by a fellow T/C'r pasted below.

You can replace the existing mechanical D635 AC DELCO regulator with an electronic one...Wells VR715 is the part number which is a
simple bolt in conversion.

Scott

Cool!!! Thanks for that part number, I'll pick one up today.