i just put a brand new battery in my ac 300 4x4. today i started it w/ no problems. then i turned it off & tried again. battery dead. i did notice that the rectifier-regulator part was blistering hot. does that mean that i need to replace it?

 

i had a 99 and it did the same thing.It was infact the regulater, an $80.00 part. my neighbor had the same thing on a 2000 300. Im not saying for sure thats it ,but they all sound like they have the same thing going wrong with them.

 

i think i have the same problem on my 99 ac 300. i put a new battery in it a few weeks ago and it was dead the other day. i even have an on board battery charger, but did not keep it plugged in. i have a draw on the battery that is draining the battery down after a few days. after unplugging the regulator, the draw is gone. i believe there is an internal diode that keeps the battery from draining down.

 

Does sound like the regulator. One way to checl would be to unplug the regulator and leave the battery connected to see if there is a short. You might also do an Ohm test to see if current is just passing through the regulator and grounding some place else.

I have seen and rad about a lot of issues withthe regulators on the older AC's and I am wondering if the high heat output fromthe engine is negatively effecting the regulator.

SJ