At 05:35 AM 10/11/2003, you wrote:

>     The installer (in ohio) says he'll send a replacement, though I may be
>able to take advantage of the Bosch warrantee locally. My questions are:
>Should I assume that this is just a bad voltage regulator, and try replacing
>that? should I consider this alternator to be a lemon, and try my luck with
>another remman'ed part?

By all means, if it is a Genunine Bosch ReMan, any authorized Bosch Auto
dealer can swap you. Of the hundreds of Bosch Reman rotating electrical
parts I have installed I've replaced 2 defectives. Nobody is perfect and
you just got a rare lemon. I think 99% is as good as you will find in the
industry. Find a Bosch dealer near you and take your warranty papers for a
no cost swap. Yes, you have to remove the battery and clean the whole case
and bottom and the whole of the battery compartment. Oh, and pull the cell
covers and clean them too, then wipe the fluid around the holes with towels
until bone dry. Top up the cells with distilled water. Mop up the drips
bone dry again. Charge if needed and load test. Maximum drop and rebound
will tell you whether to use it or replace it now.

Keeping the battery case and terminals clean at all times will double the
life of batteries, alternators and starters. Once per year one half hour to
reduce failures and labor to fix IN HALF. Anybody want to talk
time/money/miles??? Maintenance is not cheap, but it's a lot cheaper than
poor maintenance, a whole lot.

>     Also: I'm assuming that the fluid boiling out of the battery is dilute
>sulfuric acid. Any cleanup tips?

Flush it with water, dab and brush it all with baking soda and water paste.
Rinse and dry. Scrape and paint if crusty rusty.

Suggest you inspect the wiring thoroughly for evidence of heat stresses.
Fuze box, switches, relays.