i have a crx with a gsr swapped in and my battery light would stay on in the mornings and slowly go away as i rev my engine/drive. After a couple minutes of driving, the light would go away until the next day. Some days there would be no batt light on. This has only been going on for about a month so i got around changing it with a brand new reman from oreilly's and turned out that was junk.

My batt light never turned on after i installed the new alt. So i'm using my cousins alt right now but I would like to rebuild my old alternator. I took a look at the bushes, and they're pretty warn down. I'm gonna change em for some bushes from the dealer, but is there a way to test the voltage regulator?

Does a bad voltage regulator only overcharge the battery? Or are there different symptoms to a bad VR?

 

hmmm ok.. so what do you mean by this " so i got around changing it with new reman from oreily's and turned out that was junk "

So did you replace the Alternator with one from orielys and it turned out to be bad?

Then you jump to " My battery light never turned on after the new alt" but you say your using your cousins alternator. Why did you not just get another alternator from them if the first one was bad and try it out again they come with a lifetime warranty with core exchange its even less in price. Why would you attempt to rebuild the alternator when you can just give yours to them and get one with the lifetime warranty. Iv never had a issue with there remanufactured alternators.

imo i think your overthinking this rebuild of the alternator. Just get a rebuilt one and exchange your bad one and call it a day.

 

Yes, I replaced the bad alt for a new one from oreillys and it turned out to be bad.

Yes, after i installed the new alt from oreillys, I put everything back together, and turned the key to the on position. (not starting engine yet) And the light never came on. I did some research on that, and found a post on how to diagnose it. Turned out it was a bad voltage regulator. Oh, and it was around midnight when i found out so i was pretty pissed. I also started it just to see what it would do and it did start. Checked voltage at the battery and it was at 11v and dropping.

After i found out it was bad, i asked my cousin if he had a spare alternator and he did. Popped his in and everything worked like it's supposed to.

I didn't get another one from oreillys because 1) they only had one in stock 2) If that "brand new remanufactured" turned out bad, why waste more time to install another bad "brand new reman" alternator from them? 3) Given the amount of work that has to be done to get this alternator out (Because i have a Gsr swap and bigger brake master cylinder and booster, I have to remove the alt from under the car which means i have to take out the axle. And that's not a very fun job.) I would rather invest in a oem one where it's an easy fix like brushes and have a reliable alternator.



I'm not one to spend money just cause something went "bad". I'm one to figure out ways to fix it.

 

Where do you plan on finding a new OEM alternator for your application? Why even invest in one when you have your cousin's spare?

To check a voltage regulator quickly, check the voltage readings @ the battery terminals with the engine running, If you have around 14v, your regulator is good.

There's no need to buy brushes seperately if you plan on rebuilding your old one. They come with the purchase of a voltage regulator.

 

Sorry, I do plan on rebuilding the one that came off my engine in the first place. My cousins spare has bad bearings.

I'm not sure if my voltage regulator is bad, that's why i was asking "Does a bad voltage regulator only overcharge the battery? Or are there different symptoms to a bad VR?"

I've pulled the brushes out from my original alt, and they're very worn down. I'm gonna swap those out and get it tested at autozone or something before I install it in my car.

 

A bad voltage regulator can also fail by not allowing the alternator to charge a battery and meet the demands of the electrical syatem at the same time. There's no way to test a voltage regulator while it's off the car. Check the bearings condition before you start replacing parts.

 

a voltage regulator from rockauto costs more than the denso alternator.
the brush unit is $22 + shipping, they last about 160k miles.
mine were toast so i popped in a new one and saved a few bucks.

 

Rockauto.com isn't the only place to source replacement parts.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/110788356709?lpid=82&chn=ps