Quote:
Originally Posted by mr.precision
Took a good regulator off oe of my other trucks and measured the voltage across the battery with the current set-up. At idle I was getting around 17 volts, and at fast idle close to 16.5 volts. Not good.
I then removed the two lines going through the radio suppression condenser, and connected them with an alligator clip.
Charge voltage went down to 15.2 at idle and 14.8 at fast idle. Oddly enough, the regulator "chatters" when coming off fast idle. The maximum voltage across the battery also seems to promote this chatter.
Next step is to try a used alternator from another truck I have and measure the voltage across the battery one more time. And, I still need to go through vette's check list and see if anything else is going on.
I suspect that the condenser was causing the high voltage in the initial test, and probably had been that way for years.
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The condenser's main function is to smooth out the electronic chatter caused by the points inside the regulator, to prevent static in the radio speakers.
It sounds like yours failed and caused the points in the regulator to remain closed, which would account for the high voltage generated at idle. It amounts to the same thing as bypassing the regulator which is called "full fielding the alternator ".
When you bypassed the condenser you allowed the points to open and close like they normally do. When the points are open the alternator is not charging, and when they are closed it sends full voltage to the alternator. The regulator senses the system voltage and opens and closes the points very rapidly to regulate the charge voltage at 14.5 volts output give or take a volt or so.
It would seem like wiring in a new condenser may correct your problem.
I still say an internally regulated alternator will make you happier. A 12 SI off a mid eighties Camaro, S-10 pickup or any of a dozen GM vehicles in that genre or even one of the CS alternators from the early nineties would work.