My buddy's brand new Optima in his 87 Carrera is overheating and leaking. We are stuck.

Is the voltage regulator part of the alternator?
Is this a good roadside repair on a Sunday?
Any ideas????

Thanks!

Paul

Crap!

I'm not 100% but think it is internally regulated.

Regulator and brush holder and brushes are all one assembly mounted on back of alternator.

Pulling the alt is not too bad. You have to twist it out of the cooling duct just right because of the air flow guide on the back.

You need a small (maybe 6mm) socket for the nuts that hold the air guide on.

Good luck.

Thanks, guys, but we're stuck with Advance and AutoZone as our only FLAPS. They're real friendly, but short on parts!

We are thinking of driving to Joliet, IL to a repair guru or to Orland Park and leave it at a dealer. Then figure out what to do on Monday.

We put in a new battery, measure output at the terminal connectors as high as 16 volts! Any idea about the damage of trying to drive home (about 300 miles)? Like, low revs, AC on, lights on, radio on, etc.

Paul

You will fry the battery with 16 volts out of the alternator. You cant have it like that. I would find the wire out of the alternator and disconnect it from the battery, you can drive on battery reserve for about an hour or two without any accesories on such as headlights or radio. If you are driving with someone else you can swap batteries every hour or you can buy 2 new batteries and it sould get you home.

Since you have a volt meter, turn on every accessory and measure the voltage at the battery at whatever RPM you can safely drive. If it is around 14.5v you should be fine.

I would not drive it with the alternator disconnected unless you completely disable it. If you just disconnect the D+ wire, the internal voltage will skyrocket, potentially killing it.

Thanks everybody. Will post my solution when I get back to internet service. Right now it's time for lunch!

Paul

Nightmare day! Got a new battery in, got a voltmeter and drove it back to Grand Rapids, MI with the AC full blast, rear window defroster and headlights on. Battery cool as a cucumber. Left it at a German auto place, rented a car from the airport and are now in Davenport, IA. It's 10PM.

I hope to make it to the DINNER BBQ tomorrow if we drive all night.

Paul

Oh yeah, we're in a Cadillac CTS. Pimping it into Keystone!

Made it! 11AM Monday, in Winter Park.

Paul