Battery not charging 1966 Dauntless V6 with Motorola Alternator

Hey guys I am at the end of my line. I have a 1966 CJ5, and i just put in a new painless wiring harness.
I have a new battery, I just finished troubleshooting the Alternator as per the haynes guide.
I am 99 percent sure all my wiring is good and correctly connected the alternator produces the proper charge, but i still have to jump my jeep nearly every time i want to turn it on.

The only thing I am not sure on is the external voltage regulator. its sitting right next to me because i wanted to pull it apart and see if there was any corrosion, but after i cleaned off the last 4 or 5 decades of grime I found that what i had first took for screws are actually pins or nail that look like i would have to drill off.

Can Someone please tell me how to check if this external voltage regulator is still working, or give me some Idea what else it could be that keeps the jeep from charging

 

Is there an O'reillys or Autzone nearby that does free alternator testing? If you can determine whether its the alternator vs. the regulator, that's half the battle.

 

You may need to know the vehicle the alternator is for if it is nor original to the JEEP. Some of the O'reillys and Autozone type stores test equipment require them to enter vehicle info in order to test.

 

There are two type of regulators used in 66 jeeps w/motorola. Mechanical switching and solid state types. Need picture of yours to tell. As for the alternator, you can temporarily full field the alternator to test it. You will have a spade terminal for the field, so if you put a hot wire from the battery plus terminal and connect it to this flat spade connector, that will make the alternator go to full output. Note: Your belt has to be tight enough that you cannot slip the alternator pully.

 

Walt eluded to it.......but MAKE sure......with the engine NOT running.....grab the pulley/fan of the alternator and attempt to rotate it by hand....really TRY..... if you can rotate it at all..... your issue is a pulley-belt issue.

Could be a glazed belt......improper sized belt.....loose/stretched belt.

 

I just tried that and the belt was loose so i tightened it down. I am going to try it again here in a bit in the meantime, I am pretty sure the alternator and voltage regulator are stock original. Here are some pics

 

I just jumped it again reved the engine real good and let it sit for a while to charge and warm up. My called my dad and he told me that if i pulled the hot cable off the battery and everything was working right the engine should stay on. I soon as i pulled that cable the whole thing died and it wont start again. got some clicks from the ignition though.
As to the alternator
In the haynes manual it says to unplug the field connector and connect a jumper wire between the auxiliary and field terminals. and then connect a voltmeter and start the engine.
The book says that if my voltmeter was between 13 and 15 it was good, and that was right where it was at so...

any way any help is greatly appreciated

thanks

 

yea id just get a new regulator theyre less than 30 bucks from autozone. Those old circuit boards can only last so long. Mine was acting all kinds of weird it even made the engine run bad somehow. Swaped it out and all was good

 

You should have a wire on that long stud coming out of the red plate (originally grey) which goes inside to the charge indicator light. A second wire (same stud) (grey) going to the regulator. This makes the alt start charging at a low rpm (700-800). Looks like your white wire probably replaced the grey to the indicator light.

 

Unless you're going for a full resto, why not upgrade to a better unit? The stock alt has really low output, like 45 amps or something like that. I switched to a Delco style 100A 1 wire alternator-it bolted right in the stock bracket & it works great.

 

The Motorola alternators used to pop diodes regularly ... the dealership mechanics would solder in the new diodes to repair the alternator.

I expect that you will get full voltage even with one of the diodes in the bridge gone ... you could check the ripple waveform with an oscilloscope. Or you could remove the bridge and check for open diodes, I presume. Look at the FSM - the Haynes/Chiltons manuals are clearly inferior to the factory manual. The '72 Jeeps still used the Motorola alternators and regulators - look here for diagnostic info http://trailforge.com/TSM/Section_03.pdf

I expect it will be hard to get parts for a Motorola alternator today. Check the price for a reman - I expect a generic Delco will be way cheaper, esp. when you include the regulator. Look at the Mad Electrical site for which Delco to get http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml

 

thanks for the oreileys tip just took the alternator down there and they said it was bad. So that is the end of that mystery. Now does any one have any tips on the kind of alternator i should get and where to get it. there is probably already a bunch of threads for that already, but you know the newest info and all that.

Thanks for all the help

 

Do you want another Motorola or something better?

 

I second that get rid of old alt and reg . go with a Delco 55A - 100A single wire alternator . only thing is look at the clocking of terminals and mounting hole

 

I agree with updating. I have a one wire Delco with internal self exciting regulator. You can always loosen the bolts and spin the case halves.

 

And a toothpick!

 

Do you have a winch?

If not O'Reilly's carries this one for $29.99 is a good deal, 1 year warranty. For $10 more you get a lifetime warranty.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/d...1035188&forcedVehicle=true&pt=01468&ppt=C0330

I have been running this one for a while, it's a 63 amp. It's probably double the output of the motorola.

The only drawback I found was that with the 63 amp, with a long winch pull, it couldn't keep up. In that case a higher output (12si) would be a good candidate. If you have a local pick and pull you can also get them pretty cheap.

 

That looks like a great deal, but how do i tell if an alternator is internally or externally regulated