I'm getting so sick of this damn car....
I'm making decent moeny now, so I'm fixing all the old problems with the car, and new ones as soon as they happen. The crappy thing is that within a few days of one major problem being fixed, somthing else blows, breaks, falls off or screws up.

Anyways, now, (beside a muffler falling off today, why wouldn't it, everything else is perfect) I have an overcharging alternator!!
It just happened out of the blue- actually right after I did the fuel pump rewire (didn't tough the resistor- just did a straight battery-relay).
It's fine at idle, but as soon as the RPM's get up to around 3000, the ovlts just keep climbing- up to about 16 or so. All the warning lights come on too.
I have to drive with the lights on, AC on, blower and defroster all on to keep the volts at 13-14.
Grrrreeeeeaaaaat.
Should I check anything before buying a new alternator? Isn't the regulator on these internal, which mean not fixable?
Damn 7's!

 

Hook up a small TV to the bitch!!!

 

Anything's repairable. Internal just means you have to open it to fix it.

 

Yeah actually the shop manual is really good on how to dissasemble and fix the alt.

 

well... look on the bright side, you can hook up as many starndard H4's on the front end as you want, run that high powered 4000watt stereo, keep the coke cool in te 12v refridge, blow dry your hair while the a/c blowing in your face, run a eletric fan for the radiator, intercooler, oilcooler, tranny fluid cooler, brake fluid radiator and ac coolent system, watch tv and drive down the interstate all at the same time!! Did I mention power your entire desktop computer for your standalone computer?

 

You've discovered THE ONLY, and I'd like to emphasize the word ONLY, good use for Day Time Running Lights.

 

i prefer to use DRLs when its getting clouded over / foggy or something..

 

DTRL's should have been left for motorcyclists only IMHO.

 

Why? I always turn on my fogs in less than perfect conditions. The sooner all those idiots out there see me the better.

 

my thoughts exactly..

im going to be setting up the FTP lights as daytime running lights by the end of the week

they will NOT however be full time DRLs.. ill have it to a switch that i control..

i think DRLs are safer in ugly weather, but if theres one thing i CANNOT STAND its having DRLs on in the middle of a bright shiny day.

 

Get another alternator. I had the same happen to me, except it pegged the voltmeter by 2000 rpm. I took it to Discount Auto to have it tested, and it kept blowing the fuses on their test machine......I think that means the alt is bad...

 

Sounds like a bad voltage regulator.
It happened to me same symptoms.
Replace the alternator A.S.A.P. or risk
frying something in your electrical system.

 

It won't go higher than about 15.5 volts- just at the threshold of the warning lights coming on.
It's throws the calibration for the coolant temp sensor off too.
Anyways, it's not doing it today at all, it's strange.
I'll let it be for now, but as soon as it crops up again I'll change the alternator.

 

mines doing the exact same thing at the moment, goes up to 15.5 and i have to turn defroster etc on to lower it. gonna get a new one asap.

 

HAVING DTRL'S ON IS THE SAME THING AS ME TYPING ON THIS SITE IN ALL CAPS. ITS OFFENSIVE TO SOME PEOPLE ON THIS SITE WHEN I DO IT. THEY THINK I'M YELLING. WELL, I THINK PEOPLE WITH DTRL'S ARE YELLING.

Now where was that scurrilos remark about Kiwi's that I read recently. I gotta rethink that one.

 

Shoot... I guess I should disconnect my my daytime running horns too... they are a little quieter than the regular horn, but you can always hear me coming in areas of high noise.


LOL

 

I'm having the same problems except the opposite, at idle, I am at 11.50 volts, then I get up to about 12.50 when driving my battery is a month old. I'm tired of getting jump starts all the time. can this be the same problems with the voltage regulator?

 

voltage regulator bad. Do yourself a favor and by a new alternator. You can buy them all day long on eBay at a reasonable price. Or better yet... the local junkyard where I live sells them for $8.00 guarnateed to work! Check the yards in your area.

 

just replace the entire alternator.

 

Don't jump to conclusions....
I'd check a few things first-
1-Make sure the belt is tight (dumb, but true!!)
2-Make sure you have a good ground from the battery to the chassis. Also maybe clean the output post on the alternator.
3-Try running a heavy gauge wire from the alternator output post to the pos. terminal on the battery- might really juice things up.

Or... you might just need a new alternator!