Some Car Guy
Well-Known Member
Agm batteries like 14.5+ voltage. I would ground the reg to the block and see if that changed what you are getting. My solid state reg in my 69 is putting out about 14.5 IIRC.
Battery at 15V...... Is My understanding of the VR correct?
- Thread starter Canadian1968
- Start date
Electronic VR or Points?
Id Be VERY concerened. "Stuck Closed" or Shorted. There's a test- its also on YouTube
(Lemme know if you want link, its been a few years).
Canadian1968
Well-Known Member
I'm waiting for the new adjustable VR to come in . The problem is explained perfectly in video earlier in the thread
PlymouthMakesIt
Member
Sounds like a high resistance ground on the alternator or regulator. Make sure the case of the alternator and VR is well-grounded to the body with an appropriately large wire and star washers. I had this same problem on a slant 6, overcharging over 15V with a new regulator, alternator, plug terminals, etc, adding a ground wire to the alternator at the bracket bolt finally brought it down to 14.4V.
451Mopar
Well-Known Member
15 Volts is too much for the battery as stated earlier. Sounds like regulator is trying to regulate to 14.4 volts as is "senses" the ignition voltage.
You have a voltage drop somewhere that should be fixed. The adjustable regulator can be used to correct the overcharging, but that is more of a band-aid for the real voltage drop problem.
Another band-aid fix would be powering the voltage regulator through a relay getting power direct from the battery, and activating (turning on) the relay with the ignition power.
You have a voltage drop somewhere that should be fixed. The adjustable regulator can be used to correct the overcharging, but that is more of a band-aid for the real voltage drop problem.
Another band-aid fix would be powering the voltage regulator through a relay getting power direct from the battery, and activating (turning on) the relay with the ignition power.
Way back in a Community College (After the Army) in Electrical class, instructor mentioned an Acronym I'll never forget. "M.A.L.T." Material- (copper/steel/Lead) Area- (Any Resistance? In circuit, wire passing thru any Firewall, sitting ON a bellhousing?) Length- Length of wire= Higher Resistance in Voltage travel (To and from). Temperature- Temperature of Wire, conductor or PLACE the Circuit is located. Can ALL add up to a Failure or Lack of what Signal a circuit is intended to do.
--Failures can be: Burning through the "Colored Wire Insulator", (Short to Ground) or Short to voltage! Definitely NOT what ya want! None of which made much sense until ya thought about it.
--Failures can be: Burning through the "Colored Wire Insulator", (Short to Ground) or Short to voltage! Definitely NOT what ya want! None of which made much sense until ya thought about it.
Canadian1968
Well-Known Member
Got the new adjustable regulator.
I had taken the battery out of the car to make sure it was fully charged, while I was waiting for the new regulator to show up. THere was some crud around the positive battery termainal that I couldn't see untill I removed the cable.. I cleaned it all up as well as the cable connections. I put the new regulator on and adjusted it to 13.9 V at the battery. I went and check the feed at IGN 1 , identical 13.9 V. I guess I probably had a loose / poor connection right at my positive post on my battery cable.
But that wasn't the end of the story. Letting the car run , checking things over, allowing the car to do a few heat cycles and turn on electric fans. I was sitting in the car watching the ammeter , which was sitting nicely right in the center , when suddenly I hear the fans speed up . The ammeter, starts doing some weird things and then starts charging, WTF ???
I hop out and check the battery voltage 16V WTF ??? I shut the car off immediately . Checking things over looks for some something obvious, nothing. Hooked multimenter up to the igin 1 feed this time and started the car, 16V there to. Did my BRAND new regulator just take a dirt nap? I threw the other regulator on that I had before knowing that it would charge at 14.4. That regulator also showed 16V , ok what the hell is going on here. I pulled the triangle connection off the regulator, and tested the wires. I could not get a signal threw the IGN 1 Feed wire. I started probing along the wire looking for the broken connection. Found it , the splice right off the pigtail of the regulator terminal. Feeling the heat shrinked connection I could feel where it was probabaly broken. With all the moving round testing different VR and the engine work I had done over the winter, it obviously broke the connection some how.
Striped back the wires, re soldered , heat shrinked and re connected. THrew it all back together, and boom back to normal , FINALLY !!!
I had taken the battery out of the car to make sure it was fully charged, while I was waiting for the new regulator to show up. THere was some crud around the positive battery termainal that I couldn't see untill I removed the cable.. I cleaned it all up as well as the cable connections. I put the new regulator on and adjusted it to 13.9 V at the battery. I went and check the feed at IGN 1 , identical 13.9 V. I guess I probably had a loose / poor connection right at my positive post on my battery cable.
But that wasn't the end of the story. Letting the car run , checking things over, allowing the car to do a few heat cycles and turn on electric fans. I was sitting in the car watching the ammeter , which was sitting nicely right in the center , when suddenly I hear the fans speed up . The ammeter, starts doing some weird things and then starts charging, WTF ???
I hop out and check the battery voltage 16V WTF ??? I shut the car off immediately . Checking things over looks for some something obvious, nothing. Hooked multimenter up to the igin 1 feed this time and started the car, 16V there to. Did my BRAND new regulator just take a dirt nap? I threw the other regulator on that I had before knowing that it would charge at 14.4. That regulator also showed 16V , ok what the hell is going on here. I pulled the triangle connection off the regulator, and tested the wires. I could not get a signal threw the IGN 1 Feed wire. I started probing along the wire looking for the broken connection. Found it , the splice right off the pigtail of the regulator terminal. Feeling the heat shrinked connection I could feel where it was probabaly broken. With all the moving round testing different VR and the engine work I had done over the winter, it obviously broke the connection some how.
Striped back the wires, re soldered , heat shrinked and re connected. THrew it all back together, and boom back to normal , FINALLY !!!
Sixpactogo
Well-Known Member
Glad you got it figured out. Persistence is king.
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