Need help badly with charging system

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63VALIANT*KISS

63VALIANT*KISS

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So my dart slant with pointsand single field sqaureback alt was doing fine till mid last week when I could hear the weakness turning over, checked battery and it was low 12.10v and I took it out charged it cuz I needed to get to work orderd a alt while at work. I put it in next day the battery dropped to 12.70 after charging it the day before and the new alt was only making my battery go up .01v every 15secs . I took off the regulator and realized one side was blacked sobs swapped it to a solid state 2 pin I had and no change.

So today I went and messed with it again and I cleaned all the terminals and connections and figured I would try a brand new volt regulator I had in the box (niehoff ) and no changed the battery goes up by the .01s so I was running out of ideas I went to the dash and tapped the ammeter and giggled the key the gauge went to charging the rpms lowerd I touched the gas and I got a nasty screech and the charging stopped and the rpms went up it.....I turned it off and tightend the ammeter nuts then restarted did same thing charged for a min and when I touched the pedal scream and charge stopped.

I'm sorry this is so long and drawn out but I am just listing everything I've done
 
The screech was the alternator working as hard as it could, making the belt squeal.
Disconnecting the battery and getting the connections tight on the back of the ammeter was the right step.
Check the belt for being too loose or glazed.
I think you are going to be OK, you just have a "funny" connection.
Next step would be cleaning firewall bulkhead connectors with fine wire brush.
 
I checked the belt it only screeched under load when it was charging once it stopped there was no noise I checked the belt right away I will get some electrical cleaner and spray the bulkhead I'm just scared to drive it the way it is . And I did see I was getting 1.9x v at the fld wire on the volt reg I'm thinking of making a new field wire and bypass the original the manual says u should get no more then .55v from the fld wire
 
Have you had the battery load tested ? There's more to them that volts. If a bad battery can no longer store amperage, shorted internally, whatever, the charging system will do weird things.
Then again, wiggling stuff causing a difference is not a good sign. A failing ignition switch might cause the charging system to work intermittently.
 
RedFish said:
Have you had the battery load tested ? There's more to them that volts. If a bad battery can no longer store amperage, shorted internally, whatever, the charging system will do weird things..
Click to expand...

this^ I also suggest "desulfating" the battery as well as cleaning/tightening all the primary grounds..
 
I wanted to post a couple numbers here maybe it may help on the battery while running I get 12.40v ish at the alt I have 12.38v ish out of field at alt I get a constant
1.98v at the field on regulator I get 1.98v and at the ign at regulator I get about 11.70v ish
 
Doesn't sound like the regulator is fliwing enough current into the field.
A running engine, with a fairly well charged battery, just maintaining voltage should be around 13.8 volts, plus/minus small resistance/voltage drops at connectors and wiring losses.
 
Make a special ground wire link from the base of the voltage reg directly to another one of your existing ground points.
Everything's gotta be clean and shiny.
 
I made a ground from the base of the volt reg to the ground on the back of the alt still nothing changed cleaned the whole bulkhead till it was shiny nothing changed I noticed when I wiggled the key it would charge and stayed even after revving so I thought I found my issue so I had 2 spare switchs I changed to a non ground terminal one no change when rev the charging stops so I switched to a newer style same plug in and I added a ground wire to the terminal and still no change even swapped back to the solid state regulator and then it didn't charge on startup anymore so IDK where I am at with this. I got a alt coming tomorrow ima get it tested before I leave the store
 
Sounds like dirty contacts in the ignition switch. Try to get some contact cleaner into the switch (not the key hole but the switch behind it) and move the key back and forth to clean the contacts. I eliminated a flickering light issue with mine by using a relay to feed the regulator. Good Luck
 
Unmodified Wiring Diagram
Unmodified Early Charging System.jpg

If you can get your hands on a cheap relay (Advance or Autozone sells them for under $10.00) BWR R3177 or equivalent you can try adding this modification. Essentially it will feed the regulator with full battery voltage (which is what you want. Just make sure that you have good grounds and it should work.
Old Style Charging Sytem Relay Modification.jpg
 
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I took my alt to a auto electrical shop and they tested my alt he said it was fine that he can get out of it more then it should so it charges I brought him my regulators withbthe alt and he called and said all my volt regs are dead he load tested my battery ban it needs a charge yesterday before it got dark I swapped to a different ignition switch and I couldn't get the charging to happen while moving key so I figured that is good and it was a better switch with a ground terminal so I ran a ground just for the ignition switch so I will know I guess when I get this new volt regulator from the auto shop he ordered me a solid state . I'm kinda scared cuss I don't have electronic ignition yet.
Thanks for all ur help

I cleaned the ignition switch before putting it on and the connector with dielectric grease by the way any other opinions would be great I'm thinking of RE doing the field wire just cuz its easy
 
63VALIANT*KISS said:
I took my alt to a auto electrical shop and they tested my alt he said it was fine that he can get out of it more then it should so it charges I brought him my regulators withbthe alt and he called and said all my volt regs are dead he load tested my battery ban it needs a charge yesterday before it got dark I swapped to a different ignition switch and I couldn't get the charging to happen while moving key so I figured that is good and it was a better switch with a ground terminal so I ran a ground just for the ignition switch so I will know I guess when I get this new volt regulator from the auto shop he ordered me a solid state . I'm kinda scared cuss I don't have electronic ignition yet.
Thanks for all ur help

I cleaned the ignition switch before putting it on and the connector with dielectric grease by the way any other opinions would be great I'm thinking of RE doing the field wire just cuz its easy
Click to expand...
Not to worry, the electronic regulator that looks like your old mechanical will connect like your old one but it's designed to work with your single wire grounded field alternator. If your wiring is OK (see the diagram I posted above) it should work fine, let me know how it turns out. Good Luck
 
I'm going to do one thing today while I wait for a result of this other volt reg I found in my stash (filko) I'm gonna test the wires and make sure they r solid with my volt meter mostly the field from alt and the alt bat wire to bulkhead I will let u know how it goes and by tomorrow I'll have my solid state and hope that solves the issue
 
Yea I sure hope so cuz I went and tested all the grounds and and all the wires in the eng compartment they all chimed from my tester so they are all good no ground out points and no broken wires causing interference so I hope tomorrow by noon and driving
 
Also the key switch was messed up I took out the tumbler and there was grease all packed in there I've nvr seen red dielectric grease lol
 
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