[texasc5]

I am in the middle of a 67 chevelle project. I installed new analog gauges and rebuilt the dash. I also did away with the column shifter.

My problem is the turn signal flasher makes noise with the key off if the turn signals are turned left or right. It does not power the lights. When the key is on the lights all work properly. In the rebuild I used the pink wires to supply power to the gauges and the grey wires for the light bulbs. I have traced wiring out several times and looked for shorts, etc. I disconneted the fusable link at the horn relay and found it still clicked. I then disconnected the wires at the voltage regulator and find out the power source is coming from the regulator. How is that possible? Any ideas on how to fix this? I have a good diagram but it doesn't show how the ignition switch works. Can the power be coming from the brown/white wire?

 

[Tom Mobley]

anybody? ttt

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

Please define turn signal flasher "makes noise". Very specifically, what kind of noise?


Based on your description, here's my guess as to HOW the voltage is getting there - but not WHY it is getting there.

To me it sounds like a small amount of current is being fed "backwards" from the regulator through the gen light feed wire and eventually back to your turn signal flasher. It gets there through the 20Brown wire at your regulator. (That is energized by the 10R wire which is upstream of your fusable link at the horn relay) When you turn your turn signal switch on, (even with key off) that makes a parasitic circuit, energizing the turn signal relay with the voltage present through the 20B Gen Light wire, which parallels to the the 24BrW wire at your lignition switch. That in turn energizes the 14B wire at your ignition switch, which then energizes the 18Br wire that IT parallels at the fuse block...which then goes to the flasher relay as 18B. In the scenario, when you turn on your turn signal switch, purple becomes "ground" due to the nominal resistance of the filaments in the turn signal lamps, and the flasher relay is energized enough to "make a noise"...even with the key off.

Take out your turn signal lamps, and try your test again, If the problem goes away, then the above is true. If hot, parasitic circuit is somewhere else.


Keith

 

[texasc5]

Keith,

Is there supposed to be power at the brown wire at the voltage regulator? According to the wiring diagram I have, a pink wire powers the alternator light and the brown wire routes to the 4th terminal on the regulator. The sketch I have shows a contact it goes to in the regulator. I was thinking the brown wire had to be the ground for the light and not a power source. Am I thinking wrong? I do see the wire is also paralleled at the ignition switch. One wire goes to the fuse box and the second goes through the firewall to the regulator light terminal.

Is my wiring diagram wrong? If a pink feeds one side of the light shouldn't that be the power supply? FYI I don't have the idiot light. I cut both wires and isolated them. I am using the pink wire to drive the volt meter and it works fine.

 

[texasc5]

I removed the light wire from the regulator plug and now the flasher no longer dings. I also noticed that it was back feeding my instruments through the key. I plan to just eliminate this circuit since I am using a volt meter. Does anybody know why I shouldn't do that?

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

Bob,

Eiminating the indicator light circuit. Well, don't do that. Assuming you've actually wired your dash correctly, then you've found your problem. The problem is defective voltage regulator, specifically - the field excitation relay contact in your regulator (the single contact relay, if you take cover off) IT is frozen "on".

Remove the cover on your voltage regulator and examine the single contact relay. (There are two...one single contact, one double contact. Don't fiddle with the double contact relay) The single contact should be OPEN with key off. Your's is stuck closed.

re: "ground" wire on your alternator warning light.

It is a bit counterintuitive, but the alternator warning light is not simply grounded in the sense that you're imagining it. That "second wire" is not a ground...it is a resistor wire. When you worked on your system did you notice that, of all the dash warning lights, the ALTERNATOR WARNING light socket was the only one that had two wires going into it? That is on purpose - because the ALT LIGHT bulb's two wires are both "hot" sources, depending on the status of the circuit.

Besides telling you your alternator's charging status with engine running, the circuit is specifically wired to light the bulb when key is on engine not running, in order to serve as a bulb condition test. IN A CORRECTLY WIRED SYSTEM, the absence of the glowing ALT light with key on/engine off means the bulb is burned out. This is a safety feature, courtesy of GM electrical engineers. It keeps you from driving a car with a non functional charging system and not knowing it simply because the ALT bulb is burned out! A burned out bulb would not light, even if the system was NOT charging, right? It would therefore fail to alert you about a faulty charging condition. This keeps you from getting stranded. Thanks GM!

IF when you rewired, you treated that "resistor wire" (that second wire to your ALT lamp) as a ground for your volt meter, that's wrong. Fix that as well.

My recommendation is to fix your stuck relay. You'll be golden. If you have a good bulb and fix the relay, and the alternator light does not work, you have improperly wired the circuit. Go back and restore the wiring to factory schematic.

See your GM service manual, section 6Y Charging System for a simple set of tests, explanations and schematics. Study it for a few minutes and it will all make sense. If you are adding an ammeter (NOT voltmeter) note the position of the meter in the circuit wiring. It is NOT the same as the indicator light.

Keith

 

[texasc5]

Keith,

Thanks for the feedback. I did notice the light had two wires and now understand how it was supposed to work. The stuck relay makes a lot of sense. FYI I totally eliminated the alternator light. I used the pink wire as a power supply to the volt meter. I ran a new wire grounded to the dash panel for the other side of the voltmeter. The idiot type lights I installed in the panel were turn signals, high beam, fuel pump on, and fan on. As part of this project I installed vintage air system. I used a chrome plated metal cluster panel I purchased from ebay. It really looks good with the electronic black faced autometer gauges. As usual these projects take much more time and $$ than anticipated. :yes:

 

[CoolBlueGlow]

Glad to know it now makes more sense. BTW, I highly recommend electronic voltage regulators. There is a direct bolt in replacement for your setup - typically less than twenty bucks from RockAuto, etc. IMO A great upgrade if you are not concerned about originality. They mount exactly where your current mechanical regulator mounts, and use the same plug and wiring.

More than reliability is gained. Performance is better as well. With an external electronic regulator, you will notice that your alternator output voltage will remain very precise. No more pulsing headlights, etc. good for lamp and battery life as well.

Keith