So it got jumped backwards, voltage regulator replaced after it blew every light on the vehicle and all is good. Or so I thought. Now it is eating batteries. It takes about 6 months daily driven maybe 1,200 miles a month to kill a cell or two. It starts out not starting, randomly. The battery always tests fine after I jump it. Then it slowly progresses until it won't start w/out a jump and the battery tests bad. I then proceed to get another free battery from my ecstatic local auto parts store and the cycle starts over again.
Alternator is working great, better than great. What could be causing this issue? It isn't getting drained over and over again or anything like that. It runs completely normal then out of the blue just doesn't start one day.
I didn't know BIIs had external regulators? My bet is that the alternator is bad (putting out too much voltage / current) or one of the diodes is failing. Other than that, only other thing to consider is the cables and if they are connected correctly (+) to solenoid, (-) to ground. What year is your BII?
You can still replace the regulators in alternators with internal regulators.
If you have access to a multimeter, you need to check the charging voltage with the truck running. 13.6-14.4v running is normal. The closer to 14.4 the better. If the voltage is over 14.4 volts, you are slowly cooking the battery, and if the voltage is below 13.6, the battery will not be receiving a good charge and will slowly fail
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- Ian
1987 Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 2.9
Needs a lot of work, including some rot on the body, but shes getting there.
True, you can replace internal regulators. But if something is causing the regulator to fail, it's usually just as easy to replace the whole thing. I did fail to mention undervoltage issues, though, thanks. Too much or too little output on the alternator (either faulty alternator/regulator or bad cables in the case of undervoltage / undercurrent) will cause this definitely. Another thing to check really well is the wiring harness for the alternator and fusible link(s). I've seen the harness get cooked somewhat because of a 'bad' jump-start and cause issues down the road. Something to consider, given the circumstances.
Check the harness on the voltage regulator and make sure the pins are not pushed out of the connector and are making solid contact. Personally, I ground my voltage regulator with a 12/14 gauge wire from the battery and ground the alternator bracket with a 10 gauge.
As previously mentioned check the charging system. Then I would suspect either bad flashers, bad fusible link, or a bad headlamp switch, in that order. You might want to check the flashers and see if they both work and if they get extremely hot. The one under the dash is the one that I would suspect first.
The day it does not start, I would remove the neg cable and check for a short.
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