Ive never heard of a problem like this before.

I started smelling a melting wire type smell and I checked my
voltometer on the dash and it was all the way up at the 3/4 mark (bout 15v I think). I kept driving and by the time my car had heated up it was down alittle from the mark but still high.

Odd thing is when I stop the car, leave it running, and turn on the heater it drops down to alittle lower than the 12v mark.

Now Im pretty sure the smell isn't a good thing but will this really hurt my car? And biggest question is what could be causing this? It just started all of a sudden and I have NO idea where to start troubleshooting this problem.

Thanks in advance!

-Tarnel

 

If your car is running it should be around 14.4V, and as you turn on more accessories, the voltage drops due to the load. 15V isn't really that big a deal since those gauges aren't always accurate, but the burning smell is bad, maybe look as to where its coming from specifically.

Also, its a voltmeter.

 

Two things that can cause this. Low resistance at the battery, bad battery or a cable loose/corroding and failing. Or the internal regulator is shot. Hard to say but if the car is starting ok, I'd probably go with the alternator/regulator.

 

Ok so if it is the internal regulator, where is that located and how easy is it to replace?

As for the smell, its comming from somewhere in the cab and I can't tell from where. Ill look tomorrow to see if I can see any damage above the foot wells.

Could the high voltage even be causing the smell or could it be unrelated? I didn't think 15v could hurt very much but I didn't notice the high volts till I noticed the smell.

Thanks again!

-Tarnel