wat the eff. . i need help

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dustya_383

dustya_383

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So I replaced the volt.reg. in my belvedere, cause the other one was no good, so I crank the motor and all is good except I notice that my volt meter is at 18. When I press the gas. Overcharged?? Then the volt reg got hot and now I'm running off only battery. My alt. Is a two wire. Used to be a single.how do I figure out the problem. Now the new volt. Reg I bought is not working any help please
 
what EXACTLY did you do?

Why did you replace the regulator?

Sound like the regulator was defective
 
67Dart273 said:
what EXACTLY did you do?

Why did you replace the regulator?

Sound like the regulator was defective
Click to expand...

I was having a problem with the charging system. i found out it is was the volt. regulator, so i replaced it. it worked for a few minutes,but my volt meter inside the car was reading 18 volts with the motor running. the volt reg started to get really hot so i shut it off couple weeks ago i realized my alt was no good as well so i threw the one from my duster in it. which is a 2 wire, the one before was a single wire. im thinking it was overcharging? dont know why though any ideas?
 
OK so this previously had a 69/ earlier setup?

And you have now converted to a 70/ later setup?

I'm thinking you wired the regulator wrong
 
67Dart273 said:
OK so this previously had a 69/ earlier setup?

And you have now converted to a 70/ later setup?

I'm thinking you wired the regulator wrong
Click to expand...

I mean it has the same two wire Regulator. It says ignition and field on it, I just matched the wires to how it was on original regulator.
 
Did you switch from the little square regulator with separate field wires on each side to the type with a single triangular plug? IIRC the earlier type were mechanical and the later type were electric. You may simply have a defective regulator. Hope it wasn't from autozone!
 
Alright you need to start over from square one.

LET'S START WITH BASICS. WHAT YEAR MAKE AND MODEL is your car?

WHAT YEAR regulator are you using?

BELOW is a picture of the 69/ earlier single wire field type regulator:

oe-style-voltage-regulator-for-1961-69-mopar-b-body_370303095941.jpg


BELOW is a picture of the 70/ later electronic isolated field type regulator:

mopar-performance-4529794.jpeg



Now it's sounding like you have the earlier style. Don't just match the wires, MAKE SURE how they are connected. If it's the first (69/ earlier) type, the wire going to the igniton should be hot with the key on. The other wire going to the field --when disconnected from the regulator--should have no voltage.

Check the field on your alternator to make sure one brush is not SHORTED to ground and check to make sure that the field is not shorted.

If you have a single field connection, this means the second brush is GROUNDED. To check that the field is OK, rig a wire with a 5 or 10A fuse holder, hook one end to the battery and the other end to the insulated field terminal. The wire should spark and should not blow the fuse. If you want to be a little more certain, now add your multimeter ammeter in series IF you have a meter that can read amps. The field should read less than 5A (off the top of my head.)

If you are using an "isolated field" (later alternator, two field terminals) Do the same test as above, but unhook BOTH terminals and try the test first to be sure there is NO current flow. This shows that neither brush is shorted, and shows that the field is not shorted. Next, pick one terminal and ground it, and repeat the test as in the upper paragraph.

If all this pans out, and you have the regulator wired correctly you probably just have a defective regulator.

BEFORE YOU PUT a third regulator on the car, I would do a "full field" test to be sure the field has control of charging the car. UNHOOK the field connection to the regulator, and leave the second brush grounded. Start the car---it should not charge. Clip lead a wire from the exposed brush (field) terminal and hook to the output stud. As you ease the RPM up, it should charge "more and more" Be careful you don't generate too much voltage if it charges. Ya can blow up stuff, including tachs, clocks, radios, light bulbs, etc.
 
67Dart273 said:
Alright you need to start over from square one.

LET'S START WITH BASICS. WHAT YEAR MAKE AND MODEL is your car?

WHAT YEAR regulator are you using?

BELOW is a picture of the 69/ earlier single wire field type regulator:

oe-style-voltage-regulator-for-1961-69-mopar-b-body_370303095941.jpg


BELOW is a picture of the 70/ later electronic isolated field type regulator:

mopar-performance-4529794.jpeg



Now it's sounding like you have the earlier style. Don't just match the wires, MAKE SURE how they are connected. If it's the first (69/ earlier) type, the wire going to the igniton should be hot with the key on. The other wire going to the field --when disconnected from the regulator--should have no voltage.

Check the field on your alternator to make sure one brush is not SHORTED to ground and check to make sure that the field is not shorted.

If you have a single field connection, this means the second brush is GROUNDED. To check that the field is OK, rig a wire with a 5 or 10A fuse holder, hook one end to the battery and the other end to the insulated field terminal. The wire should spark and should not blow the fuse. If you want to be a little more certain, now add your multimeter ammeter in series IF you have a meter that can read amps. The field should read less than 5A (off the top of my head.)

If you are using an "isolated field" (later alternator, two field terminals) Do the same test as above, but unhook BOTH terminals and try the test first to be sure there is NO current flow. This shows that neither brush is shorted, and shows that the field is not shorted. Next, pick one terminal and ground it, and repeat the test as in the upper paragraph.

If all this pans out, and you have the regulator wired correctly you probably just have a defective regulator.

BEFORE YOU PUT a third regulator on the car, I would do a "full field" test to be sure the field has control of charging the car. UNHOOK the field connection to the regulator, and leave the second brush grounded. Start the car---it should not charge. Clip lead a wire from the exposed brush (field) terminal and hook to the output stud. As you ease the RPM up, it should charge "more and more" Be careful you don't generate too much voltage if it charges. Ya can blow up stuff, including tachs, clocks, radios, light bulbs, etc.
Click to expand...


Ok so its a 67 plymouth belvedere with a 383. It has the 1st pictured regulator.and I replaced it again today,along with the old single field alternator. It worked fine was right in between 12and 14 volts. But now I'm having a different problem. When I turn the lights on, the volt meter drops to 0.(the battery is completly dead) but was running off Alt.. so why does the volt meter drop all the way down when my lights come on?
 
OK, now you really have me confused. We are not mind readers. Don't know unless you tell us.

Do you mean that (maybe the car has been parked) and the battery IS DEAD?

So you jumped it?

And are running the car off the alternator on a completely dead battery?

IF THAT is true, it just might be that the alternator is having enough trouble generating enough field current to keep itself charging, that is, as soon as you load the system (lights) the alternator drops down.

If that's what is happening, you need to get a charger on the battery overnight until you get it up. ????

Other than that, I'd suspect the 'ol bulkhead connector.
 
67Dart273 said:
OK, now you really have me confused. We are not mind readers. Don't know unless you tell us.

Do you mean that (maybe the car has been parked) and the battery IS DEAD?

So you jumped it?

And are running the car off the alternator on a completely dead battery?

IF THAT is true, it just might be that the alternator is having enough trouble generating enough field current to keep itself charging, that is, as soon as you load the system (lights) the alternator drops down.

If that's what is happening, you need to get a charger on the battery overnight until you get it up. ????




Other than that, I'd suspect the 'ol bulkhead connector.
Click to expand...


Ok that makes sense. ill charge the battery tomoro and see if that helps any. But to answer your question the the battery is not dead from sitting , its dead from the car running off only the battery(alt was not working due to volt reg I believe)
Thanks for the help
 
1969dodgedartgt said:
:) good education (for me), class over...
Click to expand...
Tell me if I'm stupid, but...:)

What we learned is:
When a battery is completely dead and the engine is started with a jump-start, the alternator has it's hands full just keeping the motor running and charging the battery a little as a bonus.

These alternators were never intended to charge a dead battery while running the engine, radio, lights, and who knows what else. The alternator was only designed to keep the battery charged while the battery/alternator combined their efforts to keep the car going long enough to either get you home or recharge the battery.

At least that's the way I've thought about it for a long time.

Our early/old alternators are great compared to generators, but it's unfair to ask them to resurrect a dead battery and power a car at the same time.

Always subject to being proven wrong,
Ronny
 
yeah, that's about what I got from it.

dont ask too much from your alternator.
if your having electrical problems, FIRST thing FIRST BATTERY....

it is kinda unexpected, since you may think that the system can run without the bat once its going. guess that extra load of charging a dead bat taxes the alt too much...
 
1969dodgedartgt said:
yeah, that's about what I got from it.

dont ask too much from your alternator.
if your having electrical problems, FIRST thing FIRST BATTERY....

it is kinda unexpected, since you may think that the system can run without the bat once its going. guess that extra load of charging a dead bat taxes the alt too much...
Click to expand...

Some alternators seem to be able to "self generate" like generators do, and some do not. What seems to be able to happen is, as the battery is "more and more dead" you can reach a point with some alternators where the battery is trying to suck SO MUCH current, that the alternator cannot build enough voltage to even operate IT'S OWN FIELD.

I'm sure you might have heard of helicopter crashes (or near misses) caused by "getting under the curve" (of the engine output). This is the same deal. The alternator keeps getting sucked down lower and lower in voltage by a more and more "dead" battery until it simply cannot put out enough voltage to operate the ignition system, or itself
 
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