Voltage regulator and oil light

[mpro69rr]

Hey Guys,

Well I blew a voltage regulator again after about a year, I replaced it and the car started fine but now my oil light comes on which it NEVER did before, I don't have it hooked up so why would it be on? What wire would go to the oil pressure switch? I checked the voltage at the battery and I got 14.1v at idle, is this OK? 69RR, 383, pertronics electronic distributor, I think its a 90 amp alternator, external VR, by power master. All new wiring in engine bay and console. I did the MAD conversion to prevent BH fires. I checked all the grounds, they seem to be fine. Any reason why this stuff is happening? Keep in mind I SUCK at electronic stuff, the only thing I can do is take a voltage test at the battery, lol. One other thing, now my fender top blinkers won't work, which they did before. Maybe I'm out of blinker fluid?

Thanks for the help!

 

[dvw]

There is a greyish/tan colored wire coming out of the engine harness near the regulator. If it is touching ay metal it will be grounded. That will cause it to stay on. 14.1 volts at the battery is great.
Doug

 

[zyzzyx]

The wire coming out of the loom and going to the oil pressure sender is GREY.

 

[mpro69rr]

Anyone else have an opinion on the other stuff going on? Are the VR supposed to last or do they go out every once in a while?

Thanks!

 

[mpro69rr]

There is a greyish/tan colored wire coming out of the engine harness near the regulator. If it is touching ay metal it will be grounded. That will cause it to stay on. 14.1 volts at the battery is great.
Doug

I think I might have found the problem. I found the grey wire and it wasn't touching metal. My ground strap from the engine is mounted on the bottom hole of the voltage regulator. I moved it a little and the oil light went out but my fender blinkers still don't work. I think I need to find another place for the ground wire on the firewall.

 

[dvw]

More than likely the fender blinker has a poor ground. They ground where they bolt up to the fender. Or the bulbs are burned out. A poor ground at regulator should not turn the oil light on.
Doug

 

[zyzzyx]

I'm not a wiring expert, but bad grounds are abundant in our old cars. Everything has to be checked!
If you have a bad ground in a circuit, sometimes it will backfeed and cause wierd problems elsewhere.

 

[mpro69rr]

I'm not a wiring expert, but bad grounds are abundant in our old cars. Everything has to be checked!
If you have a bad ground in a circuit, sometimes it will backfeed and cause wierd problems elsewhere.

Yes, I'm finding that out! Thanks!

 

[AR67GTX]

I think I might have found the problem. I found the grey wire and it wasn't touching metal. My ground strap from the engine is mounted on the bottom hole of the voltage regulator. I moved it a little and the oil light went out but my fender blinkers still don't work. I think I need to find another place for the ground wire on the firewall.

I don’t seem to have a picture of it but on 66/67 cars there’s a hole down below the ballast resister, just above the head, where a hex head screw secures it. I think later cars are basically the same for mounting the ground cable.

 

[mpro69rr]

I don’t seem to have a picture of it but on 66/67 cars there’s a hole down below the ballast resister, just above the head, where a hex head screw secures it. I think later cars are basically the same for mounting the ground cable.

Yes, I did find a couple of holes in that area, I'm going to mount the cable in one. Thanks!

 

[AR67GTX]

The black car is my non-AC car. The white car is an AC car. The left screw in the picture ( not left side of car) is the fan motor ground I think and the right screw is the ground cable to the motor.

 

[mpro69rr]

Yes, I did find a couple of holes in that area, I'm going to mount the cable in one. Thanks!

I'm not a wiring expert, but bad grounds are abundant in our old cars. Everything has to be checked!

If you have a bad ground in a circuit, sometimes it will backfeed and cause wierd problems elsewhere.

Well, I moved the ground cable and I got my top blinkers back. The only thing left is to get working is the parking lights. I don't know if they worked before, maybe its the bulb? The blinkers work below the bumper but not the parking lights. Do those bulbs have two filaments in them?

 

[mpro69rr]

I got the parking lights, tail lights and cluster lights working. I think I need a new light switch, when I went under the dash and touched a few wires to make sure it was plugged in they started working. The oil light was indeed the grey wire touching metal, I had the wrong grey wire, so I fixed that. I moved the ground cable to the firewall and its no longer on the bolt that goes to the voltage regulator. When I did this I got my fender top blinkers working, not sure if that had anything to do with it but you never know. Now I just have to figure out why my voltage regulator went out. I'm hoping it was because the ground wire was bolted to it so hopefully the new regulator won't go out, we will see. Hopefully this will give other people some ideas on what to check if this happens to them in one form or another.

Thanks for all the help from our forum members!