voltage regulator?

[G30 Sidearm]

I have a 1996 ranger 2.3 2 wd. The volt meter on the dash has always run center on the gauge. There is a picture of a battery on the gauge. The gauge has a red line at the bottom for low and a red line at the top for high. With the battery picture in the center. My gauge moves from center to just below the battery picture. It never goes to the low red line. I hear the blower motor speed change when the needle moves. I would like to fix it before it becomes a problem. Do you think a voltage regulator would work. Or just get a alternator ? Also belt is good and tight.

 

[fordracing60]

Check your blower motor connector. Clean grounds

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Is the battery fully charged? Measure battery voltage with the key off it should be around 12.8v. Start it and run the engine around 1500 rpms and check battery voltage again after a couple minutes, charging voltage should be no more than 2.5v higher than battery voltage. Say battery volts are 12.5v charging volts should be no higher than 15v. Thats the no/load test next turn the heater on high and the lights on high beam and measure the voltage again at around 2000 rpms it should be no less than .5 volts above battery voltage or 13v. Make sure all the grounds are clean sand metal to metal. You can add a ground wire from the alternator housing to battery neg. bend all wires and cables end to end looking for weak spots, sometimes they will corrode under the insulation creating alot of resistance. Feel for hot wires when running. Go through the wiring good and to upgrade to larger cables is allways a good thing especially in colder climates. The tech library has a section on troubleshooting the charging system make sure the wiring is up to snuff and the battery is good before you can diagnose the alternator/regulator.

 

[kimcrwbr1]

http://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/chargingsystem.htm