jb988

I need help from the community.
Recently my battery light has been coming on randomly, but the weird thing is it would be on dim at idle and then as I rev'd up the engine the light would get brighter and then sometimes the light would just turn off. YEsterday though the car was idling rough and eventually stuff started to turn off like the head unit and lights. I made it to autozone and it died as i pulled into a parking spot. They charged the battery and it read at 12 volts and then tested the aternator and it came back bad. Later i took the alternator out and had them bench test it today and it passed the test twice. I got a new belt and put everything back in and had the same problem. Im at a loss. Any thoughts or ideas? driving me crazy since i start school Monday. Any help or input is appreciated

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

when the battery light comes on, does the parking brake light come on as well? (assuming it works), any others like ABS etc.? it's probably the rectifier or the regulator...if the problem comes and goes with RPM, i would say it's the regulator...check your wiring, and if it checks good replace the alternator...

jb988

The parking light does not come on. But what and where is this regulator you are talking about? is it a voltage regulator?

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

yes the voltage regulator is a module inside the alternator. You can order it separately, but the alternator is a bit of a pain to take apart...

jb988

Do you know of anyway to test this regulator within the alternator?

Thank you for your insight.

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

meter it...output voltage should not change too much at different RPM...

jb988

Ended up getting a new alternator and it seems to have straighten out the problem