- Alternator appears to be over charging..Stock gauge show needle mid range between straight up and buried .. top of battery is damp and I need to add acid every 500 miles or so .. regulator is 1 year old
Over charging
- Thread starter CudaCraig
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67Dart273
Well-Known Member
...............Sigh...............OK let's start with year / make / model and what type charging system, AKA does the alternator / regulator match year model of the car, or is it an earlier (pre 70) Mopar converted to a 70/ later regulator, or "something else" like a Delco/ Denso "one wire" etc?
You are going to need a multimeter, maybe some alligator clip jumpers, and a service manual, which you can download many years over at MyMopar for free
You are going to need a multimeter, maybe some alligator clip jumpers, and a service manual, which you can download many years over at MyMopar for free
67Dart273
Well-Known Member
OK does it have the 69/ earlier regulator or the 70/ later "flat" electronic regulator?
70/ later looks like this, has the triangular connector
Couple things to check. Make absolute CERTAIN the VR is grounded.
Turn key to "run" engine stopped. Put one meter probe as close electrically as you can get to the VR IGN terminal--likely the ballast "key side." Stab your remaining probe into the battery POS post. You should see very little reading, and if over .3V (3/10 of 1 volt) you need to look into it.
Run engine, measure battery post voltage to ground, and compare that to the key side of ballast running. If the ballast reading is about 14, EG, and the battery is way high, you have a harness voltage drop problem.
IF YOU HAVE the flat 70/ later VR, things get a bit more complicated. "One more wire"
70/ later looks like this, has the triangular connector
Couple things to check. Make absolute CERTAIN the VR is grounded.
Turn key to "run" engine stopped. Put one meter probe as close electrically as you can get to the VR IGN terminal--likely the ballast "key side." Stab your remaining probe into the battery POS post. You should see very little reading, and if over .3V (3/10 of 1 volt) you need to look into it.
Run engine, measure battery post voltage to ground, and compare that to the key side of ballast running. If the ballast reading is about 14, EG, and the battery is way high, you have a harness voltage drop problem.
IF YOU HAVE the flat 70/ later VR, things get a bit more complicated. "One more wire"
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Here's the deal.
The specifics of the system are critical in trying to walk someone through the troubleshooting process.
Otherwise we who are trying to help have to give a bunch of IF this then that scenarios.
So I'm not going to do that.
However, you can pretty much figure this out.
The operation of how a grounded field system works (that's the type that your earlier regulator is) is explained here: Identifying Chrysler Alternators (1960-1976) (you can get more details of the mechanical regulator in the Chrysler Master Tech Conference. A search will turn that up.)
Use a voltmeter with the car's ammeter to figure out IF its a high voltage issue, under what conditions that occurs (slow idle, above idle, or follows rpm). Then you'll know where to look for the cause and solution. With the engine running at those different speeds, observe the ammeter and measure voltage at the battery, the alternator output and the regulator input. That's it in a nutshell.
The specifics of the system are critical in trying to walk someone through the troubleshooting process.
Otherwise we who are trying to help have to give a bunch of IF this then that scenarios.
So I'm not going to do that.
However, you can pretty much figure this out.
The operation of how a grounded field system works (that's the type that your earlier regulator is) is explained here: Identifying Chrysler Alternators (1960-1976) (you can get more details of the mechanical regulator in the Chrysler Master Tech Conference. A search will turn that up.)
Use a voltmeter with the car's ammeter to figure out IF its a high voltage issue, under what conditions that occurs (slow idle, above idle, or follows rpm). Then you'll know where to look for the cause and solution. With the engine running at those different speeds, observe the ammeter and measure voltage at the battery, the alternator output and the regulator input. That's it in a nutshell.
Thank you - I'll take my time and figure this out ...
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