Where Is Voltage Regulator Located? | Suzuki Forums

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sigboi S Hi, I just purchased an 03 Aerio SX for the wife. The battery seems to be overcharging, so I want to find out if the voltage regulator is going bad or not. Does anyone know where it is? I'm assuming that it is connected to the alternator, but I don't see it, or I probably looked right past it lol. Thanks! #1 · Nov 15, 2013 Hi, I just purchased an 03 Aerio SX for the wife. The battery seems to be overcharging, so I want to find out if the voltage regulator is going bad or not. Does anyone know where it is? I'm assuming that it is connected to the alternator, but I don't see it, or I probably looked right past it lol. Thanks! Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · Nov 15, 2013 The voltage regulator is internal to the alternator. Connect a volt meter across the battery terminals - you should be seeing approximately 12V - actual voltage varies with the batteries state of charge, make a note of the reading and start the car, the voltage should increase between 1~2V - if it goes much over 14V you may have a regulator issue. #3 · Nov 16, 2013 I'm actually having a starting issue with the car, that's why I posted this thread. I just got my multimeter, but I am not too good with mechanics, I can't see where to put the leads for the alternator or starter solenoid to check voltage. I might have to get at it from under the car. Battery is at 12.2V when car is off, it doesn't start currently, so I need to jump it and see where it's at while running. On another note, while I was looking at the engine bay, I found a ground wire that was ripped off. Does this look familiar to anyone? Is it very important, enough to prevent the car from starting?

#4 · Nov 16, 2013 I don't mean to be harsh, but at this point you need to seek either professional help or at the very least, guidance from someone with a little more mechanical experience than you have. My post told you exactly where & how to check the voltage regulator - I never mentioned connecting the meter to the alternator or starter - having a meter doesn't help in anyway unless you know where to connect it, and what the expected readings are. Your first post talks about overcharging - I was tempted to question what made you think it was overcharging - so let me ask that now - why do you feel it's over charging? Your second speaks of a starting issue - and a 12.2V terminal voltage on the battery with the car off - did this "starting issue" develop between the time of the first post and now? What form does this "starting issue" take? Does the engine crank and not start? The missing/broken ground wire can affect the starting of the car and the running of the engine, it won't prevent it from cranking and it won't cause it to overcharge. By the way a 12.2V "no load" voltage at the battery terminals does not suggest over charging, but I can't rule out the possibility based on that alone. #5 · Nov 16, 2013 (Edited) I actually had the starting issue since I got the car, hence a low purchase price. I am trying to see if I can pinpoint what is wrong with it before taking it to a shop. I would rather not pay as much diagnostic time if possible, that's why I posted here asking for help. I posted on a couple forums, and my timeline is all jumbled up now and I apologize for not making sense in the beginning. I appreciate you helping me out with the regulator, and I posted about overcharging, because I had taken the car to auto zone, and the person connected a tester to it, and said that the battery was overcharged, and that the alternator is good, starter might be bad, but they weren't sure. The starting issue is that once in a while, it will start up perfectly on the first try, no problems. Most times, it will just keep clicking, no turning over, just clicking, dash lights flicker, and it seems like a dead battery. Previous owner gave up after replacing battery 8 mos ago, alternator 5 mos ago, and starter 2 mos ago. I am trying to see what other parts of the starting system to check, as she bought the most expensive parts already. #6 · Nov 16, 2013 I don't know how the AutoZone people determined it was overcharging and I see no evidence of it, so I'm not going to focus on that, at least no right now - you mentioned needing to "jump it" - does it start every time when you jump it? If it does it points to a flat/defective battery or battery connection issue and that is almost a direct opposite of an overcharging issue - although, overcharging can result in boiling off the battery electrolyte which will kill the battery.

sigboi said: The starting issue is that once in a while, it will start up perfectly on the first try, no problems. Most times, it will just keep clicking, no turning over, just clicking, dash lights flicker, and it seems like a dead battery Click to expand...

Let's deal with the no turning over, or, as I prefer to call it - "no crank" - get this fixed and after that we can look at the possible over charging. Find the starter - either by removing the plastic engine cover, or, by going from underneath - you're going to see three electrical connections - a little spade connector and two large ring terminals secured by nuts - one of the ring terminals has a heavy cable going into the starter, the other has a heavy cable going to the battery. Clip your voltmeter leads, positive to the ring terminal connected to the battery, negative to a convenient bolt on the engine, you should see battery voltage so approximately 12V, next turn the key, to on, and then crank - what voltage do you see with the key turned to crank, if it's appreciably less than 12V and the engine is not cranking you either have a bad battery or a bad battery connection. Assuming the engine does not crank and the voltage stays close to 12v - move the positive lead to the other ring terminal and repeat the test - this time you should see 0V until the key is turned, and then it should increase to somewhere approaching 12V, but it could be as low as 9 with the engine cranking - if you get that 12V and the engine does not crank, the starter is the problem. If, on the other hand, you turn the key and the voltage does not increase - move the positive lead to the little spade terminal and try to crank - again you should have 0V and it should increase to approximately 12V when you turn the key to crank - if it does, you have a starter solenoid problem. 0 Reply #7 · Nov 17, 2013 Thanks for the troubleshooting tips! I'll try to get to it tomorrow and let you know what I find out. At Autozone, the person who tested it, said that the battery was overcharged, and used the tool to "discharge the extra voltage". She also said that even though it is a new battery, the tool shows that its "at the end of its life". It does start every time its jumped. #8 · Nov 17, 2013 It sounds to me like your autozone person lacks experience - she's telling you what the test tool shows without understanding how it works - it might be an idea to have that battery checked somewhere else. A couple of things I want to point out - to repeat if you like ... First - if the alternator is overcharging, it can boil the battery electrolyte off, and that will shorten the batteries life - in other words - cause the battery to behave as if it's nearing the end of it's life, even if it's brand new - but - someone with experience in dealing with lead acid batteries would/should have already picked up on the fact that the battery electrolyte was low. Second - if the car starts every time it's jump started the problem is pointing to the battery lacking the ability to supply the current required to crank the engine - you can completely skip troubleshooting the cranking system - or you can confirm - clip the meter leads to the battery posts and measure the voltage with the key turned to crank - it will drop significantly below 12V. Have the battery tested as step one and then either replace it or borrow one from another vehicle and use it to start the vehicle and check for over charging as described earlier - clip the meter leads to the battery post and measure the voltage with the engine running - anything over 16V is an overcharge situation, 14V and up is acceptable, but should not be observed directly after an engine start - you're more likely to see this at the end of a long drive when the battery is at full charge. Please note - the battery condition affects the way the charge voltage rises - the above test needs to be done with a known good battery. #9 · Nov 22, 2013 Hey foredom, I finally had a chance to do the tests you mentioned above. With the leads on both terminals, I cranked the car, the voltage dropped to around 10.68. Right after starting it registered 13.6, but I will drive it for a bit until it starts to test again. #10 · Nov 22, 2013 Just drove it for about an hour, about 15min freeway at 60-70, then 45min highway at 40-50. When I returned home, I tested it with the engine running, showed 11.94. So I think the battery is toast. When driving, the dash lights flickered a lot, and when I was almost home, the dash cluster went dark. #11 · Nov 22, 2013 The lack of a "before" reading makes all subsequent readings useless. #12 · Nov 22, 2013 Huh, I thought I had put that in my post. The battery read 12.2 with the car sitting. #13 · Nov 22, 2013 12.2v sitting, dropping to 10.68 whilst cranking and then rising to 13.6 with the engine running - everything looks good so far, but a drop to 11.94 after driving for a while and apparently with the lights on suggests that whilst your alternator may be charging, it's not charging properly (undercharging rather than overcharging). Start by checking the belt tension and if that pattern continues, replace the alternator. #14 · Nov 24, 2013 I went to autozone again, and they tested the battery one more time and says its now dead. I purchased a new one and put it in. It does not start either. So I'm kind of stumped. Even if the alt is dead the good battery should be able to crank it correct? I'm thinking it might be the starter. #15 · Nov 25, 2013 Yes - even with a bad alternator, a good battery should start the car - I believe I've already provided starter troubleshooting steps. #16 · Nov 25, 2013 Solved! Me and my mechanic friend were looking around the engine bay, and I mentioned that the ground wire was ripped off. He said lets connect it and see what happens. That fixed everything! With it not connected the car would click and not start even with the new battery. With it connected it started every time. While running, it reads 13.6v disconnected, 13.9 while connected. My buddy traced it and says its a body ground wire and pretty important. Thank you for all the diagnostic help! #17 · Nov 25, 2013 Had you followed the starter troubleshooting provided, you would have picked that up quite rapidly. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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