I'm following up on this issue: My voltage seemed to go all over the place after about 10 minutes of driving - everything from 9-17 volts when I used a lighter socket volt meter. So my guess is the VR went bad. A new VR is only about $35, but i had a year warranty on this alt so I am returning it. I got a new (rebuilt alt) and upon inspection noticed the diode plate(?) was cracked exposing some current paths that I think need to be insulated. I am not sure if this is a problem or not? Can i get some stray voltage/arcing from this?
here is a link to bigger pict.
http://imgur.com/aqveUWS
Thanks,
Paul