72 Dart 225ci
Having a alternator nightmare. Please help......my original alt. was working fine, only getting noisy. Auto store gave me one which was slightly different.....it didn't have a place to install a wire which had a small spring loaded contact (brush) which contacted the armature. So I just left the wire off and started the engine. Apparently, during all this, the voltage regulator went bad and I sent up to 20 volts thru the elec system. Before we realized this, it resulted in the blower motor and the instrument panel brake light being on all the time. Also, the turn signals don't blink properly. We replaced the voltage reg. and returned the alt. and got the right one this time that took the brush contact, and got ~14volts on the battery terminal, thus, it's charging properly. 3-4 days later, the alt. stopped charging. Replaced the battery just to be sure that it wasn't the problem, still not charging. I'm worried about possibly having cooked my elec system, i.e., blinkers, blower motor, what else? Have I done something to cause the elec system to blow alternators? Sorry for the length of post. Any ideas? Thanks so much......Robert

Back to basics, test to see if the alturnator is still working, then go to the voltage regulator.
One other thought is that the voltage surge "cooked" you amp meter gauge. All the power runs thru that guage so make sure it is still OK.
DD

Dr. Dodge,
Thanks for the reply. I just got back from getting a new alt. and that was the problem. It's charging fine now. However, you are correct in predicting the amp meter is cooked, as it registers all the way right. I'm getting ~14volts on the battery, so all is well. Trying to figure out why the brake light on the dash is always on when the key is off, and the light is off when the key is on. Can't get it to go off. Guess I'll have to take the light bulb out. Thanks much......Robert

i`d redo the wires that run through the ammeter, they go from the alternator to the ammeter, then back to the battery.

i`d up the wire size to 10ga. or maybe even 8, especially if the new alternator is more amps than OE (which most alternators are anyways)

or you can bypass the ammeter guage and go straight to the battery like i do. if you do this, you need to feed fused power into the wiring harness (i think on most years) because the harness taps from the ammeter feed as well.

If your Ammeter only pegs when running and goes back to the center when the car is off, your Ammeter is pegged because your Voltage Regulator got fried.

Get a new VR and avoid a Wells brand replacement.

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