voltage regulator dead??

[Thirteen13]

Hey guys,
Went to start my 4age the other day and noticed voltage gauge was reading excessively high and car felt like had a few problems running. Battery light stayed on also. Decided that's not normal. So turned it off and got lift to work. Came back later and battery is dead.
Got another battery, same deal had it running for 20 seconds on new battery. 14.5v on idle with no load and when reved in neutral spiked upto 19v. This was checked on multi meter.

I assume this means the voltage regulator is dead. However would 15v+ be enough to kill a battery that quickly??

I havent had a chance to inspect closely, is it worth while paying $40 for a new regulator or should just get an entire new alternator? Also is the regulator inside the alternator? Or on the back?
Is there an alternative replacement such as 4afe that will bolt up?

Thanks

[punkture]

Just get your new alt with an exchange unit, for peace of mind but Bosch do have alt regulators, is yours inside the alt like some gze ones are?

[Thirteen13]

I'm not 100% sure if the reg is internal or not. I know my gze one is. It would be handy if anyone knew if 4ac or 4af unit will bolt up? Otherwise might need a swap out job