I have a 1999 Acura TL 3.2

This morning I tried to start the car up and it would make noise as if it had a dead battery, took the battery out took it to autozone, and sure enough it was dead, charge it put it back on the car, car starts up but gauges start acting weird, fluctuating, I take it to autozone and they tested the system, battery was good but it said diodes and voltage regulator came up bad, no battery light had come on, so I bought a new one, installed it, took it back to get it tested and it still says bad voltage regulator! My question is, could it be that I got a bad alternator, or is there more to it? Maybe a connection, some cables? Something else that I might be missing?? Any help would be highly appreciated

 

Just to clarify you charged the battery and bought a new alternator for autozone. Re-manufactured parts from autozone can be hit or miss in my experience, there is a good chance that the replacement has issues. I would definitely check all your connections it could be something really simple. But if the voltage regulator is showing up in test, that part of the alternator.

 

correct, ill have to doube check everything, and take the alternator out and get it tested. thank you for your rpely

 

Personally, I prefer testing it on the car. It's easier, more accurate, and includes the whole charging system; battery, wiring, connectors, load compensator, etc. I agree with 03 tls nc on the quality of some autozone parts. Honda alternators can be iffy re-man wise. The dealer will have the best , but I've had good luck with bosch and denso.

 

Yeah, as TLer trash said.....have the entire electrical system load tested. Ya can either have this done at an auto parts store or a specialty automotive electrical repair shop. With Honda and most imports it's best to have the original rebuilt if possible, then ya know what you're getting.