blueta89

Where is voltage regulator located on '89 350 TA ??

Is it a separate electronic box or sometthing somewhere under the hood?
Or is it an internal component of the Alternator ?

Is there a way to test and check if voltage regulator is working correcty?
Thanks

Trickster

It is built into the alternator.

CaptPicardsZ28

Tada....Trickster to the rescue again! :yourock:

SSC

Yep in the alternator, even fNord caught on to doing it this way.
Since your car is an 89 that means its a one wire (2 wire) and you sould check the plugin before you go out and get a new alt. Ive seen quite a few bad connectors as of late.

Vader

Right here:

86z/92rs

Tada...Vader to the rescue again.

blueta89

Thanks for the awesome picture and replies...
BUt is it something in the ALternator you can get at and test and/or fix or get the regulator piece replacement part?

Would the "free" test at Autozone or elsewhere pinpoint this component - volt regulator as being bad thru the alternator test ?

Where in the picture is the v. regulator exactly?
Is it hard to open up the alternator ?
Thanks

ScrapMaker

I wonder this as well, because right now I know my alternator works great.... as in, I connected a dead battery, and it was reading 15+ volts charging it... (I actually read 16.5 at the battery with a voltmeter)... but once the battery is all charged up, and I'm in normal driving/operating conditions... my voltage is consistently 12.0 or less!!! last night on the highway I was getting 11.8 at 2500rpm.... its like my alternator thinks the battery is charged up more than it really is.....

Nothing has really changed on the wiring... just slowly my alternator has been getting this way... and now my led brake light I built start malfunctioning at 11.6volts... due to the regulator in-line...

I have heard of bad wiring causing alternator problems, but I always thought it was the other way around... as in it made the batter OVERcharge, because it kept seeing the battery as lower than it really is... not that it would lower the voltage.... because I honestly can't see how, if the wiring was bad, why would the alternator read a higher voltage?

I have a '90 model, and I only remember seing two physical wires, but maybe I didn't pay enough attention.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

You should never charge a dead battery with the car's alternator. It'll over-work it.

You can get an alternator rebuild kit for about $40-45. Regulator only is about half of that cost. The diode pack can also go bad and cause the alternator to act up. The typical rebuild kit has brushes, bearings, regulator and diodes.

The typical connections to the vehicle are a 2-wire plug and a larger wire held on to a stud on the back of the alternator with a nut.

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

For the record, the two-wire plugs into the regulator. In Vader's photo, it the white piece underneath the white brush holder.

ScrapMaker

think I'll just go back and use my lifetime warranty... go autozone!