No charge problem rectified....
No Charging Condition - Easy enough correction...
Hey Guys...
Been awhile since I posted and though I would add my experience with a no charge problem and pass along the knowledge...as I have gained so much here over the years. Perhaps saves a fellow Chevelle lover time and money.
I recently replaced my water pump on the '68, Used a pressure washer at home to get all the crud and gunk - now that I had room without the water pump in the way. Soon after, I started to notice a no charge condition, via my digital cabin temp/volt gauge I got as a incentive. We have all seen these little gadgets about. (Perhaps I blew into the Alternator some gunk and screwed it up...I don't know.)
It flashes when the voltage is below 12v...and I noticed that it was flashing 11v. Odd. I gun the engine and no change. I see my amp gauge, and it's on the negative side...and does not change when increasing the RPM's.
Dang!
Electrical problems can be hard to trace and I'm hoping this will be easy.
I check all connections...at the battery, at the alternator at the Voltage Regulator. Nothing. I take a multimeter reading at the battery...at says now 10v. I gun the engine carburetor side...and just a slight increase to 10.3v. I check behind the alternator a feel for a slight magnetic tug with a screwdriver...nothing.
This is the same alternator that I have had since I got the car 12 years ago. So perhaps it's time for a replacement...and I do, along with a new Voltage Regulator.
I replace the alternator, connect the three wires, belt it up...and the same condition. No charging...and I'm now reading 9v. Now, I'm concerned, as I only now have one more easy viable solution left. I remove the Voltage Regulator...looks a bit rusted in the back. I clean the ground points on the front cowl wall, and the contact points on the plastic tab that snaps into the VR...as they are a bit rusty too.
As an additional edge, I connect a separate ground wire from one of the mounting bolts on the Voltage Regulatorto a bolt on the front cowl...just in case the mounting bolts lose their ground. ( Can't have too many grounds I say.)
I start her up...and immediately, I get 13.5 v in the interior cabin temp/Volt gauge. The amp meter also now is in the positive charging side of the meter. I go out and measure voltage at the battery and it shows me 13.8.
Excellent!
It would appear, that the culprit here was a faulty or loosely grounded Voltage Regulator. New VR cost $15.00 and new "rebuilt" alternator was $39.00. No regrets in replacing the alternator, as perhaps the old one was fine, but just a piece-of-mind thing.
13.5 Volt Joe
Hey Guys...
Been awhile since I posted and though I would add my experience with a no charge problem and pass along the knowledge...as I have gained so much here over the years. Perhaps saves a fellow Chevelle lover time and money.
I recently replaced my water pump on the '68, Used a pressure washer at home to get all the crud and gunk - now that I had room without the water pump in the way. Soon after, I started to notice a no charge condition, via my digital cabin temp/volt gauge I got as a incentive. We have all seen these little gadgets about. (Perhaps I blew into the Alternator some gunk and screwed it up...I don't know.)
It flashes when the voltage is below 12v...and I noticed that it was flashing 11v. Odd. I gun the engine and no change. I see my amp gauge, and it's on the negative side...and does not change when increasing the RPM's.
Dang!
Electrical problems can be hard to trace and I'm hoping this will be easy.
I check all connections...at the battery, at the alternator at the Voltage Regulator. Nothing. I take a multimeter reading at the battery...at says now 10v. I gun the engine carburetor side...and just a slight increase to 10.3v. I check behind the alternator a feel for a slight magnetic tug with a screwdriver...nothing.
This is the same alternator that I have had since I got the car 12 years ago. So perhaps it's time for a replacement...and I do, along with a new Voltage Regulator.
I replace the alternator, connect the three wires, belt it up...and the same condition. No charging...and I'm now reading 9v. Now, I'm concerned, as I only now have one more easy viable solution left. I remove the Voltage Regulator...looks a bit rusted in the back. I clean the ground points on the front cowl wall, and the contact points on the plastic tab that snaps into the VR...as they are a bit rusty too.
As an additional edge, I connect a separate ground wire from one of the mounting bolts on the Voltage Regulatorto a bolt on the front cowl...just in case the mounting bolts lose their ground. ( Can't have too many grounds I say.)
I start her up...and immediately, I get 13.5 v in the interior cabin temp/Volt gauge. The amp meter also now is in the positive charging side of the meter. I go out and measure voltage at the battery and it shows me 13.8.
Excellent!
It would appear, that the culprit here was a faulty or loosely grounded Voltage Regulator. New VR cost $15.00 and new "rebuilt" alternator was $39.00. No regrets in replacing the alternator, as perhaps the old one was fine, but just a piece-of-mind thing.
13.5 Volt Joe
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