My wife was driving home from visiting her family 3 hours away and the battery light came on shortly after she got on the road. About 2 hours into the drive the light went out. Then came on again, then went on and off several times, and is now staying off. I checked the battery voltage when she got home and it was around 13 volts with the car off. With the engine running the voltage was up around 13.6 volts while the engine was hot. According to the FSM this is within spec on a hot engine. I tested again after it had cooled off a bit and it was up to 13.8 volts while running and under load (lights, a/c, radio on). Battery terminals are clean, 7.5A Alt fuse looks good, and I don't see any broken/bare wires running to the alternator.

I'm thinking that maybe the voltage regulator is starting to give up the ghost and am considering replacing it as we're travelling to see family later this week. It's not cheap though and is actually more expensive than a full reman alternator from any of the parts stores. Is there a way to test just the voltage regulator or is it just a parts darts situation? Any thoughts?