Voltage Regulator Replacement DIY- Its usually not the alternator
03-10-2011, 05:14 PM
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Eurocharged Performance ML63 and TT lambo
Voltage Regulator Replacement DIY- Its usually not the alternator
Its bound to happen, you get the awesome message that convenience functions are disabled! Then hopefully it comes back and all is good. Well it happened to me back and fourth over a period of 2 days, so I knew the battery or alternator was on the way out. Battery tests showed normal, so it was alternator time.
From what I know, the mb alternators seem to be rock solid. Its the damn voltage regulator that goes out. I guess it makes sense, as it is a wear item.
First get one of these....
1 BOSCH_0031546506_S
BOSCH Voltage Regulator NOTE: For cars with BOSCH Alternator.
$41.00
aboveallmotorwerks.com
I was able to replace this in about 20 minutes without removing the alternator!
Jack the car up on one or both sides and remove the underbelly pan.
Disconnect the battery (just do it) and get under her and take a look!
Find the bottom of the alternator. Remove the black and yellow wire connector.
Also screw off the plastic black cap in the middle.
Using a Philip's head, remove the screws that hold the cover on.
you can then use a socket to remove the power lead from the middle.
Now, the voltage regulator is only held on with a few more Philip's screws. (3)
Remove those, and she will fall (literally) out
Take a look at the difference and you can see the wear on the leads of old vs new
Put the new one back in, using the same process. The smaller screw goes in the bottom corner of the regulator when you get it back on the alternator.
Replace what you took out and you should be good to go!
I have done a few of them for people and have yet to have to replace an alternator
From what I know, the mb alternators seem to be rock solid. Its the damn voltage regulator that goes out. I guess it makes sense, as it is a wear item.
First get one of these....
1 BOSCH_0031546506_S
BOSCH Voltage Regulator NOTE: For cars with BOSCH Alternator.
$41.00
aboveallmotorwerks.com
I was able to replace this in about 20 minutes without removing the alternator!
Jack the car up on one or both sides and remove the underbelly pan.
Disconnect the battery (just do it) and get under her and take a look!
Find the bottom of the alternator. Remove the black and yellow wire connector.
Also screw off the plastic black cap in the middle.
Using a Philip's head, remove the screws that hold the cover on.
you can then use a socket to remove the power lead from the middle.
Now, the voltage regulator is only held on with a few more Philip's screws. (3)
Remove those, and she will fall (literally) out
Take a look at the difference and you can see the wear on the leads of old vs new
Put the new one back in, using the same process. The smaller screw goes in the bottom corner of the regulator when you get it back on the alternator.
Replace what you took out and you should be good to go!
I have done a few of them for people and have yet to have to replace an alternator
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03-11-2011, 04:13 PM
#13
i believe those are the leads that wear down and therefore do not make enough contact to be reliable. Thats where changing to a new one solve the problem. I could be wrong.
kind of like brush contacts on an electric motor.
Last edited by Hellzno; 03-11-2011 at 08:04 PM.
03-12-2011, 07:08 AM
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03-20-2011, 09:12 AM
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2005 BLK/BLK E-Double Nickel.
Did mine last night. Very easy to remove and install... Too bad it did solve my issue... Can anyone point me to the cheapest alternator?
04-20-2011, 12:02 PM
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2004 E55 AMG
First and foremost thanks for this posting. Because of this I was able to resolve a problem that was tormenting my head. Better than this is being greedy. By the way this is my first post I'm a NEWBY in this forum. KEEP IT UP GUYS!! Right ON
04-20-2011, 12:15 PM
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04-20-2011, 12:45 PM
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04-22-2011, 06:20 PM
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2005 BLK/BLK E-Double Nickel.
well i changed the alternator and charged up the battery... car started up fine. but after 30 minutes of running.. the battery/alternator display popped back up. so i did a next charge and checked it with a voltmeter, and the voltage did not jump after start.... it stayed at 12.XX volts and kept going down.
