The path you describe is right except the main charging flow does not go through the fuse box; the fuse box just hangs off this main line as a branch circuit. And the ammeter is on the 'battery side' of the system so the flow is:
alternator>bulkhead>welded splice under dash>ammeter>bulkhead>fusible link>starter relay>battery. The ammeter originally just showed battery charge/discharge and not any of the current going elsewhere. (And I am reciting the flow for the earlier cars; I never looked at a '79 truck schematic...)

Best reports of operation seem to be to take the alternator output direct to the big lug on the starter relay. One fellow recently was having voltage regulation issues when he took the alternator direct the battery but it settled down when he moved the connection to the starter relay bug lug. Just that little bit of extra resistance is helping the regulation.

Not sure any of this will help your truck's running issues; I just wanted to explore the comment about the ballast as it has no place in your system as I currently understand it, and weak spark could cause your symptoms.

BTW, could the shop who rebuilt your motor do a compression test for you?

There just a machine shop they dont do installs and there always busy. I'm going to get one latter this week. Hopefully i dont have bad rings or something like that...... which reminds me should i get a leak down tester? is it the same as a compression tester? Also its been a while since i have used one. Shouldn't all the cylinders be about 10% of each other? And you open the throttle to WOT as you crank right?

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~Nic

Leak down is different than compression; I would do the compression test as it is easier for just checking to run down this problem. Yes on the WOT. Within 10% is pretty good. A bit more is tolerable. With a recent rebuild they ought to be pretty close.

Ok. It was rebuilt a year/ 10,000 miles ago...

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~Nic

Well its been a week since i had my back cut on so i thought I would go check the compression on my truck like i planed..... NOPE. I go to start it and I get the CLICK CLICK CLICK sound. So i pull out the battery tester and it says its good. I clean all the contacts (AGAIN). And i test the starter relay. All is working like it should. So guess what I get to replace................

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~Nic

IF your battery is fully charged, check your battery cable, check the tightness of the connections at the battery, and check the functioning of the starter motor solenoid. You know the ignition switch and starter relay are working because you get a clicking sound. The problem is either not enough volts/amps getting to the starter motor to kick out the solenoid and engage the motor, or in a starter motor that is failing internally.

Batteries can fail internally (as can battery cables) and appear to be fine until a load is placed on them. Have your battery load tested at a shop.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Ok so I replaced the starter and she fired right up but im still having an issue with power loss when climbing a hill and the motor dieing when I come to a stop. The idle is bouncing but around where it should be and the timing is also bouncing but at 12 Deg BTDC. You will see this in the video links I post along with this. Its like a cylinder is misfiring but ive checked for this. I dont have any intake leaks for I have sprayed starting fluid around it and the idle dose not change. And the motor revs smooth.
http://youtu.be/MpRM6Wuz_Ao
http://youtu.be/F8qGxnim3H4
http://youtu.be/sYPDEtVAHL0
I still havent done a compression test yet. And the motor is only pulling 10Hg of vacuum. Also im thinking The valves need adjusted from the sound of the motor. Any feed back would be helpful for I have no idea what to check next.

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~Nic

After watching your second video, I believe you will find this page helpful:

http://www.secondchancegarage.com/public/186.cfm

Pay attention to scenarios 7 and 10.

Watching those videos leads me to believe you have several things going on at the same time:

(1) idle speed too low

(2) timing is off and shouldn't be bouncing around like that. I think you either
(a) a stretched timing chain; or
(b) a problem with the mechanical advance mechanism in your distributor. Did you or the previous owner of the motor install a "performance" electronic ignition distributor or the electronic ignition distributor that came with the Moper Performance electronic ignition conversion kit?

(3) valve need adjusting. A stock slant six in good condition should have a steady vacuum of around 20 inches. At the very lest the needle should be steady and I would hope or a vacuum reading of at least 13-14 inches.


In my mind, step one is to get your timing to settle down. Verify your firing order, check for timing chain stretch, open up the distributor and make sure the springs are hooked up and the weights move smoothly and return completely to the closed position. Once you get the timing to hold steady at idle, set your base timing to around 5 BTDC. You can fine tune it later, but 5 BTDC is a good place to start with an unknown cam.

Step two is to get those valves adjusted so you can get a steady vacuum reading.

Step three is to get the curb idle speed and mixture dialed in.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

The distributor is 100% orignal. The idle is at 500-600 RPM bouncing. And the timing is at 12Deg BTDC. It looks off because of the Vacuum not being steady making it look like its misfiring. The firing order is correct too. The Cam I have in it is a 265 Mech Cam.

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~Nic

Too low. Try 750-800 in park/neutral.
The engine vacuum should have absolutely no effect on the base timing setting. In fact, the base timing is supposed to be set with the vacuum advance hose disconnected from the distributor and plugged.

Did you incorrectly hook your vacuum advance pod to the manifold vacuum instead of the correct ported vacuum source on the carb? You want to hook it up to the "timed" vacuum advance port in the following picture:



The distributor in your truck is designed to have no vacuum at idle and full manifold vacuum as soon as the throttle is opened. Verify that the vacuum advance is hooked up correctly and then double check your base timing.
Which means??

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Ok not to sound like an ass but im not stupid.
According to the Original emissions sticker the idle speed is 550 for a manual transmission, which I have.
I know engine vacuum has no affect on "base" timing. But when the idle is constantly "bouncing" then the vacuum changes and the timing changes. This is what I was trying to show in the video. Not the "Base" timing but the way the motor was idling after I ran it. This is what I stated in my first post. That the motor starts fine runs well for a few miles and then loses power. Please go back and read this as I have already checked all these obvious problem areas. And yes I have the vacuum advance hooked up right. As for the Camshaft the "265" is the duration of it, As it is not stock but not to "wild" to make the vacuum readings way off.

_________________
~Nic

OK. Good luck!

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Just a fly on the wall, but I'm interested to to know what you ultimately discover. So please do post your discoveries. It will help all the flies.

Because the vacuum and idle were so erratic, I'd want to check the valve lash. The benefit of testing compression first is that if you have a low reading cylinder, and then discover the lash was minimal or zero in that cylinder, you would know why and be able to expect an improved compression reading upon retest.

As every metal part heats up and thereby expands, there is a chance that a valve isn't seating correctly when warm.

Also, it might be fair to say that the original sticker stating 550 RPM idle speed is not going to apply to an engine with a modified carb, cam, and headers.

Again, thanks for posting your questions and youtube vids!

Ok got the truck running great again. So here is the long and dumb story....

So I went to do a compression test on the motor. I got it all warmed up. Disconnected the coil. Screwed in the tester. Hooked up the remote starter and held the throttle all the way open. As soon as I make two full cranks, the gauge face blows up...... This is what i get for buying tools at Harbor Freight. So I did not do a compression test.
I did however adjust the valves according to how SlantSixDan says they should be done.
http://www.slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic ... ght=#72139

And boy did they need adjusted. All of the exhaust valves were way to tight. and by to tight I mean it took a full 1/2 wrench turn to get them in the ball park. And after adjusting just one valve the idle went up and the motor "smoothed out". It only got better as I went along. This is where I believe my problem was. With the valves to tight, then they weren't fully closing. This caused the "loss of power" and low vacuum readings. As for the intake valves they all were to loose but not to bad. It only took about 1/4 of a wrench turn to fix the worst one.
I forgot these adjusters don't have a locking nut like the newer cars today and so they should be checked at least once a year.

Anyways I got some videos links down below. They go in this order.
1: Cold motor/choke on
2: Cold motor/ choke off
3: Warm motor/choke off
4: Rockers after the exhaust valves were adjusted.
5: Warm motor after adjustment.

http://youtu.be/SuYRSs_TX-E
http://youtu.be/OJEZ_gmJG2M
http://youtu.be/cFLcWwovXZY
http://youtu.be/LTys-BWwBqg
http://youtu.be/Rkj4c5UQJsM

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~Nic

Just to really put his home...

1) Once you mod the engine the Emissions fender sticker and some of the FSM goes out the window, you are on your own to figure out what the engine wants. You will have to determine the idle requirements...if the cam makes it's power band at higher rpm, your curb idle may become 1200 rpm to keep it "happy", same goes for a distributor recurve.
2) 265 doesn't mean anything other than duration of the intake and or the exhaust lobe, it does not describe the lobe separation and does not identify the lobe profile to determine the lift...consult the cam grinder or your cam card...and yes if it was ground at 265/265/102...it could be lumpy and bounce the vacc reading in best tune.... we need more info....I could say my car runs a 250/250 at "50" and only makes 16" at idle that doesn't describe too much for the crowd....especially since the LSA is 109 and is a little lumpy, and that my cam card says to lash it at .022...(which is about right for that style of cam, but kind of big compared to the smaller cams)

Glad you got things squared up, you might want to find your build specs and cam specs and post with your ride in Slixers Gallery, so we can be better at helping you better when you have a tech conundrum.

Cheers!