Quote:

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""I bet the blue wire at the alternator is .6-.7v lower than the battery voltage, causing the regulator to pump the voltage that much higher. This is caused by the resistance in the connections between the battery and the blue wire (bulkhead, etc).""

I have already had to bypass the blue wire around the bulkhead last year. I will try and trace the blue wire and ispect the connections.

""You can measure this difference, and if you jump the battery + directly to the blue wire at the alternator, you should go back to 14.5ish at the battery.""

Do you mean to "disconnect" the blue wire at the alternator, or add an additional wire from the same alternator blue field wire over to the "+" battery cable and start the engine?
Then measure the voltage again at the battery and at the alternator to see if they match? If they match and if the battery voltage is now lower, then the blue wire connections is the issue?

Thanks for your reply.
It will be a few days before I can get back on this but I will add this to my hit list.

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I think I left the blue wire hooked up with a spade terminal splitter thing and started it. With the DMM hooked up I had ~15.5v. I hooked up the jumper and it immediately dropped to 14.5ish, verifying that was my issue. You can also put the negative lead of your DMM on the blue wire, and the positive lead on the battery +. That voltage should ideally be 0v. Whatever voltage you do read will be how much higher the battery charges than it would otherwise.

Also, if you leave the jumper hooked up, it will not turn off with the key

You can also hook up the jumper then start it, but don't let it sit there long without running; it's just like having the key on Run without starting it. In theory the points/coil could burn up.


I ended up installing a relay triggered by the blue wire to provide power directly to the regulator/alternator.