Painless wire harness install (MORE PROGRESS)

This is why I don't like Painless's documentation, "no diagram." Wire 914 SHOULD be same as "switched ignition" IE ignition run or IGN1 You should check that when you can power it up.

The way the factory is wired, and they way this should be wired, is both the alternator field (blue) and the regulator IGN terminal are connected to the (factory) IGN1 "run" buss.

If you read some of my threads, again, referring to factory, a problem guys have is voltage drop in the harness supplying the regulator

The original path is battery -- fuse link -- bulkhead connector -- ammeter -- to in harness splice -- to ign switch connector -- through switch -- back out switch connector (dark blue) -- back out bulkhead -- and to

ignition run side of ballast

alternator field on 70/ later

regulator "IGN" terminal

electric choke if used

distributor solenoid or other smog stuff on some cars

So on original cars, the possibilities for a volt drop problem is anywhere along that described path

Any drop in that line causes overcharging, as the regulator needs to SENSE battery voltage, NOT alternator voltage.

(This is one reason I dislike "one wire" integral alternators -- unless the charging wire is OVERsized, whenever the battery is low and loads high (as in winter truck, lights, heater(s), etc,) then the drop across the charging wire means that the integral regulator IS actually sensing alternator output INSTEAD of the battery, so system voltage will sag until either the battery "comes up" some or else some load is removed.

In other words, the older external sense systems like Mopar are far superior when working right.

Hope my rambling is not confusing. The point is that the blue regulator wire (and it's ground) must see very close to battery voltage to properly regulate.

Which leads to.................

Once you get this wired up close enough to power up some things you should CHECK the voltage drop to the regulator

To do that, take a scrap piece of wire long enough to reach back to the battery, clip it to the positive battery connection, and bring up front and clip to one probe of your meter.

Take the remaining meter probe and hook as close as you can to the regulator IGN terminal. DO NOT unplug the regulator connector in order to do this -- you need to have the load of the field current on the system, IE you need the alternator field connections wired up.

What you are directly measuring here with this hookup is the voltage drop all the way from the battery, through your new harness connections, through the ignition switch, and up to the regulator

You are hoping for a low reading, the lower the better. Zero would be perfect. If you measure more than .2V I would be looking for "where" the drop is. Most likely suspect, with your new parts, would be the ignition switch connector or the switch itself.

If it is not too late, I would take the time to tear into the new fuse panel, make a drawing of the internal layout of the buss connections if visible, and draw out what hooks to what

If you cannot see into the back of the panel (Mine was open) I would sit down with an ohmeter or continuity tester and find out what wires connect to what buss.

(The Painless chart, which shows the "origin" of the wire as being the "fuse panel" is really useless, because it does not actually detail the connection)