After I brought the car home the other day, when I pulled up to the garage to open the door, I heard this sound that sounded like a small engine running, opened the hood and the voltage regulator was clicking that fast. the only way to stop it was to pull the battery cable. I messed with it a little and when I touched it, it grounded to the radiator and started stopped clicking. My question... is the volatge regulator suppose to have a ground wire attached to the radiator support? I know it is mounted in well nuts so I thought is is suppose to be insulated from the rad support. Help...

I dont have a 68 but Im pretty sure it should have a ground wire.

Yes, just look at the voltage regulator and you'll see a small screw hole around the base.....This is where you attach the ground wire with a screw, and the other side grounds to the radiator support.....I don't believe this is the problem, however, I could be wrong!.....Just purchase either another mechanical or an electronic one.

I don't wanna mess this one up. Original to the car and a nos or restored one cost hundreds! I did see the small screw hole in the base of the regulator.

Then perhaps you could remove the cover and clean up and reset the points in there.

My question... is the volatge regulator suppose to have a ground wire attached to the radiator support? I know it is mounted in well nuts so I thought is is suppose to be insulated from the rad support. Help...Yes, VR chassis should be grounded so it will be at the same reference point as the alternator case.

the points stuck is what I think is wrong now. Here is where Im at now. I grounded the regulator chassis and the clicking stopped but I got in the car and the generator light was on very bright without the key in the switch. I took the ground back off of the regulator, clicking started back so I unhooked the 2 wire plug from the back of the alternator and the clicking stopped then too. So you think the points are stuck?

I don't wanna mess this one up. Original to the car and a nos or restored one cost hundreds! I did see the small screw hole in the base of the regulator.

May need to send it to Pirkle for restoration.

http://www.johnpirkle.com/

replace it with Wells 715 electronic regulator and no more points. Your old cap will go right over the Wells unit to make it look original too. :) Dont mess with those old points. Replace it. :thumbsup:

C'mon Click. Nothing looks better than to see that date code on the regulator when you pop the hood. They work fine when the are working correctly.:)

C'mon Click. Nothing looks better than to see that date code on the regulator when you pop the hood. They work fine when the are working correctly.:)
I disagree. I couldn't get my old school points regulator to maintain the charge in my maitenance free battery. When I set it up high enough to keep the battery charged the points would stick when I shut the car off and drain the battery. If I set it to not stick the alternator would not support the load of the heater and lights. My cure was to replace the alternator with a internal regulated one. YMMV

Jeff

Well there is somethings to consider here. Ive tried to keep every part that is original to the car on it or in it. And to preserve all of the car as possible. Some things I have done is take out the 170 distributor and use a similar one with breakerless system, got the DZ carb on the shelf and using another holley, same with the 37amp alternator. Maybe I should just keep the VR on the shelf with the correct stuff and put in a modern one to take the car to cruise-in's. Maybe go ahead and send this one to Pirkle this winter.

Maybe I should just keep the VR on the shelf with the correct stuff and put in a modern one to take the car to cruise-in's. Maybe go ahead and send this one to Pirkle this winter.


That sounds like an excellent plan!:yes:.....It's too bad you can't repair it yourself and save some $$.....Get the maintenance free, electronic voltage regulator for trouble free operation!:yes::thumbsup:

Well there is somethings to consider here. Ive tried to keep every part that is original to the car on it or in it. And to preserve all of the car as possible. Some things I have done is take out the 170 distributor and use a similar one with breakerless system, got the DZ carb on the shelf and using another holley, same with the 37amp alternator. Maybe I should just keep the VR on the shelf with the correct stuff and put in a modern one to take the car to cruise-in's. Maybe go ahead and send this one to Pirkle this winter.

I hope you kept the 180 distributor. Why not put all the stuff back on and make it correct? What does the 837 alternator hurt? I have been using a restored regulator for most of a year now w/o a problem. If it is done right there is no problem.

replace it with Wells 715 electronic regulator and no more points. Your old cap will go right over the Wells unit to make it look original too. :) Dont mess with those old points. Replace it. :thumbsup:
I agree! best thing i ever did!
only 20-30 bucks too!

I hope you kept the 180 distributor. Why not put all the stuff back on and make it correct? What does the 837 alternator hurt? I have been using a restored regulator for most of a year now w/o a problem. If it is done right there is no problem.

Good points Gary, (but Im pretty sure that in 68 my distributor is 1111170). I do plan to put the DZ carb on the car. When I bought it , supposedly it was rebuilt, it was refinished. It looked great but when I tried to run it on the car, it just didnt run correctly at all, so I reverted back to the 700 double pumper that works great. I working on the 780 now and when i get it finished it Im gonna try it again. The only reason I don't use the 37amp alternator is I already have weak headlights, etc. and until I trouble shoot all the electrical problems I have given myself, I thought I would use what I know is working correctly. The alt. Im using now is 61 amp. Mainly the reason I consider keeping all these original parts on the shelf in working order is if/when I sell the car, I want to be able to either put all the parts on the car or at least have them to offer a potential buyer. Id love to keep the car from now on, but an unexpected divorce this year has caused some financial strain and Im afraid that even after working on this car for 6 years, and finally being able to drive it again, it is gonna be leaving my home for another. :pout: :sad:

Yeah, I missed the "68" in your name and just glimpsed at the "DZ" carb.:o

Ok guys, I thought I had another VR to try but couldn't locate it. I took the cover off last night and watched to see what is happening. When the buzzing noise is going on, the single point closest to the top, (copper windings and a copper pin sticking up for the point to contact) closes against the copper pin and continuously arcs. I tried to open it but when I released it, it started right back. Is this thing bad or do I have something else wrong?

I don't know which point contact is which, but I think one regulates voltage while the other regulates current. It would make sense that if one is stuck, it could cause the other to work overtime. So perhaps the bottom one is culpret.

My personal opinion is if your car is worth $50K then perhaps I can see the nastalga argument. Otherwise, there is no point in keeping ancient parts when there are superior 21st century parts available IMHO. Why make your life miserable trying to a tired old voltage regulator going. There is a reason auto manufacturers gave up on those things. Besides covering a wells regulator with an old clicker top is a pretty good compromise if nastalga is your thing.

Ok here is where I am now. I broke down and bought a new VR and gave up on the old ones for now. When I hooked everything back up, I still heard a distinct click when I plugged the 2wire plug back in the alterantor. I put my fingers behind the VR and got blistered fingers. It was HOT!. Quickly unplugged the thing. That alternator was a 61 amp. I put an old 37 amp on and tried it. It did not click or cause the VR to overheat but when I started the car, the gen light was on dim when I started the car but when I rev the engine or drive it, the light comes on bright. I went out and bought a new 50 amp alternator. Same thing, light comes on bright when I drive it. I checked the voltage at the battery with the engine running and it was 13.88 Now what?
ps also I bought a new 3 wire ground stip kit and installed it also and made sure I had the ground wire hooked up on the VR

Help guys, don't give up on me now...LOL Im "electrically challenged" !!!

if im not mistaken the back of the VR has a heating coil thats why its hot.
Im thinking you got a short somewhere

With no key turned on, no interior lights on, just sitting there in the garage, put a 12v test light stick between battery Neg post and battery Neg cable, (pull the cable off). The clamp goes on either cable or post and the light stick pointy end goes to the other.. if it lights up, you have a current draw somewhere. If you see light, pull one fuse at a time, when the light goes out, you know which circuit is drawing. :)

Click that is the most valuable piece of info I have heard yet! As soon as I get home from work, that will be my first test. Im running out of grounds to recheck! lol

Can bad diodes cause the heat? I know if they are bad it can drain the battery.

The resistors on the bottom of an OE mech VR are heaters to heat the VR to lower the charging voltage to prevent boiling over the battery at charging.

The higher the heat, the less current needed to recharge.
To properly set a mech VR, I would think a VAT-28 or -40 is needed and a VR thermometer, if adjusting on the car/truck.

I unhooked the ground on the battery and checked voltage between the battery post and the ground cable. I got some erratic readings but eventually settled at .6 volts. What ever it is, it's not draining the battery down but something is not right. I'll try pulling fuses tonight. Everett thanks for the advice but i have no idea what those numbers mean... VAT 28 -40 :confused:
Let me kinda clear this up on the heating under the VR. When I plugged the 2 wire back in on the first alternator I used, it got so hot so fast I could smell it, put my finger under there and got a blister... literally. The key was not in even in the switch when this happened. I heard a distinct click when I plugged the 2 wire back in. I have changed alternators 2 times since then and that does not happen. Could I have fried the VR ? Like I said earlier, with the engine not running, Im getting 12.4 volts on the battery and with the engine running Im getting 13.8 but the gen light is on bright.

hmm did you try and load test the battery?
if its shorted etc.
autozone or advance auto can test it for ya for free.
ive seen batteries cause all kinds of weird problems specially if you have a few cells shorted

VAT-28 or -40 = Volt-Amp Tester
VAT-28, the tech removes the positive cable on battery and insert the machine ammeter hookup and reattach the block/cable back onto the battery post to measure amps. VAT-40 has a clamp-on clamp about the battery cable to measure the magnetic field of current through the cable for the machine to indicate amps.

Either machine has a 1/4 ohm-500 watt rheostat to load the charging system, simulate a load, to show how much current the alternator can deliver under load.

There should be no current draw and heat with ign off. Regulator cut-out relay may be stuck closed drawing current through heaters.