Addicted To Boost Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 When I'm driving my 04 at night, the headlights and all other interior lights will go from bright to dim intermittently while I'm just cruising on the freeway. Also, my voltage gauge will constantly bounce up and down from 13.0V- 15.0V while the lights are flickering. I'm thinking the voltage regulator is dying on it. Can it be replaced separately from the alternator? I couldn't find any voltage regulators for this car on rockauto. Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman093 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 When I'm driving my 04 at night, the headlights and all other interior lights will go from bright to dim intermittently while I'm just cruising on the freeway. Also, my voltage gauge will constantly bounce up and down from 13.0V- 15.0V while the lights are flickering. I'm thinking the voltage regulator is dying on it. Can it be replaced separately from the alternator? I couldn't find any voltage regulators for this car on rockauto. Thanks in advance! If you search around you could find a regulator somewhere. I was able to find one for my GTP when the regulator took a shit on mine, but I also found out a new reman alternator was not much more than a new regulator and bought that instead. I think it was like $55-$60 for the regulator and I paid $80 for the reman. The new alternator works better than the old one ever did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 Nope, its in the alternator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 (edited) Yeah, I've checked rockauto, oreillys and Napa... none of them carry a voltage regulator for it. Really don't want to spend $200 for an alternator for this car. Usually the regulators are under the black plastic cover: But I can't find anyone that carries regulators. Edited March 4, 2012 by Addicted To Boost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertISaar Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 you can buy and replace the regulator on your own, though it's not something i recommend doing unless you have a spare alt to practive on first. don't want to screw things up worse than they are now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutlass350 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 If you're planning on keeping the car more than 2 years, then I strongly suggest getting a replacement alternator. Chances are the brushes are worn/going/bad. You can be 100% wasting your time and money on a regulator. If you're on a tight budget, then check out the local junk yards. Try to get one with the lowest mileage: http://car-part.com/ BTW, they used to sell alternator rebuild/refresh kits with new brushes (and springs) and regulators. However, from a cost point of view, there isn't much savings, and the user risked having a *****ed up pile of junk in the end. Then, people often ended up buying a rebuilt after they bitched and complained to the parts store, kit manufacture, on the forums, etc. If you really want, then look/search for an alternator rebuilt kit. IMHO, I strongly suggesting getting either a used (with ~30 day replacement policy), or a rebuilt. These alternators could last ~200K miles. So, while on a tight budget, getting a used alternator, IMHO still makes sense (and cents! ). Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cutlass350 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 BTW, grounds and poor grounds are also infamous for causing voltage dips in new cars. The electronic and load-controlled (like yours and mine) voltage regulators do not like poor grounds at all. Make sure you have good battery connections, and check the engine and body grounds. That's free, and IMHO, should always be the first step anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Junkyard man. There's really no reason to buy an alternator new (unless you've got a 3.4L DOHC), just get it tested and make sure you've got a warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 That's the plan. I drove it up to my parents' place today ~70 miles away and my volt gauge was ALL over the place. A few times, the car would ding at me and flash CHARGING SYSTEM FAILURE on the DIC. So, I'm running to the jy tomorrow to get a new alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 By the way, is there any difference in alternators between an 04 GP in "GT" trim versus my Comp G trim? I'm thinking no, but just want to verify. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Same part number on RA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alec_b Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 The only time I'd recommend replacing just the regulator is if for whatever reason you can't find a replacement alternator. Almost impossible. It happened to me, however. My corolla with the swapped 4AGZE engine (not available in the US) used a different alternator mounting from the regular 1.6 engines, and I couldn't find one anywhere. Luckily, the regulators on those are bolt in/plug in, not soldered like the CS130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Replaced the alternator today, car seems much happier now. Nice steady voltage across the board. Runs 14.3-14.5V at idle and a steady 15.0V cruising on the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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