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Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration???

Posted By: kz5rt2

Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 01:59 AM

Hello All,
I have been having an intermittent, more so lately than not, when the amp gauge pegs to full charge when I step on the throttle (light or heavy).

I put a voltmeter across the battery terminals when this was happening and the voltmeter read out 17.5 Volts.

I have verified the following:
1) Made sure all wiring is correct.
2) swapped voltage regulator with a new one.
3) made sure all connections were properly connected.

Any suggestions?
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 02:51 AM

Quote:

I have been having an intermittent,

a loose connection. I'd check the ammeter terminals and check/clean the bulkhead brass terminals and alt brushes
Posted By: kz5rt2

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 03:17 AM

I just checked and rechecked all connections, they all seem to be okay. Even added a jumper to ground the voltage regulator just in case.

I started it twice.

First time, everything seemed okay held constant at 14v.

Second time, it approached ~17.5v again during the revs.

Any ideas????????????
Posted By: a493demon

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 03:24 AM

maybe the plug to the reg. going bad . i'm pretty sure napa sell's the plug.
Posted By: hooziewhatsit

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 05:04 AM

If it's going full output that means the Field wire is being grounded somewhere.

Disconnect both wires to the Alt and see if it still happens. Then add the blue wire and check. Then add the Green wire (and make sure the Green wire isn't shorted to ground).
Posted By: 383man

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 06:51 AM

Quote:

If it's going full output that means the Field wire is being grounded somewhere.

Disconnect both wires to the Alt and see if it still happens. Then add the blue wire and check. Then add the Green wire (and make sure the Green wire isn't shorted to ground).



That is right as it is overcharging. You did not say what year it is because if its old enough it could have the one wire field with a mechanical reg. Ron
Posted By: 6PakBee

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 02:15 PM

Check your wiring harness from the alternator to the bulkhead connector carefully. I had one case where an intake manifold bolt had rubbed through the tape then through the insulation on the battery lead in the harness. The bolt intermittantly grounded the lead and caused the type of problem you are describing. Now with you measuring 17.5 volts when it happens I doubt if this is the exact case. It would help to know if it is an isolated field alternator (two field wire) or grounded field alternator (one field wire) as it seems something in the field circuit is the culprit.
Posted By: kz5rt2

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 03:04 PM

The setup I have is a three wire as you are describing.

I pulled the green field wire off and the over charging still existed. When I pulled off the blue wire, the problem went away.

Does anybody know if the blue wire from alternator goes into the bulkhead?
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 03:27 PM

Quote:

I pulled the green field wire off and the over charging still existed.

Does anybody know if the blue wire from alternator goes into the bulkhead?

(1) since you removed the green wire from the alt that the reg grounds and it it still full fielding that tells me that the field circuit is being improperly/intermittently grounded inside the alt. Check the brushes then open it up & see what you see. (2) yes the blue wire goes to the reg then T's to the bulkhead for switched 12V in the "run" circuit
Posted By: kz5rt2

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 03:48 PM

That makes, sense.

I began having issues with it when I put this new rebuilt alt. in about a year ago. The car had no electrical issues whatsoever.

I just took off the bulkhead and here's a pic. The wire that is all burned is the large output wire off the alt.

Any more thoughts, ideas of how or why this would burn?

Attached picture 7278344-IMG_2011.JPG
Posted By: 6PakBee

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 04:37 PM

Quote:

Quote:

I pulled the green field wire off and the over charging still existed.

Does anybody know if the blue wire from alternator goes into the bulkhead?

(1) since you removed the green wire from the alt that the reg grounds and it it still full fielding that tells me that the field circuit is being improperly/intermittently grounded inside the alt. Check the brushes then open it up & see what you see. (2) yes the blue wire goes to the reg then T's to the bulkhead for switched 12V in the "run" circuit



Remove the brusholder for the terminal the green lead was on and check it for damage.
Posted By: stumpy

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 04:58 PM

That is the main fed and over time the current going through it causes the terminals to loosen and creates resistance burning the terminals. Install new terminals on the wires that go into both sides of the plug.
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 05:06 PM

Quote:

The wire that is all burned is the large output wire off the alt.
Any more thoughts, ideas of how or why this would burn?

It burns from too much current and or a bad connection at the male/female brass terminal interface. push the 4 corner clips in so the rear bulkhead half can come out to the rear and use an eyeglass mini screwdriver to release the locking tab on the brass terminal (do both bulkhead halves). NAPA has 1/4" brass replacement male and female terminals 735147/725145. Solder and crimp new ones in & if the bulkhead is melted to the point where it will not secure the brass terminals you can just run a wire(s) & bypass the 2 large in/out connections which is always a good idea. Use dielectric grease on the brass terminals. Lift the locking tab on each new brass terminal up slightly from "flush" so when you pull the terminal/wire down into the bulkhead it will "snap" and lock the terminal in place. Do check out the alt first & get the full fielding squared away what ever is causing it.
Posted By: kz5rt2

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 06:34 PM

The alternator I installed was 100amp at least, do you guys think that would have caused this. Too much output?
Posted By: Sinitro

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 06:56 PM

The Mopar OE bulkhead terminals and housing was designed to handle only up to about 50 Amps @ best..
If running a bigger alternator than it is suggested to changeover the Amp guage to a Voltmeter, and run heavier direct wires rather than the 0.25" tab connectors.

Also is the alternator a 1 wire system?
Or are you still using the Mopar OE voltage regulator? If running the Mopar OE voltage regulator, be careful as the voltage/current for the field circuit increases significantly and can cause additional electrical/reliability issues.

Just my $0.02..
Posted By: Sixpak

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 07:14 PM

Bypass the connections for the heavy red and heavy black that go into the stock firewall connector. Drill a new hole, put a rubber grommet on it, and make new connections. Clip them where they go into the plug in connector, both on the engine side and under the dash. Heavy black off alternator feeds juice to dash and back thru heavy red to recharge battery. Heavy red feeds juice from battery to dash and everything else when engine isn't running. This is a long known problem spot for many years. Even the factory knew this in the 60's - the fleet vehicles they sold had this done at the factory, for things like taxis. The rest of the connectors can be removed from their plug, wire brushed, greased up and put back into their harness plug. I do this on all old Mopars I work on. The grease really helps prevent corrosion.
Posted By: mcmopars

Re: Amp Gauge Pegs During Acceleration??? - 07/05/12 11:49 PM

Quote:

Bypass the connections for the heavy red and heavy black that go into the stock firewall connector. Drill a new hole, put a rubber grommet on it, and make new connections. Clip them where they go into the plug in connector, both on the engine side and under the dash. Heavy black off alternator feeds juice to dash and back thru heavy red to recharge battery. Heavy red feeds juice from battery to dash and everything else when engine isn't running. This is a long known problem spot for many years. Even the factory knew this in the 60's - the fleet vehicles they sold had this done at the factory, for things like taxis. The rest of the connectors can be removed from their plug, wire brushed, greased up and put back into their harness plug. I do this on all old Mopars I work on. The grease really helps prevent corrosion.






good advise.follow
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