Alternator / Battery ?

[shoon]

Have a bit of a strange problem with a friends car. (98 dodge ram 4x4 1500 5.2L)

Battery has been replaced 5 times, (3 times warranty) before switching to another type of battery. If the car sits for more than a day (24hrs),the battery dies completely and the car has to be boosted.

Each time the battery is replaced it lasts 2-5 months before the problem comes back again. Right now, after starting the car for 2 mins there is a 13.5 volt surface charge that drops extremely slow.. so im thinking the battery is bad again. hooking the battery up to a charger is sounds like the battery is bubbling.

I tried checking for a parasitic draw (connected the meter in series with the battery cable), but the draw is only 0.023 amps. Charging voltage is normal at 14.2 volts with the car running.. im thinking it might be the alternator. The alternator in there is probably 10 years old. Maybe too much AC ripple or intermittent regulator problem?

Just bothers me cause everything is testing fine

 

[hawkeye18]

If the alt surges more than a couple of times, the battery will suffer for it. Batteries really do not like to be fed more than about 15 volts, and if it gets that, even momentarily, the battery will start to self-destruct.

If you've replaced 5 batteries without looking at the alternator... well, first, you should smack yourself (or your friend) for wasting money on 3 batteries. Then you should change the alternator. Seriously, it's really easy to change.