5 Bad Voltage Regulator Symptoms You Should Watch Out For
If your vehicle has a faulty voltage regulator, you’ll encounter one or more of the following five symptoms:
Symptom A: Dead Battery
A bad voltage regulator can severely damage your car battery, causing it to stop working.
But why?
The voltage regulator ensures that steady charging voltage and power are delivered to the vehicle battery and other electronic components.
When you’ve got a burned-out voltage regulator, your battery may:
- Not receive enough charge
- Get overcharged
- Be exposed to an excessive charging voltage
If the battery doesn’t receive sufficient power, the charging output of your battery gets used up in operating the vehicle’s electrical systems. Ultimately, as all the charge drains out, your vehicle battery dies, and you’d no longer be able to start your vehicle.
On the flip side, if the battery gets overcharged or is exposed to a high charging voltage, your battery may die, or the electrolytes inside might start to boil, resulting in your car battery leaking and swelling.
Besides a faulty voltage regulator, your vehicle battery can also go dead if:
- You’ve got a bad alternator that can’t charge your battery
- You left electrical components like the headlights stay on for too long with the engine off
- Your car was left unused for long durations
Symptom B: Erratic Engine Performance
Erratic engine performance is a common symptom indicative of a bad voltage regulator.
But what does erratic engine performance mean?
Here, you may notice that the engine:
- Sputters — the engine seems to struggle (as if it were choking)
- Stalls — the engine may abruptly stop running for a brief period
- Accelerates intermittently — engine acceleration isn’t smooth and feels choppy
Symptom C: Flickering Or Dimming Lights
Probably, the most common symptom associated with a bad regulator is flickering, dimming, or pulsing lights.
To be more specific, you may notice that the vehicle’s:
- Headlights fluctuate between bright and dim, without you doing anything
- High beam isn’t working as expected
- Interior lights start to flicker
Symptom D: Battery Light Or Check Engine Light Activating
Sometimes, when your voltage regulator isn’t working the way it’s supposed to, your dashboard engine light or battery light can activate.
But why do these dashboard indicator lights turn on?
The battery light turns on because your electrical system can malfunction due to a bad regulator. Alternatively, the battery light can activate because you’ve got a bad alternator diode (or leaky diode) or issues with your alternator stator.
On the other hand, check engine light illumination can be a consequence of unpredictable engine performance. Moreover, it can result from problems related to your transmission system, emission equipment, ignition system, and more.
Determining whether your voltage regulator is causing the battery light or the check engine light to turn on isn’t easy. There could be tons of other reasons at play. That’s why you should get your vehicle checked by a certified automotive technician who can give you an accurate diagnosis.
Symptom E: Malfunctioning Instrument Cluster
Another easily observable symptom of a faulty regulator is the malfunctioning instrument cluster in your vehicle.
What’s the instrument cluster?
An instrument cluster consists of the different gauges and warning lights on your dashboard.
Your instrument cluster includes the:
- Speedometer
- Tachometer
- Fuel gauge
- Turn signal indicators
- Warning lights like the parking brake light, check engine light, etc.
The dashboard instrument cluster requires a certain amount of input voltage to operate accurately. And when the voltage regulator is damaged, the instrument cluster may not receive the right amount of input voltage.
As a result, you may notice flickering gauges on your instrument cluster, or worse, it could stop working entirely.
Additionally, your instrument cluster might act erratically when your instrument voltage regulator is faulty as well.
In any case, while flickering gauges on the instrument cluster don’t necessarily stop you from driving your vehicle, you shouldn’t drive when the cluster isn’t working. Since the gauges on the instrument cluster let you keep tabs on vehicle status, driving with flickering gauges is risky.
Now that you know the most common bad voltage regulator symptoms, let’s go over what you can do to address these symptoms:
How Do You Address Bad Voltage Regulator Symptoms?
While it’s tempting to test the voltage regulator and try to replace it on your own, we don’t recommend it.
Why?
The voltage regulator can affect engine performance, the instrument cluster, and more. And if the alternator voltage regulator replacement is performed incorrectly, you could be facing a potential safety hazard.
If you notice any bad voltage regulator symptoms, get in touch with a professional mechanic.
Just ensure that the mechanic you hire:
- Is ASE-certified
- Offers you a service warranty
- Uses only high-quality replacement parts
This brings us to a question: where do you find such mechanics?
Simply reach out to RepairSmith — a convenient, hassle-free, and reliable mobile auto repair solution!
Here are just some of the fantastic benefits RepairSmith offers:
- Book all your repairs online at upfront and competitive prices
- Our ASE-certified technicians come to your driveway for repairs and maintenance
- All repairs come with a 12,000-mile | 12-month warranty
- Only high-grade equipment and replacement parts are used to service your car
- Repair services are available seven days a week
