Voltage Regulator ???

['87 fuel-miser]

hey guy's ,  my need a little input on this one ... recently i've noticed on my morning ride to work , my headlights , fan/blower motor ( even radio will cut out ) have been dying down , then back up to normal , then my lights will get a little brighter then go back to normal , ect ... ect ...   seems to be charging fine ! it's been a rough winter , i figured with cold and heater full blast , high beams , on everthing working extra , might have been making things  "act up"  , but now that's it's a little milder ... it's still happening ... i'm thinking VOLTAGE REGULATOR ???    my truck is a 4 cyl/4 sp  and runs like a clock ... anyone have any ideas ???  thanks ! . :MJ 1: .  :dunno: 

[Eagle]

What year?

 

If it's an older MJ with the GM alternator, the voltage regulator is built into the alternator. The newer Chrysler alternators may be the same, but I'm not familiar with them.

 

How are your battery cables and connections? How's the water (electrolyte) level in the battery?

['87 fuel-miser]

'87   eagle  ... been so frigg'in cold  here ... haven't been under the hood much  i'll check the connections ...  . :MJ 1: .

[Eagle]

'87 is a GM Delco alternator with the voltage regulator built in. Check cables and connections. If they're good, pull the alternator and have it bench tested.

['87 fuel-miser]

gotcha !  :thumbsup:  . :MJ 1: .

[dasbulliwagen]

Check the grounds too. The one going from the battery to the engine block goes bad often and can cause all kinds of issues. Usually it is a combination of the cable going bad and the ground point at the block being corroded. When I got mine I had a similar issue, it ended up being the battery cable ends on the battery. They looked fine, but were corroded enough to make it not start or not charge. A good cleaning fixed that. Good luck and let us know what you find.

['87 fuel-miser]

we'll get back to ya ... thanks guys !  . :MJ 1: .

['87 fuel-miser]

FOLLOW UP :    after checking battery cables , i found the positive terminal was very loose , after cleaning and tightening both terminals ... it didn't seem to help ,tested the alternator ... it was CAPUT !  looked original , so i guess i can't complain . got a replacement at advanced auto ( napa was out of stock , a/z said "they couldn't get them" ) and we're back in business !  thanks for the input guys !!!   :banana:  . :MJ 1: .