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external voltage regulator -anyone do this?

10K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  s9khein 
#1 ·
I was looking around for some answers on my electrical problem (replaced the 90 Amp alternator on my '94 ZJ with a 117 amp alt from a '98 , voltage sets now just above the orange 'caution' area of the gauge, and the computer throws Code 12 at me avery day. Before the alt replacement the volt gauge was all over the place, I'd have to shut everything electrical off to quiet the sceaming belt, and the next time the engine went back to idle it would start squealing again ) and came across this thread on the Diesel Garage webpage.

Looks like a guy over there figured out how to install an external voltage regulator after the one in his PCM died. One of the posters on that thread says this will work on any Chrysler with this type of alt and PCM. so I'm wondering, has anyone tried this on their ZJ or WJ?

http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58251

I haven't checked all my wires yet, and I need to replace the old belt, but it is looking like the VR is toast. it's about a 20 dollar project, I just might give it a try. that's why I used the 117 amp alternator instead of the 136, the junkyard couldn't find the 136 they siad they had, so I gave the 117 a shot. Denso 56027912, 1998 Jeep V-8 ZJ.
 
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#3 ·
no, the alternator is good. the belt, of course, was crap, and I have been putting belt dressing on it. I had the power steering tensioner cranked out as far as it would go, and the belt would still slip. Here's some advice for anyone with a slipping belt: If your belt is starting to fall apart, don't use belt dressing! those pieces will stick in the grooves, and get packed in there, which will make the grooved pulley essentially a flat slippery surface. my power steering pulley grooves were almost full, and that stuff is almost impossible to scrape back out of there.

as far as picking up a new or rebuilt alternator, if the voltage regulator is gone, all the new alternators in the world won't help.
 
#4 ·
you said the volts were all over the place with your old alt?

i had the same problem with my 93 dakota. the volts are regulated within the computer on the inside of the fender under the hood. i replaced that with one from a junk yard $125 and it fixed the problem. they dont really make an external regulator for it.
 
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