Alternator question

[texas69bee]

I have the mechanical on my 66.
The 71 and 72 Darts had the electronic style, and that's where I found the cheap one made radio noise.
I ran a radio station on AM 1620, so naturally I wanted to listen to my own music.
I keep telling everyone it's the way the stator is wound that makes for weak output at low rpm.
Find an alternator with 12 turns per loop in the visible windings, and you will have plenty of juice for turn signals to work correctly.

Didn't the 71 style use the 2 wire?

 

[BeeKool]

FM radio can get boring. Especially when you get tired of hearing the same songs.
I listen to XM radio sometimes.
I listen to AM radio most of the time because that's where the talk radio is and the morning show I listen to.

 

[Shorthorse]

Before you spend your hard earned dollars, do as others have suggested here and clean all your existing electrical connections associated with your charging system first. A thorough inspection of your hiring harnesses is in order. Look for things such as loose connections, cracked or split insulation, bubbled or burnt wires. According to MSD, most of their units draw in the neighborhood of 1 amp per 1000 RPM's. If that's the only upgrade you have, it's not enough to make a difference in relation to the original system's capacity.
If you decide to upgrade for convenience and piece of mind, that's fine and not a bad idea. I agree with bypassing the old ammeters. But, if your existing wiring and connections are corroded or marginal, all the new stuff in the world will not fix your problems. Items like bulkhead terminals and grounds seem to be the main culprits with old Mopar wiring issues. Time and Mother Nature have a way of doing that.
http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=24

 

[Darthomas]

When properly done, music can sound so much better on AM.
I hate the hiss, flutter, and cat-spitting sounds on FM. And the the music lacks body and solidity....it seems like a sorry photocopy of an image rather than a high quality silver photograph of an image.

 

[FU64RY]

Struck out. On my a100..........changed to a new voltage reg, and replaced the alternator with a new one and the OLD new one seemed to be okay too! I checked the resistance from the field from the alt to the volt reg and it was fine. I did notice some cracks and brakes on the ground wire but I also ran a new wire to the battery from the ground side of the alt. So I have 2 wire ground.
Still not charging. I read the shop manual and it is NUT'S with trouble shooting and testing.
Battery test not running 12.1 Running 12.3 lights on running 11.4.
Is the battery at fault, only 6 months old.
Everything electrical works fine, lights turn signals horn heater wipers dash lights, etc.
The gauge on the dash discharges when I step on the brake so I know it is working to.

 

[texas69bee]

What alternator and voltage regulator do you have?

 

[FU64RY]

First one was a square back and the 2nd one was a 66 two pulley round back reman from Auto zone (duralast).
regulator was not an oem not exxex, mounting holes were different. Shop manual shows 3 hole mounting and the one that was on it and all of the ones I have are two hole mounting.
Step 5 in the shop manual says CONNECT A VARIABLE CARBON PILE TO THE BATTERY TERMINALS. (carbon pile rheostat???)

 

[Shorthorse]

Struck out. On my a100..........changed to a new voltage reg, and replaced the alternator with a new one and the OLD new one seemed to be okay too! I checked the resistance from the field from the alt to the volt reg and it was fine. I did notice some cracks and brakes on the ground wire but I also ran a new wire to the battery from the ground side of the alt. So I have 2 wire ground.
Still not charging. I read the shop manual and it is NUT'S with trouble shooting and testing.
Battery test not running 12.1 Running 12.3 lights on running 11.4.
Is the battery at fault, only 6 months old.
Everything electrical works fine, lights turn signals horn heater wipers dash lights, etc.
The gauge on the dash discharges when I step on the brake so I know it is working to.

Did you measure the voltage at the alternator?

 

[440fish]

Sooooooooooo, how's it workin?

Car is covered and put away due to snow / weather. I really dont want to start it as it takes a LONG time to dry out the 3" exhaust so im not going to do much until the spring. I WILL take a look at the wires / grounds per the advice here though.

 

[Ranger16]

First one was a square back and the 2nd one was a 66 two pulley round back reman from Auto zone (duralast).

That may be your problem. They don't call 'em "Don'tLast" for nothing. I would never buy anything other than dumb parts (lubricants, bulbs, filters, wiper blades, fuses etc) from AZ.

 

[texas69bee]

First one was a square back and the 2nd one was a 66 two pulley round back reman from Auto zone (duralast).
regulator was not an oem not exxex, mounting holes were different. Shop manual shows 3 hole mounting and the one that was on it and all of the ones I have are two hole mounting.
Step 5 in the shop manual says CONNECT A VARIABLE CARBON PILE TO THE BATTERY TERMINALS. (carbon pile rheostat???)

Are you using the correct voltage regulator with the correct alternator? The 66 round back uses a different voltage regulator than the square back.
http://www.mymopar.com/charging.htm

 

[FU64RY]

I had the same regulator on both. No difference.

 

[Shorthorse]

I had the same regulator on both. No difference.

I'm not familiar with the old style regulator but I'm sure you know the new style case must be well grounded. The ones I have used came with a thick coat of paint that had to be removed from around the mounting holes.

 

[FU64RY]

I'll double check, thank you

 

[440fish]

Update...

Reconditioned 70 amp squareback alt installed and switched to a 2 wire system. Holy moly. lights are bright, no flickering/dimming and idle is much more crisp! The MSD did NOT like the low voltage of the old roundback, especially when running lights etc. Wish i had done this long ago!