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Charging System Issue

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I just picked up a 73 Charger last week. The charging system is not working. It has a new voltage regulator and alternator. It has a 1978 440 in it currently. Where else should I be looking? I haven't really done any diagnosing with it. This is my first time working with an old Mopar. I'm coming from working on 85 Shelby Chargers and old aircooled VWs. Any help would be much appreciated!

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I don't have a wiring diagram yet. I know some of the gauges are not connected. If the ammeter is not connected, would this cause it to not charge? Thanks!
 
Unless is bypassed somewhere, yes, ammeter must be connected or battery won't get charged. If you say is not charging, should get a discharge reading on ammeter
 
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But still read the ammeter as discharge
If the nuts at the back of the ammeter are loose, the gauge coil might have burned out, but normally you'll smell someting hot or have a dash fire. Check that the nuts are tight, it's cheap insurance.
I haven't seen a coil burned out in mopar, but I have in 300 hp DC motor drive cabinets. Seen 3 or 4 old mopars in jukyards from instrument cluster fires.
 
Ammeters up to 75 don't have coils, the ones with coils are with shunts wires on engine bay. A 73 ammeter is still a full load ammeter.
 
Hey carcrazy... bad *** Charger. Anyway, if you have clearance, you can take a regular old non-magnetic flat screwdriver & put it behind the "center axis" of the alternator on the back side (a raised metal flat circle about the size of a nickel, dead center in back). If the alternator is charging, that nickel sized center spot will be magnetic, if it's not, then you're not charging. Also, you can put a simple voltmeter on the pos/neg of the battery itself. If it's not charging, you'll be about 12 volts. If it is charging, you'll be about 14.5 volts.

Other things to check... I "think" you've got 3 wires on the back of your alternator. One really big one with a nut holding it in place & 2 smaller ones that have slip-on spade connector ends. The really big one with the nut is the main power wire. It goes through the bulkhead disconnect (3 pig multi-wire plugs on firewall near brake master cylinder), then through the amp meter, then ignition switch (I think), but for sure end up at the positive post on the battery. You should be able to measure 12 volts at the big alternator wire terminal (while wire is connected) with an electric meter. If you have an issue with your dash amp meter, you can run a really big wire (maybe 6 gage?) from the nut connector on the back of the alternator directly to the positive side of the battery & it will charge.

The other two wires are called "field wires" and basically they tell the alternator when to charge & when not to charge. When they're at 12 volts, the alternator charges. When one or both don't have voltage, the alternator doesn't charge. I can't remember exactly where those wires come from...maybe out of the ignition wiring or ballast resistor?... but a wiring diagram should help you track those down. Regardless, I'm pretty sure both of the small field wires should be 12 volts for the system to charge & you can test this with the engine running & sticking an electric meter probe onto the back of those wires while hooked up to the alternator. WATCH YOUR HANDS OR USE EXTENSION WIRES since the engine will be running.
 
On a "two wire field" alternator, one wire has +12 volts on it all the time when the car is running. The other field wire is a "switched ground" controlled by the voltage regulator. It does not matter which wire is connected to which terminal.
 
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