-First post on this forum-

So I own a few cars (a gas guzzling F350 and a not so economic 63 Falcon rat rod w/ a 289 swapped in). Decided the f350 was killing me on gas and I wanted a 60's car that got decent mileage for my daily driver. I didn't mind if it needed work because I am a mechanic at a dealership.

At any rate I found a 67 valiant 2 door with a 170 for a grand. Needs typical work (Wheel cylinders, idler arm, control arm bushings/strud rod bushings, weather stripping, etc) It is also not charging and it has a new alternator and battery in it. The alternator was held on with a make shift bracket (held on by one bolt cause the other had broken off in the block) and VERY jerry rigged. Anyway after much head ache and craigslist work, I got the correct brackets, and drilled out the old broken bolt and tapped it. (if you ever break an easy out in a bolt, glass drill bits drill through easy outs) It now appears solid and the belt is no longer jumping off. But I still have no charge. Are these alternators supposed to have one or 2 field wires coming from it? (I have 1 on the alternator) I see a ground terminal (on the alternator) unused with a screw in it, should I be using it? -and just straight to ground on the body?- Where is the regulator on these cars and is there a way to test the regulator? I know on some GM motors you can bypass the regulator and check to see if you have full charge. How do you do this on one of these? Any diagnostic tips are appreciated (I know I work at a dealership but I normally deal with problems like: Check engine light reads Intake runner position high circuit input and The Electrionic Stability Control sway bar is stuck in Sport Mode, breaker point carbed slant sixes with externally regulated alternators and valves that need periodic adjustment are a new thing for me)

Step one: Get the three books described in this thread as quickly as you can, to get up to speed on how your car is put together and how to fix it right.

The voltage regulator is on the firewall, on the driver's side. It has two terminals on it, "IGN" and "FLD". The "IGN" terminal should have battery voltage when the ignition key is turned on. There should be continuity (0 ohms resistance) between the wire connected to the "FLD" terminal on the regulator and the other end of that wire which is connected to the field terminal on the back of the alternator. Further charge system test info here.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

How do you know if its charging or not? Does the ammeter show a discharge at all times, or does it move at all? If it shows discharge all the time, and the alternator/wiring is known good, its likely your ancient regulator has died. Seeing as how it was originally a breaker point regulator, it likely died some time ago. You can purchase solid state replacement units, or upgrade to the newer style dual field regulator which will require a different alternator than the one you've got. I am sure SS Dan has part numbers for you.

If the ammeter doesn't move at all at any time, its likely a bad wire in the circuit, or the ammeter died, and is thus not allowing current to pass through and charge the battery.

The regulator is a box on the driver side of the firewall not too far from the bulkhead connector. There should be a single wire going in, and a single wire coming out. The single wire going in should read battery voltage with the ignition "ON" and adjust output to the alternator accordingly.

The single wire then runs to the field (FLD) terminal on the alternator. The ground (GND) you see is to be left alone as is unless its dirty or rusty, at which point it should be cleaned. From there, you have the battery (BAT) post for alternator output. This should run back to the bulkhead connector, to the ammeter then back out the bulkhead and connect to the starter relay, which could be located on the firewall, or inner fender near the battery.

With as cobbled together equipment you seem to have it would not surprise me if the wiring was all messed up on top of non-functional equipment.

See what you find.

~RDE~

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1984 D100 Shorty Custom
Certified Auto Appraiser - RevItUp Classic Appraisals
President - Cherry City Bombers CC
Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

The stock system '67 alt. has 2 brushes, with one shorted to the case and the other going to the regulator. With the ignition on, engine not running, you ought to be getting close to 12V at the one brush. Engine running, that will vary to control the alt output - if the system voltage is less than ~13V you ought to be seeing the full voltage at the brush. You need 4-6A @12V to that brush to get full field for maximum alt output. If you've got that and you still don't charge, measure the +BAT stud right at the alt while the car's running - if you've got >>12V you might just have a bad connection from the alt output to the rest of the car.

Keep in mind that regulators and alternators can totally, just partially, or intermittently fail in many ways - it's not just works vs. not works. I've seen alternators with 2/3 destroyed field windings still sort of work. Fortunately, Mopar alternators are exceptionally easy to fix. The brushes are inexpensive and go in from the outside with 1 screw each.

I've had good experience using an electronic, very stock-appearing replacement regulator from JCWhitney - no changes to the factory wiring at all.

Shorted, no. grounded, yes.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Test the alternator by removing the field wire from the alternator and then connecting the FIELD terminal to the output terminal of the alternator. If the alternator is working you will get a heavy charge as you SLOWLY rev up the motor. Turn off EVERYTHING before you do this test because the voltage can get too high and burn things out. I suggest putting a voltmeter on the output terminal of the alternator and watching it as you increase the idle just a bit. If you don't see an increase of voltage then the alternator is bad.

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Everyone here has good info for you. Definitely check that the large B+ stud on the alt has batt voltage on it with the eng off. Power from the alt goes thru (the trouble-prone) bulkhead connector to the vehicle systems. Then it goes thru the ammeter, back out the bulkhead conn, to the starter relay & battery. So whatever voltage reading you get at the alt stud should be very close (within .2-.3V)to battery voltage at all times.

The regulator supplies ignition + power to the field circuit in order to maintain charging voltage at its set point. So, close to 12V at field terminal = reg is trying to charge full blast, & it lowers that field V to reduce/ control battery V. A fully charged battery is about 12.6V, & most regulators are set 14.0 -14.5V (1.5 -2.0 V above battery V) It is normal for charging voltage to drop at idle (low rpm = low alt output). Another thing to remember is many old cars onlyhad 25-30 Amp alt, so any add on equipment could overwhelm the system.

If the alt puts out some but not lots, then you could have a bad diode. One way to check this is to run the eng at fast idle with headlites & blower on & check battery V with your digital voltmeter set to AC. If you see more than100-200mV AC then you likely need a new alt. (a DVOM is really the tool of choice for diagnosing most electrical faults)

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63 Valiant Wagon
225 - 4 bbl

@SlantSixDan -"There should be continuity (0 ohms resistance) between the wire connected to the "FLD" terminal on the regulator and the other end of that wire" Yea the wiring was good. Once I found the voltage regulator, I checked it with my DVOM, thanks for the heads up. I was kinda guessing from the get go that I had a bad voltage regulator due to all my dim lights, my ammeter, and the fact that the lights were dim and getting WAY bright whenever I gave it gas...

@Thor -"How do you know if its charging or not?" My ammeter and 12.58v at battery key off, 11.6v Key on Engine On. And I already put the battery on the tester at my work and knew the battery was good and the problem was with charging. -I went with a replacement regulator rather then an updated alternator system, because I don't know what I am doing with the motor yet (swapping to a 225? F/I? Rebuilding the 170? Or keeping it as is and riding it for another year before I do something significant to it....)

@Chuck -excellent info, this is what ultimately led to me to replace the voltage regulator. works great now!

@WagonsRcool -"Everyone here has good info for you." Definitely, and your info on the voltage regulator was awesome, much appreciated! "a DVOM is really the tool of choice for diagnosing most electrical faults" -i'm not new to working on cars. i'm just new to old school. I am a 26 year old mechanic at Lexus who learned being an apprentice @ an independent BMW and Mercedes Benz service shop. I also have my A6, A8, L1 and california smog license. I just really learned on direct injected, coil on plug, water cooled alternators (yes, modern day BMW 7 series), and computer controlled variable valve timing motors. So aside from my 63 falcon (which is more of a show car rat rod, that i just swapped a crate electronic ignition 289/power disk brakes/power steering into) this is my first time dealing with an old school car, breaker points, adjusting valves, drum brakes (when was the last time you saw a lexus or bmw with drums?), and all of that sort. at any rate out of any automotive/motorcycle forum ive been on, im finding some of the smartest bunch of people ive seen that i could learn ALOT from. Thanks for the great advice everyone!