Is the voltage regulator inside the alternator?
The voltage regulator can be mounted inside or outside of the alternator housing. If the regulator is mounted outside (common on some Ford products) there will be a wiring harness connecting it to the alternator. The voltage regulator controls the field current applied to the spinning rotor inside the alternator.
What is the voltage regulator on a Chevy?
The voltage regulator is built into the alternator on all Chevys made from the 1980s to at least 2010. Simply put, the regulator restricts the amount of voltage being sent to the battery. Without a regulator the battery would receive upwards of 30-volts of power while charging, which would quickly damage or destroy your battery.
What should the voltage be in a Chevy alternator?
When your Chevy is running, you should get approximately 12.8 to 14.0 volts of power, and there is a quick and easy test to determine if your regulator is over- or under-performing. Place the red lead of you multimeter onto the positive battery terminal on your car battery.
Why is my alternator not getting enough power?
If the multimeter shows less than the previous reading, the regulator is defective and you are risk of damaging your battery because it is not getting enough power to stay charged. If the battery reads more than 14.0-volts, the regulator is not limiting the power being transferred from the alternator to the regulator.
Why does my Chevy truck run when the voltage is off?
We suspected a bad voltage regulator in our vintage truck, because the engine would continue to run when we turned the ignition to the off position. We don’t mean “run-on” like stumbling until it died – we mean RUNNING, like we could leave the key in the off position and drive into town, cruise the boulevard and drive back to the farm.
The voltage regulator is built into the alternator on all Chevys made from the 1980s to at least 2010. Simply put, the regulator restricts the amount of voltage being sent to the battery. Without a regulator the battery would receive upwards of 30-volts of power while charging, which would quickly damage or destroy your battery.
When your Chevy is running, you should get approximately 12.8 to 14.0 volts of power, and there is a quick and easy test to determine if your regulator is over- or under-performing. Place the red lead of you multimeter onto the positive battery terminal on your car battery.
What causes a bad voltage test on an alternator?
Keep in mind that a worn or loose drive belt and other vehicle operating conditions like high temperatures can affect how the voltage regulator operates. When your test shows a steady or intermittent high or low voltage output, the voltage regulator is possibly bad.
Can you bypass the voltage regulator on an alternator?
On many alternators (except those with computer voltage regulation), you can bypass the voltage regulator to test whether your voltage regulator or some other component (alternator or charging circuit) is at fault.