Hey guys,

Recently my battery light started coming on intermittently. The dashlights get brighter, but I loose power in the engine, plus the power windows roll up/down faster (true story).
From what I read on the forum, this is very likely to be worn brushes on the voltage regulator. I also had the alternator tested and at that moment (of course) it worked perfectly fine. The alternator has the old external RE60 regulator.

So my question now is, could someone describe the correct procedure to change the regulator (possibly without taking anything else out), please?

Cheers

if its the 4 cyl
undo the battery terminals
you spin off the oil filter and then
the regulator and brushes ( a complete unit
are held in by just two screws

BEWARE also

the charge light can come on if your alternator is overcharging.

Check that the battery voltage is not exceeding 14.4V

That would explain your symptoms & it can really stuff things up

If its high and you have to drive the car switch on the lights etc to stop the battery boiling

Thanks guys, I will try to change it and tell you how it goes.

Once the old one is out, you just put the new one in? Anything else I need to do? Like clean anything?

How bad is overcharging? It doesn't seem to have done any damage so far, but better be safe than sorry.

Overcharging is worse than no charge at all.

No charge = dim lights, flat battery, car not start.
Overcharge = (possibly) blown globes, damage to ECU.

I never put a new RE60 straight in while the alternator is on the car, you need to inspect commutator and bearings.
BUT if you must, insert it in at an angle so the brushes reach the commutator and then moving the regulator in properly will seat the brushes correctly on the commutator.

Probably a good idea to disconnect the battery before removing any wires from the alternator.

ive had experience with a bad alternator. If you have expensive electronics, like a powered capacitor, or any LED lighting, they are very likely to fail with higher than normal voltage problems.

This situation can also easily destroy your battery. If your alternator is bad (not just the charge regulator) your battery can drain overnight by backfeeding to the alternator. Its happened to me. Had to get whole new batt and alt.