my 68 Firebird with a 400 engine drives me crazy. We were searching for a charging problem for almost 2 years. I had 2 alternators, 3 regulators and it was still not charging properly. I replaced the wiring from the alternator to the regulator and so on. Finally a mechanic changed it to a single wire alternator with an internal regulator. Then it worked. Now, without changing anything, the charging light went on and dimmed a bit when accelerating, but doesn't go off anymore.
I think, the alternator has a problem and I would like to replace it. But I have no idea, which one to take. And I cannot just go to a mechanic's, because I am in Germany and all the Mercedes, BMW and Porsche alternators won't fit.
Does anybody of you have a suggestion, what I could take or do?
the other wires that used to be hooked up to the Alt. are what made the light in the dash work properly. now that you changed to a one wire Alt. you only have the big output wire hooked up to the Alt. so the light in the dash will not work properly now. check to make sure it is charging with a volt meter at the battery, it should be between 13.8 and 14.8 volts. also remember that most one wire Alt. need to have the motor reved up once to get it to start charging. if it is charging the dash light coming on will be ok. if it bothers you, you can reach up under the dash and remove that light bulb from the back of the gauge cluster. also, I would install an aftermarket volt meter gauge in the car to keep check of the charging system.
thank you for your reply. This means, if you are using a single wire Alt, you won't have a functional control lamp anymore? I didn't know that. But I just bought a voltmeter and will put that in the car.
thank you for your reply. This means, if you are using a single wire Alt, you won't have a functional control lamp anymore? I didn't know that. But I just bought a voltmeter and will put that in the car.
I too replaced my alternator with a single wire version and the light would stay on. I installed a gauge cluster below the ash tray for voltage, oil pressure and engine temp. I didn't want or need to use the "idiot" lights anymore so I disconnected the wire to the back of the instrument cluster for both temp and voltage.
Big Fish - Air Force Retiree 1968 Firebird 400 Previous - 1980 Trans Am, 1981 Firebird, 1989 Formula, 1991 Firebird, 1994 Formula
I just went through the same problem. Most voltage regulators you buy these days are junk and don't regulate voltage correctly. The first thing I would do is make sure your battery tests good. Test your alternator or have it tested at an Auto Part store. When you install the voltage regulator, make sure you have good ground, start the engine and let it run for a min, then rev it to ~2000rpm for a couple of minutes, that will set the regulator. Check your voltage when the car is at about 1200 RPM, should be around 13.5 -14.5 volts.
I hear a lot of folks praising the upgraded regulators that are electronic. You can pick one up for $20. I would try all this first before you change over to a single wire set-up.
Prost sounds good! That's what I do at the moment in Austria.
I just bought a new battery, because I noticed, that a bad battery can cause a lot of problems. And then I get the charging checked. If that is okay, I will just ignore the red light. Germany is much smaller than the US, so if I'd the car fails, I mostly can walk home. ;-)