I want to thank you all for your help with this problem, with your guidance I was able to get her charging right and my son and daughter drove her to school today….of course I followed, just in case :)
Here’s what I learned over the past week or so…I had changed the coil after the original had released its guts and I installed an aftermarket coil. The ballast resistor that came with the car was also bad (would start when bypassed but not when in-line), so I replaced it with the one called for. Well, the new coil had a 1.4 Ohm internal resistance and the stock ballast was 0.6-0.7 Ohms…I didn’t know this was a thing. I replaced the ballast resistor with a 1.4 Ohm for 2.8 total, I think this was why I had 5 Amps of draw at the coil. With the new ballast resistor, it was at about 3.5. Also, points were bad (pretty sure I know why), the contact on the arm had welded to the other contact.
I think that the VR-106 I ignorantly installed caused a lot of the overcharge with this alternator after I had: relay-bypassed the ignition to the VR, ran new wires at the alternator, positively grounded the VR base, and replaced battery terminals and associated wiring.
I did attempt to adjust the contacts on the NAPA VR-32 Mattax, but it was way outside my realm of patience, I attempted the load testing and bending the tab holding the spring (to adjust tension) but only succeeded in making things worse (poured some beer on that one). So, I contacted FBO and ordered their electronic VR-1, installed it, and now voltage regulates between 13.2 and 14.4. Ammeter looks good, voltage gauge looks good, and the battery is fully charged after a 30 minute drive.
I also ordered a new thermostatic switch for the fan (should be here tomorrow) that closes at 195 and opens at 185. I thought I was playing it safe with a 185-175, but even at 170 the fan never shuts off…..meaning that even running down the road at 60mph on a 50 degree day, the fan is constantly running….and loading my charging system!
I’m sure I’m not done yet, but this was a huge relief for me. When my son and I towed this car home after my dad passed away two years ago, his dream was to drive it to school before he graduated. We made it, with your help…Thank You!!!
-Corey
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