Somebody please help me stop dissing my car. My battery isn't recharging, I have changed the alternator & belt. Does this thing have a bad voltage regulator or computer chip ? when I charge the battery up & start it the check engine light doesn't come on until the battery runs down quite a bit, I can actually drive on the battery on full charge for about 15 miles. I am a musician not a mechanic right now I can't afford to put it in the shop so I MUST do my own repairs. So any genius out there who hasn't killed over laughing @ me please respond ,a big THANX 2 YA
1990 chrysler imperial elec. problem
Nov 20, 2006
4 Replies
The voltage regulator is in the PCM on that car. You should have the charging system checked to see exactly what the problem is.
And if it IS a bad voltage regulator, there is a "recipe" running around the 'net to splice in a 1971-up standalone Chrysler voltage regulator (available at any parts store) so that you don't have to replace the whole expensive computer board. Its not much harder than changing out the pickups on a Les Paul or Stratocaster :-)
As this is an earlier model, you should be able to dump the codes using the key-on/key-off method. The procedure can be found on allpar.com. There is a code that indicates an open field circuit. I concur with everyone else that this is most likely the problem, and if it is, an old style voltage regulator can be installed for the repair.
-KM
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