The voltage regulator is on the fire wall near the distributor. Here is a wiring diagram so you can tell the wire color to confirm the right part. (below)
Sometimes the computer will take over the job in some models.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator
It's very rare for the regulators in the engine computer to fail, but if they do, you can install one of the older external regulators. It will do a dandy job of running the alternator, but on most vehicles, the "Check Engine" light will stay on and the diagnostic fault code "alternator field not switching properly" will be in memory because the computer monitors current through that field circuit. The light comes on when the fault code(s) could have an adverse effect on tail pipe emissions. Low charging system voltage will cause injectors to fire late and spark could be weak. Even though these things won't really happen once you have the external regulator installed, the computer doesn't know the system is working fine. It just knows the monitored / unused circuit is dead. Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know what happens.
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Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021 AT 7:09 PM
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