Well, I haven't had a chance to get the altenator checked out yet... I was speaking to one of my friends and he suggested it was a bung voltage regulator, which made some sense... So I took to the car with my multimeter to check it out... Now bear with me people, I'm kind of a newbie when it comes to this stuff... I stuck one probe on the battery, positive side, and touched the chassis with the other probe to find an almost stable voltage of what I read to be around 16.49 I think, and as soon as I hit the throttle it started to fluctuate... Does this indicate my voltage regulator is FUBAR? I'm assuming that my climate control unit can't handle the overvoltage? What voltage SHOULD it read? I thought it just had to read >14... I've done a search on voltage regulator, and only one hit comes up, and all other threads in that post pointed to the altenator also. Another thing, around the same time this started happening, I had a belt start squealing on me, but that only happens a tiny bit every now and then, could it be that the belt just needs to be tightened? I'll give that a go, but it's getting dark and gloomy out, it might have to wait til tomorrow. Where abouts IS the voltage regulator, anyway? Any pointers anyone could offer would be excellent... Thanks people :zlove:
Voltage Regulator is part of alternator ... ... and should put out a max of 14.1v > 14.7 (+/-). Get alternator fixed asap or you could fry a lot of components, least of all, headlights.
Re: Voltage Regulator is part of alternator ... Thanks heaps for that Rob. Will get it checked as soon as possible... Kind of annoying. I'm hoping it'll be fixable for a 'happy' price, and I don't need a replacement. What a pain in the butt to remove, too. :angry: :thumbsdown: Oh well... At least I've isolated the problem. Thanks again!
Had exactly the same thing happen to me..>> and found the battery electrolyte (acid) was being boiled by too high a charge voltage from the suspect regulator. Charge voltage was tested at 16.5 Volts. The proper charge voltage is in the range 13.6 to 14.2 volts depending on how hard your battery works. The steady state charge voltage should eventually end up at 13.6 volts If the battery has been charged at 16.5 volts then you should see battery acid (electrolyte) bubbling out of the filler caps (if it is a wet battery). Yes, at these high voltages the A/C unit will switch itself off. I recommend that you do not drive under these conditions as a very high sustained voltage will cause damage to your electronic systems. The voltage regulator is located inside the alternator. I rebuilt my alternator using two new bearings and a new voltage regulator for a total cost of about $80 and an 2 hours work. You will need an air gun to remove the large nut at the pulley end of the alternator. Cheers
