Alternator / voltage regulators

[John 550]

Don't seem to be lucky with these . I am getting better at it .
My 390 needed three in 8000 miles . plus tree batteries . I just put the last one in ,
checked it , drove it home .
I pulled the motor and used the combo in the new engine . Did not put out .
Bought a new alternator and a regulator , It was putting out 18 then went to 20 volts .
I returned the regulator and got one that is giving me 15.4 volt at the alternator
with a digital volt meter . I woud like to see it less , like 13.4 - 14.0 volts . I do believe that when the regulator goes it takes the alternator with it . Any thoughts ?

[Art Burtt]

Sounds like you have a dead short somewhere,if you ate 3 batteries, they are not getting charged. The new alternators
will not charge a dead battery and will fry themselves if asked to.
Most alternators come with instructons to make sure battery is fully charged when you hook them up, or alternator will fail and
warentee is void. Trace all wires and make sure all are hooked up properly.

[John 550]

I had some issues , as I lost the ground on the regulator and the plug looked a little lose ,
but now everything is working as it should .
(providing that the 15 volts I'm reading is just a bad reading as my digital voltmeter could
be out of calibration a volt .I still would like to get the best original style alternator available .and same goes for the regulator . I still would like to know more about , if the regulator craps out does it take out the alternator ?
I know it will tell the alternator to kill the battery any bleed acid on the nice aluminium .


Thank again

[Bob Putnam]

Normal alternator output is up to 15.0V, especially when it's cold. Anything less than 13.8V is unusual when it's attached to a fully charged battery.

[RICK LAKE]

Hi John Where is your battery? How many ground straps do you have going to the chassic and the motor. Make sure all your connections are tight and not corrided. My battery is in the trunk with 2 straps to the chassic and 2 straps to the motor. Run a ground strap to your voltage regulator and a good clean ground. If your alt is putting out 18.0-20.0 volts it is shorted to full output. Check the wiring on your alt to make sure the right wires are on the right terminals of the alt. I lost a regulator to a poor ground. My fault,not the cars. Hope this helps. Ck the 32 wire and the 41 black wire to ground. Rick Lake

[Michael C Henry]

Anybody know where to get the plug for the small Ford regulater so the wires can't be mixedup. I've seen some cars with the plug and many without.

[Michael C Henry]

Just found a plug w/leads for Ford votage regulater. New hardwhare supplplier Kar products catalog shows them .They come two at a time. I requested a pair .Will see.I'm betting something is hooked up wrong or a connection is not good like a pin pushed back or a wire broken.It will probably be simple ,I always look for the difficult stuff first.

[Rick Parker]

These are readily available at major part houses such as NAPA.
One at a time. Various qualities abound also. Color coded wires

Rick

[Coloradocobra]

I installed a small regulator directly on the back of my alternator when I installed the engine. It is about the size of a match book and essentially turns the alternator into a one-wire setup. I have not had a lick of problems in three years. Seems to require that I rev the engine to 2500 rpm to activate it but from that point on I get a nice steady 14 volts or so. Plus, I don't have a regulator hanging inside the engine compartment. Price was about $32 bucks at the time.

Gary

[Mr.Fixit]

I did the same thing as Coloradocobra, little aftermarket regulator that plugs onto back or alternator (mine is GM, they had ford ones too) got it from ENOS components back in 91, still works great.

[tnlprt]

you might try using an alternator from a turbo t bird
it puts out 90 amps and is same size as 60 amp alt
plus its a one wire hook up. the reason your alt doesn't
charge is because it needs an input of electricity or certain
speed to perform normally. if you want it to charge when you first
start your car try installing an idiot light. this gives it the inital
12 volts it needs to start charging.