What do you mean the car completely resets?

It sounds like you may be having a similar problem as I am. Which my problem I believe lies with the alternator. When I come to a stop, my car idles just fine but the voltage will drop to 12.3v for a few seconds and then go back up. As if the alternator shuts off for a period of time.

This may be normal, could be a possible shut off point for the alternator to conserve the engines power and save gas while idle I dont know, I know thats a little far out there for mid 90s technology.


All of the above things (braking, high beams, blinkers etc) use a bit of power, so as soon as you put on your brakes or flash your beams your pulling a bit more power from the electric system than usual and perhaps the alternator is not compensating for that and its causing a bad voltage drop. Which if thats the case, you need to either repair the alternator or replace it. It would most likely be a fried voltage regulator.

I suggest getting a volt reader to plug into your cig lighter to monitor voltages at all times while driving, thats what I did. Only cost $20. Or you can rig up a multimeter if you already got one.

Most of the wiring in these cars are a laugh, so it wouldnt surprise me that most of the electrics would start to fail prematurely.

 

Thanks for the reply! I'm starting to believe that it may be the voltage regulator, I'm assuming it's a different part than the OVP? If so I'm going to have to cope with it and hopefully won't break down on the Jersey Turnpike haha. Just a nuisance.

 

It very well could and the car may not start at all. You should have the charging sys. inspected. Many people neglect the battery which can cause such fluctuations your describing. Five to 7 years is alot of time if its within that age. Alternators do fail but not as much as batteries. Benz's are very power hungry when it comes to the electrics.

As you may know the wiring harness in your vehicle is suspect and is an ongoing issue.
OVP's can cause irratic issues as well. Would suggest an OBD scan or at the least a load check on the battery and measuring the alternator output as mentioned already. B

 

I have an issue with my w220 2003. Lights do all of the same, I had both alternator and battery tested and were both fine. This voltage regulator is the next suspect...where do I find it ?

 

It's on the alternator.

 

this was my problem lol

 

any fix for this. just watched vid and sure as crap my floors are wet

 

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