Greetings Vanagoners:

Well, I had heard about exploding batteries, but it was far from my mind
last week when I pulled off I-5 with noxious fumes coming from beneath the
passenger seat.  I jumped to the conclusion that I had developed a short in
some wires I had installed to run my ham radio rig.

I slid the passenger seat forward and then made a big mistake.  I lifted the
metal door over the battery.  Doing that released pressure on the top of the
battery, the plugs on the cells then opened up and acid blew all over the
place.   Fortunately, I had a water supply a hundred yards away and some in
the van to remove the stuff from my hands.

The cause of the problem was a defective alternator that was putting out 18
volts, overcharging the battery to the boiling point.  Five hours into a six
hour trip, the pressure in the battery became too great.  The alternator was
a rebuilt Bosch with about 110,000 miles of use.

Life with a vanagon is certainly an adventure -- Frank LaHorgue