Alternator overcharging

I came back from a long drive with a strange smell & found the battery to be excessively hot & oozing battery acid.
I presumed the alternator is overchanging, quickly turned off the car & cleaned up the battery.
When I restarted (briefly!) a quick test of the battery voltage when showed 14.8V
Is the main culprit likely to be the alternator? If so, I presume a rebuild (while my mechanic has it out) is better than just trying to replace the regulators.
I understand that alternators adjust their output voltage based on the sense voltage on one of the secondary terminals of the alternator. This can make the alternator give out a higher voltage if there is a voltage drop between the battery & where this wire goes into the alternator.
Looking at the wiring diagram this is the red wire, but this appears to be connected straight to the output of the alternator on a Testarossa (rather than going to the battery), so I presume this rules out this possibility (assuming I am reading the wiring diagram correctly).
I was considering trying to measure the voltage on this red wire, but can't really get to it.
When I look at the alternator I can see the red sense wire but it disappears into the alternator - I guess it must have a connector but I dont want to pull on it just in case!

Anyway, is there anything I should try - or is it really just very likely to be the alternator (or internal regulator) & I should just drop it into my mechanic to get rebuilt?

Cheers,
Gary.

 

if the battery is a little empty the alternator should bring up to 14,4 V. those 14,8 V are to high. you meassured those 14,8 V at the battery when the engine is running or shut off?
so I think you may replace the regulator in the alternator.
if the battery is nearly full the alternator output is mostly between 13,2 and 14,2 V, it depends on the rpm of the engine and if the 2 water radiator fans are running or not. also if the AC is on or off.

 

replace the battery too after it has been cooked like that