Looking for some help. On the clip that plugs into the voltage regulator there are 4 wires. The previous owner took the blue one and the brown one and cut them from the clip. He then connected the two of these together. The other day I bought a new voltage regulator and fixed the previously mentioned problem by re-attaching the wires to the clip.

Friday night I went out and left my Camaro in a parking lot for about 4 hours. When I went to start it the batter was dead. I got a jump and drove it home. The next morning the same thing happened, the batter was dead.

So, I un-did my fix and put it back together again the way the previous owner had it. Everything is back to normal.

Why is my set-up better this way? What are the blue & brown wires for? What can I do to correct this?

Thanks!

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1969 Camaro - Forest Green w/White Z28 Stripes, 350/Holley 4Bl...

The top 2 wires blue & yellow go to the alter. The 3rd one down go to battery. Not sure where the 4th goes havn't seen a diagram in years. But I'm thinking you several things happening here: I would spend the $ & have the charging system diagnosed before you replace parts. I went though this once & it could be a variety of things going on -to a missing a improper ground somewhere . I am curious to know why you decided to put in a new volt reg in the 1st place? FYI Some vr's don't work fresh from the box. Did the prevoius owner convert to an internal volt reg already ? How many connections are there from the alt? Do some more homework luckily it is a closed system and you will get to the bottom off it.

Sounds as if the previous owner converted to an internal regulated alternator. The voltage regulater is/was disconnected. When you undid the wiring change, it allowed the battery to drain thru the reg. Check out Wes Vans Team Camaro Tech page at: http://www.camaros.net/techref/ftecref14.html .


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Rick Schaefer
68 Camaro
72 El Camino (http://members.home.net/jimmy4/rick1972elky.html)
TPI350/700r4 (http://chevelles.com/showroom/ricks%20motor%20-L)

[This message has been edited by rick (edited 08-05-2001).]

So, is it safe to remove the regulator completely if I keep the blue & brown wire connected and cap off the other 2 wires?

Does the horn relay play any part in this?

It does sound like the voltage regulator was eliminated. You should probably confirm the alternator you have is internally regulated. If it is, you'll be fine without the voltage regulator. (Leave the wiring the way it was if you eliminate the voltage regulator)

I agree that it sounds like the prior owner converted it to an internal regulator alternator.

What may be adding confusion for you is a trick in the wording. When you go back to the wiring the prior owner had done, you are not getting rid of the voltage regulator! You are just using the one that is housed in the newer alternator. You just don't need to use the original external regulator.

If in doubt, pull out the alternator and take it to a good autoparts store (if there really are any out there) and ask them what type alternator it is. At the same time, it would be a good idea to ask what cars it originally came out of, in case you have to order another at a latter date (keep the information in a small note book in the glove box)

As for those wire connections; make sure that they are soldered together! A flaky connection will cause hair loss while trying to find the problem (I'm pretty much bald).

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Wes. Vann
Technical Reference Section

Unless you can tell them the year, model and engine size of the car the alternator originally came out of, don't count on an auto parts store being much help http://www.camaros.net/forum/wink.gif