Amp Gauge Bounces On Idle

[Auggie56]

Off Idle it's pretty steady. No charging issues, but I had it gone through because of bad bearings. The shop is pretty competent as I have used them several times. Even after the restoration the needle still bounces on idle. The shop suggested that it might be a bad ground some where. Any suggestions ?

 

[Darthomas]

They do that, read the factory service manual section on mechanical voltage regulators.
There is quite a bit of interaction between the gap from the pole to the armature,
where that distance is related to the spring tension on the armature, and the distance between the charge and discharge contacts.
It's always going to jiggle a tiny bit, as normal operation is for the contact to "dance" lightly at a high speed.
If it's very annoying, or makes big excursions, it is something you can learn to adjust yourself and take care of.
Otherwise buy new or convert to a solid state regulator.

 

[Auggie56]

They do that, read the factory service manual section on mechanical voltage regulators.
There is quite a bit of interaction between the gap from the pole to the armature,
where that distance is related to the spring tension on the armature, and the distance between the charge and discharge contacts.
It's always going to jiggle a tiny bit, as normal operation is for the contact to "dance" lightly at a high speed.
If it's very annoying, or makes big excursions, it is something you can learn to adjust yourself and take care of.
Otherwise buy new or convert to a solid state regulator.

Just changing to an electronic regulator will help ? I have seen this same problem in cars with them. Thanks for your response.....

 

[Darthomas]

There shouldn't be any jiggle with an electronic regulator, unless maybe it's poorly grounded.

 

[Slantsixdan]

Get a good electronic regulator; reliability is worth the extra money over the cheapies. I like this one which looks a little different to the original but bolts right on and hooks right up. Darthomas is right about grounding. Run a ground wire (I use 14ga) from the alternator housing to the voltage regulator base and from the regulator base to the battery negative terminal. Many alternators have a "GRD" hole on the back of the housing; use a short self-tapping screw into that hole if you have it (too long a screw will hit the rotor, so SHORT!). If no GRD hole on your alternator, just attach the ground wire to one of the alternator's thru-bolts or to one of its bracket screws.