Crappy idle in drive at stoplight, idles fine in neutral

[cjmatt]

im thinking this has something to do with the fact that the voltage regulator thats supposed to be plugged into my alternator was unplugged by the previous owner and melted on the downpipe. could it possibly be not putting out enough juice when im stopped to run the lights and all? the idle is ok, but will miss once or twice then miss/chug for a sec then catch itself. once im driving it seems ok. as it starts to chug i can see my dash lights dim a little bit as well. what exactly does the regulator do on the talon?

 

[Quasimondo]

it keeps the voltage steady at ~14v. Without it, your system's voltage would fluctuate wildly, depending on the speed of the alternator, and your electrical system can be damaged from overvoltage. Get it replaced before you fry something, like your ECU.