Wonky Voltage Regulators or Wonky Cars?

[ThatGuysWife]

It was brought to my attention a few months ago that my voltage regulator didn’t work, which wasn’t a huge deal because I wasn’t actively driving the car at the time. It was discovered because my son bought a new one for his car, which didn’t work on his car or my car, it only worked on one other car. The only regulator that worked on his car and mine is the original one that came from my husbands 1600, so that’s the one he’s using.

 

It is now my turn to buy a regulator, since I’m sitting at a mall waiting for a tow truck because apparently charging your battery overnight is not enough to keep you going when your alternator isn’t being charged. I don’t want to have the same problem as my son and end up with a brand new voltage regulator that won’t work on my car, so I’m curious if anyone has ever run into this problem before. The one he bought was a Bosch and the non-working one in my car is a Bosch, that previously worked.

 

Any help, ideas or suggestions are welcomed.

 

 

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[Buckeye]

It appears NAPA Echlin VR503 Voltage work according to the link below;

 

 

[ThatGuysWife]

As luck would have it, I am extremely familiar with our local Napa and that would be super easy. From that post it would seem that I am lucky that regulator does absolutely nothing instead of overcharging. Thank you!


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[TobyB]

I have found that if I add a voltmeter to any particular car, it immediately solves any charging problems I've been having...

 

Check the wires at the alternator (that 3- pin plug) really carefully.  The insulation gets brittle, the copper fatigues, and

then things don't work, even though it LOOKS like it's OK.

And of course, the alternator ground.

 

hth

 

t

[Einspritz]

2 hours ago, TobyB said:

Check the wires at the alternator (that 3- pin plug) really carefully.  The insulation gets brittle, the copper fatigues, and

then things don't work, even though it LOOKS like it's OK.

And of course, the alternator ground.

 

Good point. Your wiring is over 40 years old and probably has corrosion that you can't see which increases the resistance and you will not get the amperage to charge what you need.

 

Here are some articles that Rob Seigel wrote that may be of help.

 

https://www.bmwcca.org/roundel/bmw-2002-charging-system-diagnostics

 

https://www.bmwcca.org/roundel/battery-basics-part-i-troubleshooting-no-crank-situation

 

https://www.bmwcca.org/roundel/battery-basics-part-ii-charging-system

 

or buy his book.

 

In addition, consider an aftermarket adjustable voltage regulator to increase the voltage to the battery as you use accessories to something close to 14.5 V but not much more than that.

 

Like this, using your harness:

 

http://www.240turbo.com/AdjustableVoltage.html from Dave Barton; he's a Volvo guy but has experience with 2002s.

 

If you need a new harness, I probably have all the parts to do that.

 

One last thing is that if your regulator is destined to the garbage, the you might take it apart and check the contacts to see if they are corroded or burnt. You can then file them or use emery cloth to make them good.

 

 

 

 

[ThatGuysWife]

2 hours ago, Einspritz said:

 

Good point. Your wiring is over 40 years old and probably has corrosion that you can't see which increases the resistance and you will not get the amperage to charge what you need.

 

Here are some articles that Rob Seigel wrote that may be of help.

 

https://www.bmwcca.org/roundel/bmw-2002-charging-system-diagnostics

 

https://www.bmwcca.org/roundel/battery-basics-part-i-troubleshooting-no-crank-situation

 

https://www.bmwcca.org/roundel/battery-basics-part-ii-charging-system

 

or buy his book.

 

In addition, consider an aftermarket adjustable voltage regulator to increase the voltage to the battery as you use accessories to something close to 14.5 V but not much more than that.

 

Like this, using your harness:

 

http://www.240turbo.com/AdjustableVoltage.html from Dave Barton; he's a Volvo guy but has experience with 2002s.

 

If you need a new harness, I probably have all the parts to do that.

 

One last thing is that if your regulator is destined to the garbage, the you might take it apart and check the contacts to see if they are corroded or burnt. You can then file them or use emery cloth to make them good.

 

 

 

 

1

 

Without having read your reply I just printed those exact articles and I was going to buy one of his books the other day and instead opted for a different 02 book.

 

My alternator is good, so I've known all along that it wasn't the problem and an original voltage regulator from only one car has worked in mine since mine stopped working, but I know that the new one works in a different car, so the step-by-step instructions in Rob's list are making me think that there was a step missed somewhere.  My battery has been moved around a bunch and the alternator has been replaced, so I'm thinking that in haste something may have been overlooked when things were put back together. I think the same probably holds true for my son's car and that we've just gotten lucky that my husband's original 1600's voltage regulator has worked.

 

I'll keep you guys posted.