I had a dead battery the other day so after I got my car started I went to
O'reillys to get everything tested. When I went there they told me that I
had a bad voltage regulator and that because it was located on the
Alternator, I would have to replace the whole thing. Never being one to just
get one opinion I went ahead and took my car to another O'reillys on the
other side of town and they said it was fine. Is it possible for both shops
to have truthful with me and maybe my voltage regulator is just causing
intermittent problems or is someone just doing what they can to make a sale?

"Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

What did the people actually see? It is possible that they are using testing
equipment that is different. Different testing equipment might have
different cut-offs for good, bad and marginal. In addition, they may have
interpretted the results differently.

I always like to get the real test results, not just good or bad.

Jeff

"Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

intermittent, and it is possible that someone is just trying to make a sale
or made an incorrect diagnosis.

What year and model vehicle? How many miles? How old is the battery?
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Mon, 12 Mar 2007 09:43:19 -0500, "Reasoned Insanity"
<mintclovers (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

intermittent but they won't stay that way for long. I'd think it is
probably the brushes if you have more than 50k miles on the car. They
wear down and will sometimes get kicked back up into their track and
will lodge cocked a little. Then a jar from a bump will nock them
loose and the alternator will work again.

Either can be replaced without buying a new alternator, if you can get
the parts. It would be best to replace the alternator if the problem
is either the brushes or the regulator. Those parts can only be
replaced by disassembling the alternator. You stand a good chance of
loosing the little pin bearings at the rear of the alternator, not to
mention getting dirt in them.

BTW, battery voltage should be around 14 to 14.5 volts with the engine
idling and all accessories and lights turned off. It will drop a few
tenths as the alternator gets warm.

Good luck
Jack


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"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote


It's a 95 Geo Prizm and it's about to turn 160K miles old. I don't know the
age of the current battery because it's the battery that was in the car when
I bought it. Both O'reillys used a tool to test my car that looked exactly
the same. As of yet, I've seen no warning lights lighting up on the dash.

"Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers (AT) yahoo (DOT) com> wrote

I'd bet that a door was not closed all the way, draining the battery or the
problem is intermittent.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote


Then I'm guessing it's an intermittent problem because making sure that all
the doors are closed is one thing I am sure to always do ever since one of
the doors became a little harder to get latched. Nowadays you have to shut
it just a little harder. I also usually keep the dome light switched to the
off position because of this.