voltage regulator problems
#1345271
12/03/12 01:31 AM
12/03/12 01:31 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
cornet684me
OP
top fuel
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OP
top fuel
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
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working on a buddy's 1974 dodge challenger, at first we had a wiring problem with the vr and the alternator was not charging, we had to run a new wire, now overcharging we have had the alternator tested and it has tested good and we have put 3 new Voltage Regulators on the car also. and we have put 2 different alternators on the car, both tested fine at the parts house. -we have done the Madelectric.com change over and took out the factory amg gauge and went to volt meter and rewired alternator to go straight to the starter relay -the problem we are having now, at the battery while car running is 14.5 to 15.2 etc volts and jumping and will not be steady volts, we put meter on different points, battery, starter relay, alternator, it spikes and drops and will not be steady, it does get alittle more steady at higher rpms, at idle the volts jumps up and down. volts spike from 14.2 to 15.5 -at idle, the lights are flicking, especially inside the car, the dash lights and inside dome flicking like christmas lights -i have 1968 dodge coronet that i switched over to this same set up and my car runs at about 13.89 volts and i have had no problems does anybody have any ideas why his alternator is overcharging and is spiking and dropping. we have the squareback alternator with the 2 fields going to the vr and back to the ignition. 
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: cornet684me]
#1345272
12/03/12 02:10 AM
12/03/12 02:10 AM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,168
Vancouver, WA
MoparMarq
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,168
Vancouver, WA
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Quote:
-we have done the Madelectric.com change over and took out the factory amg gauge and went to volt meter and rewired alternator to go straight to the starter relay
-the problem we are having now, at the battery while car running is 14.5 to 15.2 etc volts and jumping and will not be steady volts, we put meter on different points, battery, starter relay, alternator, it spikes and drops and will not be steady, it does get alittle more steady at higher rpms, at idle the volts jumps up and down. volts spike from 14.2 to 15.5
-at idle, the lights are flicking, especially inside the car, the dash lights and inside dome flicking like christmas lights
Is it possible that some other wiring was jarred while you were under the dash? Maybe there is an intermittent small short under the dash somewhere causing the voltage drop and flickering, and causing the VR to call for more power.
As a troubleshooting thing, I might try disconnecting the headlight plug from the headlight switch to eliminate the headlight switch as a source of trouble.
Quote:
we have the squareback alternator with the 2 fields going to the vr and back to the ignition.
I assume that the underhood wiring harness is fairly stock. "...going to the VR and back to the ignition" isn't how it routes, or perhaps that was just a phraseology thing?
Good luck. Keep us posted on progress.
Last edited by MoparMarq; 12/03/12 02:13 AM.
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: MoparMarq]
#1345274
12/03/12 10:28 AM
12/03/12 10:28 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 21,074
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: 21,074
Niles , Ohio
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What do the volts go to when its reved?The batt might be going also.Have it load tested.That and make sure the reg is grounded good.Try running a wire from the neg batt post to the reg and see what happens.Rocky
Chrysler Firepower
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: cornet684me]
#1345276
12/03/12 03:33 PM
12/03/12 03:33 PM
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 64
Iowa
GreenBird
member
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member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 64
Iowa
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Quote:
-the problem we are having now, at the battery while car running is 14.5 to 15.2 etc volts and jumping and will not be steady volts, we put meter on different points, battery, starter relay, alternator, it spikes and drops and will not be steady, it does get alittle more steady at higher rpms, at idle the volts jumps up and down. volts spike from 14.2 to 15.5
When I had the jumping volts issue it was a ground issue with the VR. I assume you checked this if you have swapped them out repeatedly, but if you have new paint maybe you need to scrape some away.
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: GreenBird]
#1345277
12/03/12 08:47 PM
12/03/12 08:47 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
cornet684me
OP
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OP
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
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when we rev. the motor up, the lights do no flicker and the volts, stay at a steadier number, it does not jump way up, it stays between 14.2 to 14.6 when the motor is above idle, the flickering of lights and the volts spike is at idle i am going over tonight to work on it, we are going to try another alternator that we have had tested to be good. we have made sure of a good ground on the VR, we tied the motor ground to the VR to make sure getting good ground. i will post our findings when i get back or tomorrow. thanks for all the good input 
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: cornet684me]
#1345278
12/03/12 10:47 PM
12/03/12 10:47 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,168
Vancouver, WA
MoparMarq
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,168
Vancouver, WA
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Quote:
when we rev. the motor up, the lights do no flicker and the volts, stay at a steadier number, it does not jump way up, it stays between 14.2 to 14.6 when the motor is above idle, the flickering of lights and the volts spike is at idle
Others can chime in, but that sounds about right voltage-wise if you're measuring at the alternator or start relay stud with the engine running above idle.
Quote:
we have made sure of a good ground on the VR, we tied the motor ground to the VR to make sure getting good ground.
Good move. That can only help the system perform as it should.
One other thing that gets mentioned quite often is thoroughly cleaning all the contacts in the bulkhead connector, and using some dielectric grease to promote good contact, and avoid corrosion, which increases electrical resistance.
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: 2BblHarold]
#1345280
12/04/12 08:45 PM
12/04/12 08:45 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
cornet684me
OP
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OP
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Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
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well, stayed up till midnight trying to chase it down, my buddy is calling mark at Madelectric.com and seeing if he can talk us thru this, we have tried everything, we have ran wires striaght from the battery and from vr to rule out the blukhead, we are at wits end and about to give up for a little while and come back to it in couple of days, thanks for all the input here, i will keep you posted once we find the problem.
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: MoparMarq]
#1345281
12/04/12 08:51 PM
12/04/12 08:51 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
cornet684me
OP
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OP
top fuel
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
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strange thing, if we disconnect the alternator and start up the car, the lights do not flicker, the only time the lights flicker is when the alternator is charging. also when the alternator is charging , the volts are jumping up and down from 14.2 to as high as 15.5, up and down, very rapidly. also, we measure the output on alternator, it is putting out 27.6 volts, now how can it put out 27.6volts without frying everthing?
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: cornet684me]
#1345282
12/04/12 10:40 PM
12/04/12 10:40 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,236
Fairview Tennessee
SV_MOPARS
pro stock
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pro stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,236
Fairview Tennessee
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i'm having the same issues with a 63 belvedere, i have tried everything, different alt, new reg, new wire from the alt to bulkhead, you name i have tried it, somebody has done alot of splicing to the engine harness and dash harness in this car including the ignition switch plug, the alt wire has been spliced under the dash in a few spots, i did have redline change the gauge cluster to a volt meter, the car had this flickering problem before i started on it, infact this is the last thing on the long laundry list of fix's and its giving me the most grief, anyways i have a new engine harness and a reconditioned dash harness coming for it, hopefully that will cure it.
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: RapidRobert]
#1345284
12/05/12 01:01 AM
12/05/12 01:01 AM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
cornet684me
OP
top fuel
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OP
top fuel
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
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hello Robert, i do not know why we did not think of this last night, we could have hooked his truck up to the car, my buddy is off tomorrow, i just called him on the phone and explained to him what you sd do, he is going to use his truck, it puts about the same volts, i will post our findings asap. his wiring harness has been cut and spliced too, so we are not ruling out something in the wiring, but the Madelectrical.com wiring did away with the bulkhead issues., with hooking up his truck with a good charging system we can narrow it down. thanks for all the good input, hopefully we can figure this out,
Last edited by cornet684me; 12/05/12 01:39 AM.
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Re: voltage regulator problems
[Re: cornet684me]
#1345287
12/10/12 08:49 PM
12/10/12 08:49 PM
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
cornet684me
OP
top fuel
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OP
top fuel
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,639
Brandon, Ms
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UPDATE**** we found the problem and have fixed it, we went thru 3 alt, 3 VR and alot of testing and rewiring*** it was at the coil, we are running the new HEI 2wire dist. , all you have is a 12volt hot coming from the ign. and the + and - at the coil, the - wire at the coil going to dist. was cracked and not making good connections and we were getting feed back thru the line and causing the voltage spikes. Rapid , the trick with putting jumper cables from a good charging source was the key in aiding in finding the problem, this narrowed the search down a bit. Thank everyone for all the good and usable info*** i love MOPARTS.COM!
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