mkonei

got home tonight, and Command was shutting down due to low voltage. the battery is original, as well as the alternator. in dyno mode, im reading 13.2 vollts, which drops to low elevens once the car is running. engine rpm does not bring the voltage up at all. so now im thinking the regulator is on its way out, and am going to change it. is it possible to swap the voltage regulator while the alt is still on the car??? thanks in advance

Quicktwinturbo

I think so.. but I'm not too sure since I didn't do the job myself.

mkonei

its tight in there, but it looks possible.

MarcusF

It may be possible, but RR'g the alternator doesn't take much time. That and I couldn't see any of the regulator screws with the alternator in place. Here's a link to how I did mine.

mkonei

thats a hell of a writeup, thanks!! you have a recommendation of where to purchase the reg from? im around parts all day, and if its a generic piece i can get from a parts place, then ill just skip the dealer. thanks again for the DIY!!

MarcusF

I got mine at a local dealer. It wasn't bad, about $65. AutoHaus AZ had the same part for $25. Alternator rebuild shops may have the part in stock. When mine died, it was too late in the day to check around.

mkonei

update: $35 wholesale from my local MB dealer + 2 hours of time. if anyone has questions, send me a pm.

speedybenz

Did it fix the voltage problem? Was it the Alt. or the regulator?

Jeff

mkonei

all fixed. steady 13.8-13.9 at idle with lights and accessories on.

Monika

Marcus - I am pity new at these forums but understand from other writeup that you are pity technical. I need your input & hopefully a solution. I own a S55 AMG Year 2004. The car has just 55,000 miles on it & runs great and no mechnical issues except electrical seems crazy. The interior dome lights as well as dashboard lights keep flickering??? I often get a message stating that the Number plate light is not working but when checked everything is working just fine. The flicker issue is NOT always but when that happens, even the radio sound cuts in & out just as the flickering. At this time even the safety seat belt would sound some clicking. I guess this is all interrelated. WHY the RANDOM FLICKER of the lights - I can NOT understand.
"HELP" if anyone has experienced & rectified this sort of issue. I hate to see anything else damage due to this issue.

Could it be the VOLTAGE REGULATOR or ALTERNATOR????

Beaker

Nice write up!

I've been getting the error message every time I hit 6000+revs lately for a couple weeks. I'm 99% certain it's just the voltage regulator so going to get my mechanic mate to try this for me before I spent hefty $$$

PS: Anyway of checking my voltage without getting a multimeter hooked up to the battery? Dyno mode or something?

mkonei

You can check your voltage with dyno mode.

mkonei

Sounds more like you have a loose/bad ground somewhere.

Monika

THANKS - I guess there is NO easy way of locating a LOOSE ground - Is there?????

Beaker

Where exactly? All I see is that main screen in dyno mode? Can I check it before car is running and running?

carbizindio

I just did this repair on my C55 with 181k miles.

In hindsight how I should have done this repair was to simply unbolt the alternator and angle it with the back side upwards while it was in its "area" than take out the VR.

How I did the repair was unbolt the alt, drain the coolant, took the upper rad hose off along with the coolant hose in front of the alt, unbolted the upper core support along with disconnecting the driver side hood latch, removed the rad fan.

amgforlife

i have this flicker buisness going on, dash and interior lights pulsing light a heartbeat, and it says on dash that 3rd brake light is out but its not.

What do you reakon go for a regulator??