1996 850 GLT aftermarket voltage regulator

[Atis]

For the record, I've had three voltage regulators go bad on me, two OEM Bosch and one aftermarket, every time it was something internal i.e. the electronics. The brushes were wearing short on the aging Bosh units but still had some years left in them. Brushes were still quite long after 4 years on the aftermarket unit.

I was told (so never checked myself) that the short brushes can cause internal failure in the electronics, although the environment where they operate will eventually kill sooner or later any kind of electronics.