well,i never knew a diode in the alternator could do this,yes all the terminal ends are clean,they even are covered in dielectric silicone.your right the only other part left in the charging system is an alternator,i thought for sure the regulator would fix the issue,its funny it almost seemed to last longer with the old regulator,maybe its my imagination.as far as i know this is the original alternator from 1989,there is no loud bearing sounds coming from the alt..yes its only 80 amps,thats crazy when you consider everything is power on these cars.the car has 68k original miles,but i think i will look into a remanufactured alt,autozone has one with the regulator installed for $160.00.i willjust swap out the voltage regulators and return the new on ine the alternator,any other hints or ideas would be very helpfull,thanks.marc,is this a crazy idea but could i drive it up on ramps and check the connectors on the starter,to make sure there tight and not loose,causing a bad charging condition.please help!!!!