Hey gang,I need some advice here. I've got a 2006 TJ with a 4.0L, 6 speed and 113K on the clock.
About a week ago my battery left me stranded although it is only about 3 months old. I got a jump and have been using a trickle charger at night. Battery voltage is about 12.8 V.
My alternator, which I assume is original is putting out about 13.5 volts although I would prefer to see over 14V. I have checked and cleaned all the terminals, all the wires seem to be fine and no excessive resistance on the cables.
I took it to three auto parts stores:
Autozone: Battery checked good, they couldn't check the alternator without me removing it.
O'Reilly's: Battery checked good, but they said the voltage regulator was faulty
Advance: Battery and alternator checked good, although the alternator was at the low end of its output.
I am thinking that the alternator should be replaced as the output is at the low end (Do these things fade into failure or just die?) However, this voltage regulator failure is bothering me. Don't want to just replace the alternator before ensuring it is the root cause.
I understand that the voltage regulator on an 06 is in the ECM and there are work arounds available to eliminate replacing the entire ECM. The control wires going to the alternator are reading 12.2V telling me that the ECM is sending a signal to the alternator to work.
Should I just replace the alternator (assuming that I will get better output 14V) and assume that the ECM will pick it up?
Are there other things I should check to verify the voltage regulator is working?
Many thanks in advance!!
Tom
About a week ago my battery left me stranded although it is only about 3 months old. I got a jump and have been using a trickle charger at night. Battery voltage is about 12.8 V.
My alternator, which I assume is original is putting out about 13.5 volts although I would prefer to see over 14V. I have checked and cleaned all the terminals, all the wires seem to be fine and no excessive resistance on the cables.
I took it to three auto parts stores:
Autozone: Battery checked good, they couldn't check the alternator without me removing it.
O'Reilly's: Battery checked good, but they said the voltage regulator was faulty
Advance: Battery and alternator checked good, although the alternator was at the low end of its output.
I am thinking that the alternator should be replaced as the output is at the low end (Do these things fade into failure or just die?) However, this voltage regulator failure is bothering me. Don't want to just replace the alternator before ensuring it is the root cause.
I understand that the voltage regulator on an 06 is in the ECM and there are work arounds available to eliminate replacing the entire ECM. The control wires going to the alternator are reading 12.2V telling me that the ECM is sending a signal to the alternator to work.
Should I just replace the alternator (assuming that I will get better output 14V) and assume that the ECM will pick it up?
Are there other things I should check to verify the voltage regulator is working?
Many thanks in advance!!
Tom
