I came off a stop sign the other day, and the car jerked a bit before finally going, and my battery light came on. With it, the battery gauge jumped up to around 18 volts.

Ever since, at intermittent times, the battery light comes on again and the gauge jumps up to max on the cluster. Usually after about 4-5 seconds it comes down, but the last time it was on for at least 10 minutes til I got home to turn it off. Turning the car off and back on again didn't help the problem any.

The battery was just replaced about 2 months ago. Haven't had the alternator tested yet, but is this a sign it's on the fritz?

Also, I should add, when the car jerked, it messed up my water pump (It started leaking coolant at the output shaft), so I think the belt slipped or something.

The car doesn't have any driveability issues, but when the gauge jumps up to 18v, the radio starts screeching really loud. I also noticed that the anti-lock light comes on too, but I haven't quite noticed if it does it every time the battery light comes on.

 

Jerk has nothing to do with water pump leaking. R&R pump. Put dvom on battery to see if voltage really goin that crazy. Most likely is voltage regulator.

 

I was assuming the leaking water pump, which wasn't leaking before the jerk, was caused by something to do with the drive belt shifting or something. Took the alternator off and had it checked at autozone. They said it is overcharging and needs replaced.

Don't really have the money to get a new one right now as we are saving up for vacation next month, so I am going to have to put the car up until it's fixed. Kindaa weird that it suddenly died like that. I've never seen one over charge.

Is it possible to replace just the voltage regulator on it without replacing the entire alternator?

 

Yes, the voltage regulator can be replaced.Put in new brushes if worn.