electrical issues, dimming lights, occasional stalling, rough idle at stop

[khryslerkid]

Make sure it has a good ground. Bare metal under where it bolts on. Or temporarily hook up a wire lead to a good ground and see if anything changes. Engine needs a good working ground also.

 

[matthon]

I also have my vr grounded to the battery. The ground via bolt thru firewall sucks.
The stock vrs also suck.

Look up part #35-300 on ebay. Not sure if this can be used with stock points dizzy but it saved me.

 

[dvw]

The regulator needs a good ground or it will over charge. Over charge is an issue here. Fix it first. Next, voltage drop on these cars is common. This can cause low voltage to various accessories. Check all connections for corosion and proper ground. Still not satisfactory? A larger alternator combined with relays to power items can help. Alternator output at idle is not great from the stock 37 amp unit. To your original concern. I doubt that your rough idle condition is charging system related.
Doug

 

[Evan Frucht]

The regulator needs a good ground or it will over charge. Over charge is an issue here. Fix it first. Next, voltage drop on these cars is common. This can cause low voltage to various accessories. Check all connections for corosion and proper ground. Still not satisfactory? A larger alternator combined with relays to power items can help. Alternator output at idle is not great from the stock 37 amp unit. To your original concern. I doubt that your rough idle condition is charging system related.
Doug

I will try to ground the vr better and see what that does. The main problem is dimming and pulsing of lights when at idle, and when the rpms get to about 700 the idle becomes a bit sluggish, choppy. It's hard to describe. and worse part is every once in while it will stall while I'm sitting at red light, especially when the car gets hot. it will usually start back up. I tried turning the idle up and it helps a little but I don't think the idle should be that high, but maybe I'm wrong. How fast should I move forward when I take my foot off the brake? I read that a random stalling and rough idle problem can be related to the charging system or even a failing ignition coil, but to be honest I don't know where to start. I think its electrical because I don't know what else it could be given it runs well once you come off idle. I rebuilt the carb recently, it looks clean, and is responsive to adjustments. What makes you think its not charging related and what do you think might it be?

 

[dvw]

Low idle and pulling thru the lights could be the converter is too tight for the cam/carb combo.
Doug

 

[Grabbergreendream]

Have you tried pulling one wire at a time off the distributor to the plugs while running to verify it isnt missing on one or 2 plugs?
Any sparks from the wires in the dark?
Just thinking out loud...

 

[Evan Frucht]

Low idle and pulling thru the lights could be the converter is too tight for the cam/carb combo.
Doug

That sounds like it could be on the right track. Its the stock 318 in front of the original push button 727 but the PO said that when he had the engine rebuilt they re-ground the cam a little and also the car has a 4 barrel that was added before I owned it. Also a put a large dual exhaust on it.

Part of me thought that wasn't enough modification to really affect much but maybe it is.

Also 6 months ago I had the transmission rebuilt by a reputable shop. They put in a TF2 shift kit and they sent out my torque converter to be rebuilt. Are converters sometimes tight when they are new, and loosen up over time?

What would you do to remedy the condition if that is what's going on?

 

[Don Frelier]

If the cam is indeed "hotter" than stock increasing the advance at idle may help.
But you may need to limit the mechanical advance to keep the maximum advance in a good place.
You could try this short term, but adjust idle mixture with any timing adjustment.

What type of fluid are you running in the trans?
ATF4 might be less viscous and let it slip a bit at lower RPM.
NO VACUUM LEAKS ALLOWED

 

[Rusty 72]

Just a shot in the dark but if the points are failing it’ll act as if it’s gonna die at idle. Had that happen on my slant and a new set of points cured it.
good luck

 

[Moparnocar]

I think some corrosion is pulling that voltage down, especially with brake lights/headlights

I'd put the old reg back in, and start her up. Pull fuses and watch voltage. See if one circuit pulls voltage down more than it should

Also, I've had circuits have good voltage, but can't handle the current. So always double check with a test light

And check bulkhead connection, and probably bypass apm meter too, LOTS of problems as they get older, causing voltage drops

 

[Caterpillars]

Had some of the same problems. Replaced the alternator because that's all that was left, bingo.. Connectors on the alternator were suspect and rewire with new connectors while replacing the alternator. I got the alternator a Auto Zone - think it was 60 buck and produced a 100 amps. Lights are bright now..

 

[matthon]

I'll chime in once more for the heck of it.
Everyone here always has excellent suggestions and way more knowledge than I'll ever.
From my experience, use the KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid, keep a running list of things checked/changed, when, results, and be sure to verify new parts are good.
Also, be prepared to find more than one issue.
I had a low voltage issue with stalling at stop lights and a vibration.
The culprits, after checking and making new grounds/wiring, an original style vr with electronic ignition wasn't working, got an electronic vr, a bad brand new alternator, which I had replaced just because I had a $40 off coupon and it was literally the only thing that wasn't new, removal of a tiny piece of fiber in the carb solved the stalling, and a bad brand new motor mount was causing the vibration.

 

[Evan Frucht]

Thanks everyone. Still having trouble. I'm thinking of trying a new alternator as I dont know the history on this one. Will try a new voltage regulator, one of those electronic ones that looks original.

All my wiring harness including bulkhead connector is original. I cleaned all connections as best I could but it's impossible to clean the inside of some connectors and they still have some corrosion. I'm suspecting this could be part of my problem. I may bypass the ammeter to see what that does also.

One other symptom is that whenever I turn on the high beams they will stay one for about 5 minutes or less and then suddenly all lights start flickering on and off. This is at highway speeds. If I turn the high beams off it immediately goes back to normal. My headlight bulbs are old and were on the car when I bought it, they still work but could the fact they are old be a problem ?

Also my windshield wipers only work sporatically and sometimes will just jerk up and down very quickly at the bottom of the windshield. Up and down 1 inch. Sometimes they work fine including the variable speeds, sometimes not at all, and then sometimes they just act weird like I described.

 

[Moparnocar]

Thanks everyone. Still having trouble. I'm thinking of trying a new alternator as I dont know the history on this one. Will try a new voltage regulator, one of those electronic ones that looks original.

All my wiring harness including bulkhead connector is original. I cleaned all connections as best I could but it's impossible to clean the inside of some connectors and they still have some corrosion. I'm suspecting this could be part of my problem. I may bypass the ammeter to see what that does also.

One other symptom is that whenever I turn on the high beams they will stay one for about 5 minutes or less and then suddenly all lights start flickering on and off. This is at highway speeds. If I turn the high beams off it immediately goes back to normal. My headlight bulbs are old and were on the car when I bought it, they still work but could the fact they are old be a problem ?

Also my windshield wipers only work sporatically and sometimes will just jerk up and down very quickly at the bottom of the windshield. Up and down 1 inch. Sometimes they work fine including the variable speeds, sometimes not at all, and then sometimes they just act weird like I described.

I didn't go back and look, but did you do a voltage drop test on your main cables, including ground?

Run it, warm it up, and start at positive wire to alt, pos to starter relay, ground wire to engine, etc

All you need is a bolt meter. Lots of vids on how to do it on YouTube.

Once you test those as ok, test from starter relay to bulkhead, working your way inside the car ( while running)

Your basically looking for voltage that's "locked up" in the wire due to corrosion, dirty connection etc. Corrosion can work it way inside multi strand cable, and you can't see it

I know swapping parts SEEMS easier/quicker, but it's really not

Here's the basics https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/Automotive-Voltage-Drop-Testing

In the real world, your probably gonna see .5 volts alot, your looking for a bigger drop that that

 

[Evan Frucht]

I didn't go back and look, but did you do a voltage drop test on your main cables, including ground?

Run it, warm it up, and start at positive wire to alt, pos to starter relay, ground wire to engine, etc

All you need is a bolt meter. Lots of vids on how to do it on YouTube.

Once you test those as ok, test from starter relay to bulkhead, working your way inside the car ( while running)

Your basically looking for voltage that's "locked up" in the wire due to corrosion, dirty connection etc. Corrosion can work it way inside multi strand cable, and you can't see it

I know swapping parts SEEMS easier/quicker, but it's really not

Here's the basics https://axleaddict.com/auto-repair/Automotive-Voltage-Drop-Testing

In the real world, your probably gonna see .5 volts alot, your looking for a bigger drop that that

With a multimeter I checked the voltage on both sides of the ammeter while it was running and saw no drop they were identical. I also checked the voltage coming off the alternator and it was fine. I checked voltage going to ignition switch and that was the same as well

 

[Moparnocar]

With a multimeter I checked the voltage on both sides of the ammeter while it was running and saw no drop they were identical. I also checked the voltage coming off the alternator and it was fine. I checked voltage going to ignition switch and that was the same as well

Are you checking voltage (12v) or are you checking voltage drop on those items( .0-.5) it sounds like your just checking voltage? If so, a connection can be dirty/weak and still show 12v. The second you put a load on it, it drops significantly.

 

[Evan Frucht]

Are you checking voltage (12v) or are you checking voltage drop on those items( .0-.5) it sounds like your just checking voltage? If so, a connection can be dirty/weak and still show 12v. The second you put a load on it, it drops significantly.

My old mutimeter is a little outdated and has a hard to read needle and face. I just ordered a new digital multimeter and will try to get to the bottom of this once it arrives

 

[Moparnocar]

My old mutimeter is a little outdated and has a hard to read needle and face. I just ordered a new digital multimeter and will try to get to the bottom of this once it arrives

Let us know, be interested in knowing where it was, fusable links can fail internally too

 

[miller]

All my wiring harness including bulkhead connector is original. I cleaned all connections as best I could but it's impossible to clean the inside of some connectors and they still have some corrosion. I'm suspecting this could be part of my problem.

Sorry to be blunt, Evan...
But, a 64, with it's original wiring...and, you wonder why your having problems? Toss in some of the stock, original electrical components, same thing.
Wiring only lasts so long, then, it needs help.

Same thing on my 64 Ply, besides some of the 'fixes' done on it. And, yeah, I could not (would not) afford the high dollar dash harness. Went completely through it, each wire end to end, and replaced what was needed.
Replaced both (engine and lights) harnesses under the hood, since the cost on those weren't bad.
Also 'updated' the alternator, from the stock 45 amp to an 80 amp.

Anyway...just sayin'...

 

[Evan Frucht]

Sorry to be blunt, Evan...
But, a 64, with it's original wiring...and, you wonder why your having problems? Toss in some of the stock, original electrical components, same thing.
Wiring only lasts so long, then, it needs help.

Same thing on my 64 Ply, besides some of the 'fixes' done on it. And, yeah, I could not (would not) afford the high dollar dash harness. Went completely through it, each wire end to end, and replaced what was needed.
Replaced both (engine and lights) harnesses under the hood, since the cost on those weren't bad.
Also 'updated' the alternator, from the stock 45 amp to an 80 amp.

Anyway...just sayin'...

You're right.... I have gone through and cleaned up the wiring alot. Especially the dash and engine harness. Fixing old "repairs," adding new connectors and wire ends where needed, and removing accessories that were spliced in. I cleaned many connections but the reality is that some are too far gone and deeply corroded to be trusted ( I'm guessing. ) Also some of the plastic wiring plugs are in pretty bad shape, including my bulkhead. It probabaly just needs more attention