votage regulator do i have internal or external
 

Hey okay so i took my 1984 300D to o'reily's and they tested it, turns out the alternator was putting out 16.75 at idle, they said it might be a bad voltage regulator. They also said that it might have been why my headlights quit working. They didnt carry them looked on line and there are two offered internal and external. What am i looking for to tell what i have?


Also it seems to me that if my alternator was putting out that many volts why would my battery be dead. In my mind i would think that it would be charged to its max.

What has happened is that yesterday my car wouldnt start, no clicks or even a budge from the starter. Got jumped and started fine. Bought new battery installed it last night and nothing, hooked up to jumper cables and jumped off gf's car. started fine this morning at lunch nothing. Jumped again and its fine.

I'd appreciate any advice or help

thanks

An 84 should have an internal regulator (unless some previous owner replaced it with some aftermarket paperweight). Look for 2 screws on the back side of the alternator. The regulator and brushes can be removed and replaced.

thanks
 

should i just replace the alternator? I was looking at jc whitney and they have an 100 or 80 amp one wire hookup shiny chrome for $104. My thinking is that the wireing is 23 years old, and bypassing it would be better than using it. Would appreciate peoples thoughts

If the bearings on your existing alternator are OK, then I would be inclined to just replace the voltage regulator/brush unit. The OEM alternators are very rugged. There is no reason for the wiring to wear out.

Cheers!

Here is my .02 :

You have a mystery problem that acts a lot like a bad ground. Maybe it is a bad ground or maybe it is not. Bad grounds can cause all sorts of odd symptoms. Anyway, your alternator was tested in the car, and IF there is a bad ground connection somewhere they MIGHT have gotten a bad reading. Having said that, the regulator is a fairly cheap part. But I would not throw money at an alternator just in case the regulator does not "fix" the problem. It could be you have multiple problems also. In short, I would go ahead and try the regulator, but in any case it will not fix your other problem of random no-starts since the regulator is not even doing anthing at start up. Other than a bad ground I suppose a bad ignition switch could cause that, also a neutral safety switch and maybe even a clutch switch? I don't have the schematic unfortunately.

thats what i was thinking
 

Yeah i was curious when the mechanic told me it might be a bad regulator how that had anything to do with a no start.

unclemark, with a bad voltage regulator the battery will not recharge properly as you drive. When you shut the engine off and attempt to restart there is insufficient CCA to operate the starter solenoid and turn the engine over. Although it would seem that you have multiple issues occurring simultaneously.