1969 Dodge Dart Engine Stutter

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What are we workin here? A Chevy 350?
Ha, hey don't run on no juice either! Unless its a 5.7 diesel..Rob, are those mechanical pumped? I think those could run if jumped and the alternator and battery were carted off.
 
Ha, hey don't run on no juice either! Unless its a 5.7 diesel..Rob, are those mechanical pumped? I think those could run if jumped and the alternator and battery were carted off.

uhhhhh......I think maybe the 5.7 Olds diesel did have a mechanical pump. Seems I vaguely remember that.
 
The VR is a switch that opens and closes the battery voltage to the alternator. By jumping that connection (just bypassing the entire black box with a jumper wire and 2 clips to the ends) you are running the alternator at "wide open throttle" and it will COOK your battery like a tea kettle left to boil dry. The VR has points in it that open and close 50~200 times a second to "duty cycle" the alternators stator winding voltage and that keeps the output at ~14.7V. You can get another mechanical regulator or get an electronic version of the 'old style'
from regulator tech
VR1Open.jpg
 
Something I noticed from your photo is the rust on the firewall behind the VR. The VR grounds through the mounting bolts that attach it to the firewall. Regardless of the outcome of your testing you need to remove the VR and scrape/sand the mounting area on the firewall and the back of the VR to clean bare metal. Then re install it.

View attachment 1715763845
Just got these off. This is what they look like natural. Going to clean them up a bit and reinstall.

reg 1.jpg


reg 2.jpg
 
You may have found the issue.
 
Just got these off. This is what they look like natural. Going to clean them up a bit and reinstall.

View attachment 1715763854

View attachment 1715763855
Not saying it WAS the problem but certainly needs to be better. The bolts usually do grounding and they corrode. I can see the white powdery stuff in the threads meaning corrosion. Sand the paint, clean the bolts and you’ll be in good shape. May even fix the problem all together.
 
Not saying it WAS the problem but certainly needs to be better. The bolts usually do grounding and they corrode. I can see the white powdery stuff in the threads meaning corrosion. Sand the paint, clean the bolts and you’ll be in good shape. May even fix the problem all together.

Not only that, but the larger element is burned on the end.
 
Cleaned everything up and remounted the VR. Checked the car at idle. I completely forgot to write down the readings. But idle was around 13 and high cruise was maybe 14.5 ish. Car sounded like it was going to stall.

At this point based off of what everyone said here I think this is good point to buy a new VR.
 
The VR is a switch that opens and closes the battery voltage to the alternator. By jumping that connection (just bypassing the entire black box with a jumper wire and 2 clips to the ends) you are running the alternator at "wide open throttle" and it will COOK your battery like a tea kettle left to boil dry. The VR has points in it that open and close 50~200 times a second to "duty cycle" the alternators stator winding voltage and that keeps the output at ~14.7V. You can get another mechanical regulator or get an electronic version of the 'old style'
from regulator tech
View attachment 1715763852

Just checked this out. I can get behind a $24 repair.
 
Cleaned everything up and remounted the VR. Checked the car at idle. I completely forgot to write down the readings. But idle was around 13 and high cruise was maybe 14.5 ish. Car sounded like it was going to stall.

At this point based off of what everyone said here I think this is good point to buy a new VR.

Voltage sounds about right now.
 
Does it? I put the battery on the charger for the night. I'll fire it up in the morning and get new reads. I'll write them down this time.

Yeah right on the money.
 
Yea your voltages sound about perfect now. 13.xx at idle and 14.xx at Cruise is what you aim for.
What part of so cal? Lived in Costa Mesa most my life.
I’m in the inland empire, Norco. But grew up in lake forest and spent lots of time at Newport and San Clemente surfing when I was a kid. Btw Ewa Seed Co. Has the best shaved ice I’ve ever had!! Love that place.
 
with the battery being cycled to death a number of times, it will be low on reserve amps. May wanna get that load tested at O'reillys or somewhere they can put a carbon pile on it. Old friend said every time a car battery goes dead, it loses 7% of its storage capacity. If those resistor coils ohm out (continuity between ends) they my still be good. remove the top and take some fine sandpaper or a points file and gently clean the contacts of the points in the VR. They may have a little bump one one side and a pit on the other while your waiting for the new VR. Now you can chase that vacuum leak. My guess is the heater control valve if it has a vacuum port or heater switch. some were vacuum assisted but maybe only on the higher lines. start pinching lines off from the manifold with a pair of pliers and listen for an idle change. then chase that hose to your leak.
 
Does it? I put the battery on the charger for the night. I'll fire it up in the morning and get new reads. I'll write them down this time.
Is it just me or does his battery seem to be going dead pretty quickly considering an overnight charge on it. Although I don't know how many amps his charger puts out or how long he had the key on doing his testing.
 
Thanks for your patience. At several places in your answers and explanations you use the term "FIELD". "alternator field", "alternator field circuit ", "VR/field circuit", "field terminal", "field wiring", "field current draw", ""full field" test, "temporary field wire". What is this "FIELD" that you refer to?
 
Thanks for your patience. At several places in your answers and explanations you use the term "FIELD". "alternator field", "alternator field circuit ", "VR/field circuit", "field terminal", "field wiring", "field current draw", ""full field" test, "temporary field wire". What is this "FIELD" that you refer to?
The “field” is the electromagnetic winding in the alternator. The more voltage you put to the brushes, the stronger the magnetic field, and higher the alternator output. That’s it. The brushes ride on slip rings and the VR adjusts voltage to them to control output voltage of the alternator.
 
So I charged the battery for 12 hours on a battery tender.
Slapped it in this morning and fired the car up.
At idle the battery read 12.70
at cruise 12.76

The car started sputtering as soon as the headlight was turned on.
 
with the battery being cycled to death a number of times, it will be low on reserve amps. May wanna get that load tested at O'reillys or somewhere they can put a carbon pile on it. Old friend said every time a car battery goes dead, it loses 7% of its storage capacity. If those resistor coils ohm out (continuity between ends) they my still be good. remove the top and take some fine sandpaper or a points file and gently clean the contacts of the points in the VR. They may have a little bump one one side and a pit on the other while your waiting for the new VR. Now you can chase that vacuum leak. My guess is the heater control valve if it has a vacuum port or heater switch. some were vacuum assisted but maybe only on the higher lines. start pinching lines off from the manifold with a pair of pliers and listen for an idle change. then chase that hose to your leak.
I'll give this a shot. I am leaning heavily toward buying a new VR since they are so cheap. But it may be neat to try and fix this one while I am waiting for the new one.
 
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