for what its worth i had the voltage regulator go out on my car recently. the first sign was all the warning lights coming on faintly. took it to the mechanic who tested the alternator, found it to be charging as designed.

a few days later on a long night trip the car died. when i got home i changed batteries and drove it to the mechanic where we discovered the real problem.
then i bought a new battery. in case id damaged the one in the car (optima) by driving it with low charge.

bad move. car didnt crank as easily. switched back to the optima and it cranks a lot easier. and thats not to say it cranks hard at all. i just notice that the optima seems to have more juice.

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend