banks twinram

my alternator doesnt work on my 94 dodge and i read in the book where it said that i need an external regulator, but i couldn't find the one that was originally on the truck, so i went to the alternator-starter shop guy and he gave me a regulator, showed me how to hook it up, and so i went to hook it up but it didn't work like he said it should, i even got a regulator off another 1st gen dodge and it didnt work either. but if you hook the 2 small posts up on the back of the alternator, one to posative and the other to negative, the thing charges like crazy, like 16 volts at idle and way over past 18 if you speed the motor up. so i would think that it is not the alternator.i dunno, i got one hot wire hooked to the alternator and one hot wire hooked to the regulator. the regulator is grounded and the other lead off the regulator is hooked up to the negative small post on the alternator. it acts like it pulls a little current because you can see the wire arc just a little when you pull the wire off, but it does not charge the battery at all. maybe someone here can help me, if not i will just take it to the alternator guy and tell him to fix it.

Haulin_in_Dixie

Lets see if I can get you through this. You probably trashed the regulator though, most trash one before the hookup is ok.

You have two terminals on the alternator, does not matter which one goes to which terminal on the regulator. One pin on the alternator to one pin on the regulator, then the other pin on the alternator to the other pin on the regulator.

You have two terminals on the regulator. You should have wires hooking both terminals to the regulator and nothing else hooked up to them, meaning the plug that used to go to the alternator for the two field terminals must be disconnected you are adding a new system.

With that hooked up, look at the regulator and turn it so that the connector looks line a pyrimid with the wide part of the triangle to the bottom. Years ago it had three terminals there but now one is missing on one side and it only uses two wires. So you have one at the top in the center and one terminal to one side. Hook the 12 volts to the top terminal in the center as you look at it as a pyrimid.

Now be sure to hook up a ground wire between the alternator and the base of the regulator and it should charge properly.

Do a search and there is a picture in faq that shows the hookup.

If you so much as touch the hot wire to the side terminal, it will trash the regulator, you only get one chance at the hookup. According to what you wrote your alternator is just fine.

infidel

banks twinram

i think i burned it up maybe, what if the truck is running while i try to hook it up, does that make a difference? and should the hot wire be hooked up to the key switch or just straight to the battery all the time?? thanks for the pic infidel. and the regulator gets warm when it is hooked up just like the one in the pic, but it still does not charge the battery, does that mean the regulator is junk if it gets warm? or is it supposed to get warm?

Haulin_in_Dixie

If it is not charging with it hooked up I am sure the regulator is trashed. The 12 volt has to shut off with the key, otherwise it will kill the battery. They are less than $10.00 from any parts store, so it is not a real expensive deal.

banks twinram

ok, i got it all hooked up and works great. i just went to the parts store and told them i needed a regulator for a 90 dodge diesel and they told me it was gunna be 23.99 and i almost went ballistic and then i remembered to ask if there was a different kind that was cheaper and so he was like i dunno let me look, and sure enough there was one for 8.49 and i said hell yeah that will work and went home, hooked it all up right, and didn't touch a hotwire till i was READY to start it and fired it up and now its sittin hapily married to 14.8 v.d.c. i love it!!!! oh, and now that i just got my dodge running, my ford diesel decides that it needed to throw a f-ing rod through the side of the block!!!!! ahhhh!!!!!!! sell your truck while its still running???? oops