'68 Charging System At Max

[Roger Legge]

I was driving my '68 yesterday at freeway speeds for some time and at one point I looked at the ammeter and it was pegged at +40. Drove to an exit, stopped, alternator was real hot and the top of the battery was hot, so I believe it was charging that much and not just a meter malfunction. I unplugged the regulator and drove home. Once home and with connector back in place, it started max charging again, but I know the battery was drained quite a bit because part of the drive home was with headlights turned on. For background, I was driving the car at night a couple years ago and suddenly the headlights got quite a bit brighter, I looked at the ammeter, it was pegged max and within a matter of seconds things got dimmer and the charging system had stopped working. I replaced the regulator with a part from a local Chevy dealer and things had been fine since then. Any thoughts on what may be the problem? As always, any and all help is appreciated.

Roger
#36316

[Joe L.]

Re: '68 Charging System At Max

Roger-----

I think that you've got a regulator problem again. Take the cover off the regulator and check for stuck points. Whether or not you have this condition, I expect that your problem is with the regulator.

Another possibility might be a battery which is defective and won't hold a charge properly, causing the regulator to "tell" the alternator to keep charging.

[Roger Legge]

Re: '68 Charging System At Max

Thanks, Joe. Based on what you said, I'd like to continue this thread with a bit more info that may be relevant to my situation. First, the battery is an Optima that is about two years old and has up to now shown no signs of getting weak. I have had an issue since I've owned the car where the ammeter bounces around in a pretty erratic manner, then it will settle to what would appear to be a normal reading - slight positive reading, typical charging following startup, etc. Sometimes the meter reads normal, sometimes it bounces around. To keep this somewhat brief, let me add only that every once in a while I see a thing or two that leads me to believe I may have an intermittent grounding issue. It always starts and there is no drain on the battery. I am wondering if during this meter 'bouncing' the regulator may be going nuts trying to react to such erractic charge/no-charge input? I hope that last sentence reads OK because I'm not sure how to word my thought. This was a very original car when I bought it five years ago and I do remember the car having a new looking regulator on it at time of purchase. I'll go pull the regulator cover and see if any points are stuck. Again, thanks for any/all help.

Roger
#36316

[Ed Jennings]

Re: '68 Charging System At Max

Roger, I've had a somewhat similar problem with my 67. After changing the regulator twice, I discovered that one of the wires in the regulator plug wasn't making good contact. After repairing the terminal I've had no further problems. This may not be your problem, but it is worth checking to be sure.

[Roger Legge]

Re: '68 Charging - Thanks, Ed *NM*

[Terry M.]

Re: '68 Charging System At Max

Roger,
Check the ground to the regulator. The full charging rate can be the result of an ungrounded regulator. Given the erratic nature of your symptoms it might be an intermittent or corroded ground connection.
Terry

[Gene M.]

Re: '68 Charging System At Max

In addition to Terry suggestion check the firewall connection for crudy green stuff on the contacts. Clean off any crud and insure each contact is connecting good. Follow the wiring diagram to source the connections involving charging circut. Gauge is sensitive to higher than normal resistance.

[john Pickens]

Re: '68 Charging System At Max

As a test, purchase a 10 dollar solid state regulator locally or from JC Whitney. If your problems disappear, you have your answer. Sounds like a classic regulator failure to me.