fresh 318 questions

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discharger1332

discharger1332

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so i primed it and everything looks good . so when i fire it the alt guage pins max + ? any ideas what would cause this?. new volt reg, new alt, . i know i am missing something obvious, but i know you guys are the experts.
thank you for your time
 
HOw much voltage do have at the battery? I'm thinking that the gauge is wired backwards and you have a huge discharge issue (short to ground).
 
If the battery is down, that may be "normal" for a couple of minutes, but I would not take chances. If you are breaking in a fresh engine, especially a new cam, you can't be worrying about the charging system. So until you get the cam broken in, the engine fully warmed, the oil system/ pressure checked, etc, I would simply unhook one of the field wires at the alternator, which SHOULD stop it from charging.

Then as things get to be "more normal" you can post back and we can figure out t he problem.
 
ok so the engine is broken in and runs really good so far. i found that the new alt, has a small pulley so i switched out for the older one, still pinned. i am going down today with a meter.
guage was never un hooked.
 
OK, get the engine running at a fast enough idle that it shows charge on the meter. Unhook first one field wire, and see if the stops charging. Then unhook the other and see if it stops. This will confirm that the field circuit has control of the system.

Next, hook up "as normal" and check the regulator ground. To do that, put your meter on low DC volts, and with the engine running at a fast idle, stab one probe onto the battery NEG post, and the other probe onto the mounting flange of the regulator. Stab through any rust, chrome, paint. You are hoping for a very low reading, not over .2V (two TENTHS of one volt) More shows the regulator is not truely grounded

I assume you are using the isolated field/ 70/later system?

Turn key to "run" but with engine off. Put one meter probe on the blue field wire connector, the other probe on the battery positive post. You are hoping for a VERY low reading, only a few tenths of a volt. I you see more than .3V or worse, you have voltage drop in the ignition harness which will cause overcharge

If the above tests show OK, replace the regulator
 
wow, today while moving cars around the yard, i fired up the dart to move it. NOTHING!!
no gears what so ever. It is full of fluid, linkage is all hooked up, drive shaft is in. am i missing something?
 
SO THE TRANS SPECIALIST CAME BY TODAY AND CONFIRMED THE UGLY TRUTH, BAD FRONT PUMP. i get to take the effn trans back out! yay
 
Is there a chance you damaged it installing the converter/ engine? How did you do that?
 
no it came in a car i sold years ago, kid didnt want motor trans. it had been in my garage for years thought i rememberd it was rebuilt but aperently not. lol at least the orig trans from this car was sitting next to the car, so i have the next few days to get the broken one out
 
while removing the trans i noticed the coil is hot to the touch. never expierienced this one before? any ideas
Click to expand...
Is this hot condition with engine off? If so, coil & ignition circuit needs to be rewired correctly so that no juice is running to it when ignition is off. Also this constant current draw could explain pegged amp gage when engine is running due to a heavily discharged battery.


Place battery on charger until fully recharged, address ignition wiring problem, and make sure base (chassis) of voltage regulator, spark control orange box if equipped, and alternator have good ground with no voltage drop to battery negative post. Also make sure battery to block, and head to fire wall ground straps have electrically competent connections with no voltage drop to negative battery terminal. These simple steps will eliminate a lot of funky electrical gremlins.

One more thing about battery condition; have it load tested at an auto parts store to determine its ability to hold a charge. An old battery or new that has been fully discharged for any length of time will become resistant to recharging, and no amount of charging to some charge will be accepted by the plates. This condition can make your charging circuit run full out pegging amp gage as well.

Look here for diagrams and explanation of ignition & charging circuits:
http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=18
 
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