My 67 Bird is charging over 16 volts pretty much all the time. Don't see any other problems, except maybe burinig out too many tail lights.
Voltage regulator is pretty new.
Any ideas?

a defective voltage regulater is the most likely culprit

Are you sure its 16 v? I assume you`ve checked , not just trusting an aftermkt gague that could be reading wrong?

Yeah, I put my digital volt meter across it. Over 16 volts. I figured it was the regulator, but the shops never warrant electrical parts very long and it's been a year or so. Also, it was like $35.

You really don't want to run your car at 16 volts. It might be worthwhile to check it with a second voltmeter, just to be sure the first is working properly.

- Jake

If you are running original set-up (voltage regulator not imbedded in alternator) and a 100-amp alternator you should be reading 13.5 to 14.5 volts with a load on the system. 16 is too high, for sure. Things will start to pop after a while (bulbs/fuses/etc), and drive you nuts tracking them down. Replace the regulator again (pretty cheap piece) and look into a new 100-amp alternator as well (also pretty cheap, even when chromed).

Most external voltage regulators are not built for a 100-amp alternator. They are meant to "regulate" 42-63 amp alternators.
Perhaps that´s your problem, using the wrong external regulator for this powerful alternator?

Only my .02

How do I tell the amperage of my alternator?

Also, those two small wires in the back of the alternator? They should be in a plug the makes sure that they are in the right place. My plug is gone and the wires can be dasily mixed up. How do I make sure thay are in the right place?

i think they're marked on the back of the alternator 'F' and 'R' (for field and relay).

looks like the blue wire is the field, and the other (should be black) is the relay wire.

here's a diagram i modified showing field/relay in relation to the other wires on the regulator. they might be marked F/R on the regulator too.


i dunno how you would tell the amperage of the alt. as long as you didn't buy a catalog/chrome one, and the configuration of the wires/plug is right, it should be a 50-70 amp... somewhere in that rannge i think.

here's the image i was looking for when i made the above:

dont worry about the extra gound shown in this image. there is a post for it on the back of the alt, but the alt grounds itself thru the case.

Thanks, Scott.
You're a peach.

Yeah, he is peachy with his Powerpoint or Visio toys, isn't he??

Any new regulator you buy these days for our application will certainly support a 100-amp Alternator. I replaced both parts, and have run them for three years, no problems, voltmeter reads exactly what the system is putting out. Actually, before I replaced the regulator it was infact always reading high (15-16 volts).

I asked about this two years ago when I first joined this site, then fixed it myself by replacing the regulator and alternator. Less than 100 bucks.

Anyone have an O'Reilly or Autozone number for a 100amp alternator that will mount in an OHC? Or, what should I ask for?

Let me check if the V-8 100 amp alternator has the same housing. I am almost certain it does, since it mounts exactly the same way.

The V-8 alternator case and the OHC-6 aternator case look to be identical. Buy one for a V-8 and I am pretty sure it will fit the 6. Make sure you have a voltage regulator that will handle the amps.