Slant 6 Voltage Regulator Syracuse Nationals

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cchrishefish

cchrishefish

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Took my 64 Dart Slant 6 out for a cruise to see all the Cars from the Syracuse Nationals today wow so many cars cruising around in my area. I took my wife and son out for ice cream, it is our 6th wedding anniversary. The car would not start when we were about to leave. Luckily, a couple lived close by and brought a charger booster with them. I drove the car home now it sits in the garage. I highly suspect the voltage regulator since it is an electronic one from advance auto parts, 2 years old. Does any recommend a particular brand or source to find a good one?

This is what I intend to do tomorrow.

Check the belt which is 1 year old, check the dead battery by popping the caps and having someone crank the car over to see if any cells start to bubble. The battery is a die-hard gold which is 2 years old. The alternator is 1 year old, all cables are new, connections are tight. Any other ideas?
 
If my battery checks out ok, I intend to do a slow 2 amp charge to it then begin testing voltage output. Does anyone know what the output should be? I am guessing maybe 14.6 volts?
 
IS there an old style non electronic regulator available on the market today being produced?
 
Start with the voltage checks.

Check the battery resting voltage before you start the car. If it is above 12.4 volts it should start the engine. if you hae a battery voltage below 12.0v, charge the battery. An overnight charge with a 2 amp charger is great.

Once you can start the car, check the voltage at the battery terminals with the engine running. Should be 14.5 to 14.7 volts. If it is below 13.0 volts, either the regulator or alternator is not working properly.

If you suspect the voltage regulator, pull the dark green wire off of the terminal on the alternator. With the key on, the voltage on that wire should be the same as the battery voltage with the engine stopped.

To test the alternator, jumper from the terminal the dark green wire was connected to on the alternator to the output stud on the alternator. This will "full field" the alternator, causing it to produce maximum output. You should see a charging voltage over 15 volts. Only full field the alternator long enough to do the voltage check - do NOT drive the car this way.

Hope this helps.

B.

Edit:
Yes, there is a plain old mechanical regulator still available. Rock Auto has them, and some chain stores do too - it will have a metal can, and is usually the cheapest part.
 
You guys sure know these cars well, thanks for the tips, the battery cells seem to be fine, so I ruled out my 2 year old battery. I have the car charging on a 2 amp "slow Charge", for now. I will perform the voltage tests tomorrow morning to rule out my 1 year old alternator before purchasing a new voltage regulator.
 
'273:

Battery chemistry has changed some over the decades. You should see 14.5 or better on a cold start - there is temperature compensation built into the systems.

13.8 can be too low to properly charge a battery with calcium in the lead. Changing battery chemistry can also change the resting voltage. some batteries will rest @ 13v when fully charged.

On a car that is driven infrequently, the initial charge on cold start will always be high. Batteries self-discharge, and the alternator tries to fix that asap on startup.

B.
 
I am really starting to suspect the alternator over the regulator after doing the readings with my cheap multimeter. I should buy a better piece of equipment. But, my alternator has a lifetime warranty, so I am thinking of taking it out for a free exchange, and see if that does the trick.
 
I found some info on the Slant6 forum posted by Slant6Dan. I think his ideas about running a ground from the alternator housing with 12 gauge wire to the voltage regulator base and from the regulator base to the battery ground, creating a ground loop, may be an option before replacing any parts. I also noticed that my green wire running to the alternator looks really bad. So, I think I will replace that with a new wire, 12 gauge, and run that to the regulator. My original black connector on the alternator side on the green wire broke when I was doing the tests. I replaced it with a simple terminal repair kit female connector, any part numbers for a better terminal than this? hey Slant6Dan where are you?
 
I think the napa ech-vrc32 may be the correct connector for the green wire at the alternator and voltage regulator. Also, Napa lists a voltage regulator part MPE-VR325b
 
if you dont drive the car regularly, put a switch on the hot side of the battery to disconnect all power,,,less chance of any thing draining your battery down,,,in my experience a die hard doesnt like sitting around,,,
 
The original ground in that car was good enough - if both of them are connected. The starter ground carries the charging load on the ground side.

If the body ground wire at the firewall to the engine block is missing or not connected, you can have all sorts of odd issues.

If you want to add a third ground wire, run one from the battery negative to the radiator support - 10 or 12 gauge. Just make sure the other two ground wires are tight, and clean at the connections.

The broken connectors are common on our 40+ year old cars. You can use the one piece insulated connector in the pic below, or you can use the two pieces on the left to assemble a connector like it originally had if you like:

550connector.jpg


What were the results of your voltage checks?

What was the KOEO voltage on the green wire?

What was the charging voltage with the alternator full fielded?

What was the battery resting voltage?

B.
 
My Harbor "China" Freight, multimeter is giving my battery 17.6 volts at the battery with the car off so I know this meter is way off. But, was was able to do a full field test and see if the reading went up. The reading stayed the same.
 
I have my new alternator in, it was bad, I decided to put the Napa top of the line voltage regulator in and it seems to be charging top notch. The lights are really bright and the signals flash so much faster. I will buy a better meter for future testing. I repaired all of my connections and I ran a ground from the voltage regulator to the neg side of the battery. I want to run a ground from the alternator to the voltage regulator as Slant6Dan mentioned on an older post at the slant 6 forum. I am supposed to place a self tapping screw on the alternator housing. Has anyone done this? Some pictures would be nice.
 
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