So I had my S5 for 4 months now and everything was fine until about 2 weeks ago when the voltage meter in the dash is reading 16v!!! If I turn the car off and pop the hood then I can hear the battery hissing. When I bought the car I noticed a brand new Bosh alternator and im not sure how old the battery is. What are my options?

 

wow yeah sounds like your battery has gone bad, i had this problem in my isuzu trooper. replaced the battery and it was fine

 

cool, ill get a new battery. I hope that will do the trick.

 

nope, not a battery (but the battery is probably now burnt up), you have a bad alternator.

The regulator inside the alt has failed.

Anytime a alternator exceeds 15 volts it will cause damage to the car. Driving the car with 16 volts will pretty much start burning out the computers and lights.

 

okay i got a new battery and i still have the same prob. I guess i need a new alternator but maybe something else is wrong cuz its a brand new alternator already inside! What could be the reason my alternator regulator going out?

 

Is it brand new or a reman?

 

I'm not sure. All i know is that it looks like someone just put it in before i bought the fc.

 

Probably a reman. I've got bad remans before. Last one I got (prior to the one I'm using now) lasted about a week until the regulator went out.

 

probably not remanufactured (all wear parts replaced) but rather rebuilt (all broken parts replaced).

It is very common for cheapo alts from a zone type auto parts store to be rebuilt and often fail soon after installation.

 

Mmmm, I guess I've been getting rebuilt then. Whatever Autozone sells is what I've been getting. Good to know the difference though.

 

ya, icemark is right, a overcharge on a battery is one of two things, bad regulator, or bad cell. Just because its new or reman doesn't mean it wont got bad, luck of the draw. but thats why there are warranties.

 

You guys were right! I replaced the alternator and everything is back to normal.