Alternator question

[Mark]

I noticed the lights flickering on my Jetta last night, and tested the voltage at 13+ volts DC charging, and almost 30 volts AC.

My first guess would be that I lost a diode in the bridge rectifier, which is probably inside the alternator, and not part of the voltage regulator..

Haven't yanked it apart yet.
Does this sound right?
Any BTDTs?

Best regards,
Mark

[burn_your_money]

My first guess would be that I lost a diode in the bridge rectifier, which is probably inside the alternator, and not part of the voltage regulator..

Losing a diode usually results in a dimmly lit light. And yes, it is in the alternator somewhere. You may just have a wiring problem

[Mark]

Dropped by the local Autozone on the way home last night and put it on their alt. tester.

At that point, it was charging at slightly over 15 volts.

Noticed that the spring / contact for the regulator was corroded, and I scraped that clean before installing the new regulator.

I picked up and installed a new voltage regulator, which dropped it down to 13.9-14 at full charge.

Fully loaded, it went to 90 amps.

The AC componant is still showing, , but I'm going to replace the DVOM's battery before coming to any more conclusions.

Headlights are now brighter(?)