Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
#303603
04/30/09 10:29 AM
04/30/09 10:29 AM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 230
Long Island, New York
Tony H
OP
enthusiast
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OP
enthusiast
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 230
Long Island, New York
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When these regulators fail... does the voltage at the battery usually go High?
My son says his radio clicks off then back on about every 9 seconds. I thought maybe there was an Over Voltage protection in the radio, not to mention he shuts the car off and has 15+ volts at the battery. We bought the 'inexpensive' regulator about two years ago..maybe it failed?
'75 CJ5 with all glass body and a 350 Chevy SB '85 Chevy Stepside (the wife's) '89 Volvo All 100% maintained by me. '70 valiant DD for my son '74 Dart Swinger..Latest endeavor http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
[Re: Tony H]
#303604
04/30/09 11:04 AM
04/30/09 11:04 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,085
Niles , Ohio
therocks
oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah.
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oh wait.but hey.lets see.oh yeah.
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,085
Niles , Ohio
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Sometimes they go discharge but I have seen them go high also.Check the ground.15 volts is high but not totally crazy.Whats the volts running at 2000 to 2500?Rocky
Chrysler Firepower
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
[Re: therocks]
#303605
04/30/09 12:57 PM
04/30/09 12:57 PM
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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They can fail either "off" or "on." Very first thing to do is jumper a nice big (no10 or bigger) or jumper cable, from the battery negative DIRECTLY to the regulator mount/ case/ and see if the voltage drops.
There are four things that can cause this:
bad regulator
bad (open/ poor) regulator to battery negative path (ground)
bad (poor) battery positive to regulator path. If the connections in this path cause a low voltage condition AT THE REGULATOR it will try to overcharge
In rare cases a bad battery
Take a meter, run the engine at "medium cruise" with the battery "up" and all accessories off. Then check again with a heavy load (lights, heater) on.
With your meter on volts, stab a probe DIRECTLY on the battery negative post, stab the other DIRECTLY onto the metal mount of the regulator. There should be VERY little voltage, not more than 2 or three TENTHS of a volt. If it's more than 1/2 volt, you need to improve the ground FOR SURE
Do the same thing with the positive path. Stab one probe directly onto the battery positive post, the other on the regulator ign terminal. Once again, you should see very little voltage. If you see anything approaching 1/2 volt or more, you have something poor in the positive path, IE the bulhead connector terminals, the connector on the ignition switch, the switch itself, etc, etc, etc, all the way back to the battery post itself.
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
#303606
04/30/09 01:48 PM
04/30/09 01:48 PM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 230
Long Island, New York
Tony H
OP
enthusiast
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 230
Long Island, New York
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I think I got it. This was a phone call from my son so I was not there to 'Play'.
I was thinking that maybe one of the two wires (Green and Blue) had a bad connection. I told him to disconnect and reconnect. Same with the connector at the Regulator. It seemed to do the trick. My thought was; with one bad connection, the Alternator would be getting bad feedback and compensate by running hard to charge.
We did the Amp gauge bypass a year ago. and I made all new battery cables at that time.
Maybe a small wire from Regulator Case to Neg on battery would be a good idea
'75 CJ5 with all glass body and a 350 Chevy SB '85 Chevy Stepside (the wife's) '89 Volvo All 100% maintained by me. '70 valiant DD for my son '74 Dart Swinger..Latest endeavor http://home.lyse.net/brox/TonyPage4.html
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
[Re: Fabman]
#303608
04/30/09 03:57 PM
04/30/09 03:57 PM
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
I checked the ground on the VR...that's fine. .
Please explain how you checked it
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seems like the only way to get the voltage down is to remove a ware ,....
I assume you mean either the field or ignition connection at the regulator.
Quote:
I have the same voltage - 15.5 to 15.8 at the Battery, and the Alternator.....
That reading is expected
Quote:
I also checked the voltage at the sensing wire on the VR ....low RPM its at 6 volts higher RPM it drops to 2 volts......
If you REALLY checked the IGNITION terminal of the regulator and you REALLY got that low voltage, then that might be the problem--the supply voltage from the ignition switch. So to clear this up, did you measure this at the FIELD connection or the IGN connection?
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
#303610
04/30/09 09:14 PM
04/30/09 09:14 PM
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,634
Right Coast
Fabman
master
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master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,634
Right Coast
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Quote:
Quote:
I checked the ground on the VR...that's fine. .
Please explain how you checked it
I ran a seperate wire direct from the neg battery terminal to the case of the VR
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seems like the only way to get the voltage down is to remove a ware
I assume you mean either the field or ignition connection at the regulator. ,....
Pulled the double blue wire set.
Quote:
I have the same voltage - 15.5 to 15.8 at the Battery, and the Alternator
That reading is expected.....
I thought close to 16 volts was excesive....
Quote:
I also checked the voltage at the sensing wire on the VR ....low RPM its at 6 volts higher RPM it drops to 2 volts......
If you REALLY checked the IGNITION terminal of the regulator and you REALLY got that low voltage, then that might be the problem--the supply voltage from the ignition switch. So to clear this up, did you measure this at the FIELD connection or the IGN connection?
which is FIELD vs IGN ...??
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
[Re: scratchnfotraction]
#303611
04/30/09 09:17 PM
04/30/09 09:17 PM
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,634
Right Coast
Fabman
master
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master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,634
Right Coast
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Quote:
and what yr and type of voltage reg ya got 
if it the old points type,just get the solid state one,thats a good upgrade for them anyways and only about 10$ 
made my 68 Dart stop doing all kinds of crazy things with voltage and grounds 
The car is a 67 GTX w/ a newer pointless Distributor...
The VR is a newer unit...about 2.5" x 3.5".....black cover...
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
[Re: RapidRobert]
#303613
05/01/09 01:12 AM
05/01/09 01:12 AM
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Quote:
Quote:
I also checked the voltage at the sensing wire on the VR ....low RPM its at 6 volts higher RPM it drops to 2 volts.
had to have been at the field & on the black cover it will have "ign" on one end and "fld" on the other end.
Right, WE ARE working on a 69/ earlier regulator, right?
The field and ignition should be marked.
MEASURE THE VOLTAGE from the ign to the pattery positive. Should be VERY low, the less the better
The 15-16 volts I said "was expected" means "under the circumstances. IF the battery is overcharging, then of course they will be both high, and close to the same
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Re: Voltage regulator ( 2 wire)
#303614
05/01/09 09:13 AM
05/01/09 09:13 AM
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Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,634
Right Coast
Fabman
master
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master
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,634
Right Coast
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I also checked the voltage at the sensing wire on the VR ....low RPM its at 6 volts higher RPM it drops to 2 volts.
had to have been at the field & on the black cover it will have "ign" on one end and "fld" on the other end.
Right, WE ARE working on a 69/ earlier regulator, right?
The field and ignition should be marked.
MEASURE THE VOLTAGE from the ign to the pattery positive. Should be VERY low, the less the better
The 15-16 volts I said "was expected" means "under the circumstances. IF the battery is overcharging, then of course they will be both high, and close to the same
The VR is a Black Cased Unit - Looks brand new - no markings. I put the test lead on the Green Wire.
Yes - Pre 69 ---Its a 67 GTX
and - If the system was working correctly - what "Should" I see for voltage - at Idle vs Higher Rpm....
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