The Ford Barn

JimNNN · 08-19-2019, 07:10 PM

Okay, I went ahead and bought a new voltage regulator from NAPA and installed it today, and everything seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing, as far as I can tell. The gen light goes off after being on briefly when the car is started - after a second or so. When I check the voltage with the car running at idle and warmed up, the voltage seems to be a bit over 8 volts, though another multi-meter I have says it's 6.5 volts. (Do you guys get that amount of variation between multi-meters?)

But there is no more gen light getting brighter as the engine speed increases...then going off (and staying off) only when I'm going over 30 or 40 mph. In other words...the car is again doing what it did when I first put the previous regulator on 6 months ago when I rewired the car. (Seems normal.)

So the question remains: What happened to the previous regulator that made it act weird after only 400 miles (or less) from new? I haven't taken the previous regulator apart yet, but I will. Could it have been knocked out of adjustment from just being on the road? Ranch Wagons ride stiff, and there are some rougher road conditions around here, but nothing that bad. I'd like to repair the previous regulator and keep it as a back up, but I understand they are hard to adjust accurately.

08-19-2019, 07:10 PM	#19
JimNNN Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Posts: 522	Re: 6 volt generator light question Okay, I went ahead and bought a new voltage regulator from NAPA and installed it today, and everything seems to be doing what it's supposed to be doing, as far as I can tell. The gen light goes off after being on briefly when the car is started - after a second or so. When I check the voltage with the car running at idle and warmed up, the voltage seems to be a bit over 8 volts, though another multi-meter I have says it's 6.5 volts. (Do you guys get that amount of variation between multi-meters?) But there is no more gen light getting brighter as the engine speed increases...then going off (and staying off) only when I'm going over 30 or 40 mph. In other words...the car is again doing what it did when I first put the previous regulator on 6 months ago when I rewired the car. (Seems normal.) So the question remains: What happened to the previous regulator that made it act weird after only 400 miles (or less) from new? I haven't taken the previous regulator apart yet, but I will. Could it have been knocked out of adjustment from just being on the road? Ranch Wagons ride stiff, and there are some rougher road conditions around here, but nothing that bad. I'd like to repair the previous regulator and keep it as a back up, but I understand they are hard to adjust accurately.