faulty voltage regulator

[warpspeed]

How can you be sure that a P4529794 voltage regulator is bad or going bad?

I am driving in when the volt meter needle pegs close to the max.  The faster the rpm, the higher it goes!  I stopped the vehicle and made sure I triple grounded the regulator, checked the plug, and jumped in the vehicle and started it up.  No more problem.  So, thinking it was okay, I start down the road.  Four miles up the road, the lights blink at me.  Too fast to see the VR peg, but, I am sure that it must have.  Didn't do it again for two days.  Today, driving  again, it did the blink again, but for a much longer period, at least five seconds.  I disengaged the transmission, took my foot off the accelerator,  and the VR came back down to a nice steady reading where it always is.  Then finished driving the thirty minutes to destination without incident.  This is about the fourth time it has done this in a two week period.

Thinking I will have to replace the VR, which isn't that old.  Any ideas?

[Pete in NH]

Hi,

First make sure the regulator case is really grounded. Stripped out, rusty, self threading screws can cause intermittent grounding of the regulator. The regulator senses system voltage on the IGN-1 (blue wire) circuit. Corroded or burnt bulk head connector pins can also cause this issue. The voltage regulator two pin connector have also been known to become intermittent. Loose connections on the alternator, both field and output could also be present. Finally, the regulator itself could have a problem internally and will need to be replaced but, check the other things first.

[warpspeed]

Thanks Pete.  I did everything you suggested having had this problem with the terminals before.  I went ahead and replaced the VR yesterday and drove the vehicle home without incident.  I will have to keep an eye on it to see if it happens again.  If it does it again, then the VR isn't at fault.  Thank you for your kind reply. 

[warpspeed]

After a week now, I believe the problem was the voltage regulator.  After swapping it out with a new one, no more blinking.  Glad it was so simple to solve, but, concerned about the shortness of it's life.  Barely over a year and 12,000 miles.  Not good in my opinion.

[birdsandbees]

All I can tell you from experience... if you see the voltage gauge wap to full on a Dodge... turn the headlights on fast to curb the draw thru the panel or the next thing you know your dash will be on fire. Happened to me at 17 years old in the '69 Fury.

[warpspeed]

Wow!  That is scary.  The lights were on when I noticed it.  They went bright for a split second.  Then the voltage gauge went back to normal.  Didn't happen again until two days later.  Once, coming out of the driveway, it would go up as the engine was reviving up before changing the gears in the transmission.  I coasted back to the house and waited to check it later.  That was close.