Voltage regulator problem with 1968 Dart

How the rest of the car is wired has little or nothing to do with frying a regulator. THE ONLY POSSIBLE WAY to fry the old style regulator is "something shorted." ---And I mean right there in the field circuit, which I told you in an earlier post

The circuit path for the old style regulator is ..............switched power to the IGN terminal......through the regulator (which MUST be grounded)........out the F terminal on the green wire.........to the alternator field........through the field.........to ground.

If the green field wire OR THE FIELD ITSELF is shorted you will either smoke the regulator or pop the internal link in the OEM mechanical ones.

How do you check this? EASY Should take you about 2 minutes

YOU NEED a decent multimeter. Disconnect the green field wire from the VR and from the field. Check the continuity to ground. Should be open/ infinity.

Next put the ohmeter on the low ohms scale, "Hard" squeeze the probes together and notice the reading. Should be very very low, "point" something which is the internal resistance of the system and probes. This is the "zero" or "dead short.

Now "stab" one probe hard into the alternator case. The other, probe the insulated field terminal. Read the resistance and attempt to get an accurate reading. Those fields draw "around" 4---to a max of 6 or so amps, so ohms law "says" that a 4 amp field should read about 3 ohms. If you get a reading of less than one, or "point" something inspect the brush holder for shorts/ missing insulating hardware. It also might be that the actual field itself is shorted.