Posted on FordMuscle as well. This "should" be easy diagnosis. Voltometer reading 12.4v. Battery not charging. Took a reman. alternator to Kragen and it tested at 14.6 and 14.9, so good there. What else could it be. My mechanic used a new regulator... but could it still be that. What effect does the starter solenoid have on charging system. If this (solenoid) were bad, would the car still start. I know baby questions, but I need big man answers. I want to drive the car to the upholsterer, but I have been having problems getting stuck on local trips around home with the battery dying. Everyone said not to do this, but I used to do this with my ole VW's back in the day. This was a way we used to see if the altenator was charging...right or wrong method, don't know, but it worked. Anyway, the car shut off after I pulled the ground off the battery. Now question now is how valid was that test because when the alternator was good the car always ran. The alternator was bought at a second rate store (not Napa, Kragen, AutoZone). Could it possibly still be bad even though pulling what it should. In hine-site saving a buck initially may end up costing more in the long run. Don't you hate that. Any help here please.
that has always beena valid test for me. but that doesnt necessarly mean a bad alternator. it just means no charge is comming from it. so the alt could be goot but your not making a conection somewhere else.
As I remember from my ole vw days,, ole vw's had generators,, would run without a battery. Never tried it with an alternator car. Dan
In my drag cars we always had to have a battery cut off switch. Back in the old days of NHRA they didn't mandate anything to cut off the alternator. I had to hit the switch in the pits one time and the car kept running. That's the same thing that should happen when you disconnect the battery. It's a fair test, the only problem is that it spikes the alternator. Probably not good for it, but I wouldn't worry about it just for a test. My first thought was regulator or wiring.
I bought what's called a "solid state" voltage regulator to replace the stock one. It uses a microchip instead of mechanical innerworkings. The guy told me to be careful b/c some people have had problems with these for some reason. Something about "system compatability" . You might want to check with your guy and see if that's what was installed. However, mine worked fine. Eric
Check all the connections on the alternator and make sure it is grounded. Don't rely on the bracket to ground it use a wire from the ground terminal. Check to see if you are getting power to the "Fld" terminal on the back of the alternator - if not then check to see if you have power at the "F" terminal on the regulator. If you have it there and not on the alternator then the wiring between them is bad. Make a new cable up. If you don't have power at the "F" terminal at the regulator then see if you have the regulator grounded. If it isn't grounded then run a ground wire. If all this fails see if you are getting power from the "Acc" on the ignition switch to the regulator. If not the the wire or switch is bad. If you are getting power then your regulator is bad.
