Bad voltage regulator?

I had a dead battery the other day so after I got my car started I went to
O'reillys to get everything tested. When I went there they told me that I
had a bad voltage regulator and that because it was located on the
Alternator, I would have to replace the whole thing. Never being one to just
get one opinion I went ahead and took my car to another O'reillys on the
other side of town and they said it was fine. Is it possible for both shops
to have truthful with me and maybe my voltage regulator is just causing
intermittent problems or is someone just doing what they can to make a sale?

"Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:LFdJh.13512$zJ1.7868@newsfe24.lga...[color=blue]
>I had a dead battery the other day so after I got my car started I went to
>O'reillys to get everything tested. When I went there they told me that I
>had a bad voltage regulator and that because it was located on the
>Alternator, I would have to replace the whole thing. Never being one to
>just get one opinion I went ahead and took my car to another O'reillys on
>the other side of town and they said it was fine. Is it possible for both
>shops to have truthful with me and maybe my voltage regulator is just
>causing intermittent problems or is someone just doing what they can to
>make a sale?[/color]
Yes, it is possible that both shops were truthful and the problem is
intermittent, and it is possible that someone is just trying to make a sale
or made an incorrect diagnosis.

What year and model vehicle? How many miles? How old is the battery?
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

"Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message
news:42f9a$45f63453$47c2b532$3058@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=blue]
>
> "Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:xKmJh.328793$IL1.292371@newsfe13.lga...[color=green]
>>
>> "Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message
>> news:cab56$45f57c99$44a4a10d$16431@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=darkred]
>>>
>>> "Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>> news:LFdJh.13512$zJ1.7868@newsfe24.lga...
>>>>I had a dead battery the other day so after I got my car started I went
>>>>to O'reillys to get everything tested. When I went there they told me
>>>>that I had a bad voltage regulator and that because it was located on
>>>>the Alternator, I would have to replace the whole thing. Never being one
>>>>to just get one opinion I went ahead and took my car to another
>>>>O'reillys on the other side of town and they said it was fine. Is it
>>>>possible for both shops to have truthful with me and maybe my voltage
>>>>regulator is just causing intermittent problems or is someone just doing
>>>>what they can to make a sale?
>>> Yes, it is possible that both shops were truthful and the problem is
>>> intermittent, and it is possible that someone is just trying to make a
>>> sale or made an incorrect diagnosis.
>>>
>>> What year and model vehicle? How many miles? How old is the battery?
>>> --
>>>
>>> Ray O
>>> (correct punctuation to reply)
>>>
>>>[/color]
>>
>>
>> It's a 95 Geo Prizm and it's about to turn 160K miles old. I don't know
>> the age of the current battery because it's the battery that was in the
>> car when I bought it. Both O'reillys used a tool to test my car that
>> looked exactly the same. As of yet, I've seen no warning lights lighting
>> up on the dash.
>>[/color]
>
> I'd bet that a door was not closed all the way, draining the battery or
> the problem is intermittent.[/color]


Then I'm guessing it's an intermittent problem because making sure that all
the doors are closed is one thing I am sure to always do ever since one of
the doors became a little harder to get latched. Nowadays you have to shut
it just a little harder. I also usually keep the dome light switched to the
off position because of this.

On Mon, 12 Mar 2007 20:02:59 -0500, Reasoned Insanity wrote:
[color=blue]
>
> "Ray O" <rokigawaATtristarassociatesDOTcom> wrote in message
> news:cab56$45f57c99$44a4a10d$16431@msgid.meganewsservers.com...[color=green]
>>
>> "Reasoned Insanity" <mintclovers@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:LFdJh.13512$zJ1.7868@newsfe24.lga...[color=darkred]
>>>I had a dead battery the other day so after I got my car started I went
>>>to O'reillys to get everything tested. When I went there they told me
>>>that I had a bad voltage regulator and that because it was located on
>>>the Alternator, I would have to replace the whole thing. Never being one
>>>to just get one opinion I went ahead and took my car to another
>>>O'reillys on the other side of town and they said it was fine. Is it
>>>possible for both shops to have truthful with me and maybe my voltage
>>>regulator is just causing intermittent problems or is someone just doing
>>>what they can to make a sale?[/color]
>> Yes, it is possible that both shops were truthful and the problem is
>> intermittent, and it is possible that someone is just trying to make a
>> sale or made an incorrect diagnosis.
>>
>> What year and model vehicle? How many miles? How old is the battery?
>> --
>>
>> Ray O
>> (correct punctuation to reply)
>>
>>
>>[/color]
>
> It's a 95 Geo Prizm and it's about to turn 160K miles old. I don't know
> the age of the current battery because it's the battery that was in the
> car when I bought it. Both O'reillys used a tool to test my car that
> looked exactly the same. As of yet, I've seen no warning lights lighting
> up on the dash.[/color]


11 years is just about right for the brushes to go bye-bye.
Do you think you can handle a 'rebuild'? I would get brushes, a regulator,
and bearings. Big mistake I made with my Hachiroku was not replacing the
bearings when I had it off in 92. Now, the bearings are shot and I CAN'T
get it off the car!!! Use anti-seize when reinstalling, just in case!

I would not go with an aftermarket rebuilt. The good ones have about a 40%
failure rate, and the cheap ones run about 65%! There was one brand, I
can't remember; the manager at CarQuest told Corporate not to even bother
sending them anymore.