Hi, new member, so I hope I am posting this to the correct area.

I have a W reg Felicia 1.3L, no A/C or power steering (unfortunately).

Today I noticed that once the revs got above 1400rpm the radio cut out. Once in traffic again and idling it came back on. Each time revs above 1400 it went off. Not sure but I think the fan blew harder than normal.

I checked across the battery and at tickover the volt meter read around 14.3 volts.

At 2000rpm it was reading 17-18volts.

Will this cause problems?

Is the alternator duff or could it be the voltage regulator?

If the regulator, can it be replaced without changing the alternator?

If yes, how?

Thanks,

Paul

Hi there yeadon. 18 volts is definitely too high, and if your voltmeter is accurate I would stop driving the car as overcharging the battery isn't a good thing, and neither is a blown ECU.

On my alternator the voltage regulator is visible on the side of the alternator opposite to the one with the belt. Haynes recommends taking the alternator out of car to work in clean conditions, but if you're careful enough it's easy enough to do. The voltage regulator is secured with two flat head screws and has a single wire connecting to the alternator. Remove this wire, undo the screws, and the regulator will withdraw. Make a note of it's orientation, particularly which way the two spring loaded brushes go in. Then insert new regulator and reverse of removal.

Seconded. Definitely the regulator, and it will wreck your battery and other bits if not fixed.

Anewman and CJB,

Thanks for your replies.

I haven't used it since I found that it was putting out 18v. I only noticed it when my radio kept cutting out. If this was when it first started overcharging, then it was for one day and about 30 miles of fast roads. Hopefully I haven't cooked anything!

Hopefully getting a replacement regulator tomorrow, so if I hit no problems I suppose I'll find out if it has done any damage.

Thanks again