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1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

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Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

I had a spare minute between calls this morning so I popped outside and put the VR back in (I cleaned the contacts last night). I also took to wire brushing the screws/fender/contact points and used some contact cleaner in the connector, all looked pretty good.

The results are in... At fast idle over 16V!

I will try the idea of extra earth from the VR case direct to the battery later today. I need to make a cable up.

1985.5 F-150 XL Explorer standard cab 5.0 EFI AOD 4x4
Daily Driver. We call her Eunice the Ute.

1982 Bronco XLT Lariat 351W AOD 4x4
Code name Esperanza, or Espy to her friends. Please see my Project thread for the blow by blow.

1984 F-350 XL Centurion crew cab 460 T19 4x4
"Eylza Dual-little"

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

This post was updated on .

Does your regulator have 3 or 4 wires in the plug?
Pretty sure there are two ways these were wired.

If you cleaned everything and still it isn't working i'd say the reulator is dead. (It only needs ground as a reference, so no real current)
Should be around $10.

Maybe Gary is right?

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gary Lewis

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Maybe Gary is right?

Yes, the truck wants a 3G!

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Dad's: '81 F150 Ranger XLT 4x4: Down for restomod: Full-roller "stroked 351M" w/Trick Flow heads & intake, EEC-V SEFI/E4OD/3.50 gears w/Kevlar clutches
Blue: 2015 F150 Platinum 4x4 SuperCrew wearing Blue Jeans & sporting a 3.5L EB & Max Tow
Big Blue: 1985 F250HD 4x4: 460/ZF5/3.55's, D60 w/Ox locker & 10.25 Sterling/Trutrac, Blue Top & Borgeson, & EEC-V MAF/SEFI

Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

It definitely does want a 3G! But it is not in the budget right now - time wise or fiscally..

I will try the grounding wire, maybe there is a bad ground through the fender even though I have cleaned everything up. I should try a continuity test..

Maybe I will pop out and get another regulator if that does not work.

Other than that she will have to sit for nearly a month as I have to sort other things out... :(

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

This post was updated on .

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Welcome back Gary.
I hope all went well and you don't have too much discomfort after the drugs wear off.

If the DB alternator is still $65 you could be all new (with a one year warranty) for $100.
Or probably $35-40 at a junkyard, harness and all

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

In reply to this post by Gsmblue

Well. I guess I did not clean as well as I thought, ~120ohm resistance between the body of the regulator and the battery terminal!

I will have to clean again and prep a cable ...

Frustrating!

Gary Lewis

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

If you can measure 120 ohms with a DVM then when the current starts flowing you'll have an even bigger problem. Fix that and I think you'll be golden - until the next "please give me a 3G" beg comes.

And, you may not have the body grounded.

Jim - Thanks. I'm just on Advil and feeling pretty good - as long as I don't think about it. But 4 1/2 hours in the chair was looooooooong.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

4 1/2 hrs!?!?
Ooooww, my jaw hurts just thinking about the ordeal.
I really meant the novacaine + gas, or whatever. Not narcotics.

Grounds are always good to have.

The starter relay grounds through its mounting screws so if you don't have a problem starting the truck I would say the fender is well grounded.

Maybe a star washer under the regulator mounting might help?

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

In reply to this post by Gary Lewis

Right..

So cleaned and cleaned and got it down to ~10Ohms

Was not happy with that, so found some 14AWG and made a little cable from the VR to the -VE battery terminal, now happy at 14.4V...

Gonna beef the cable up to 10AWG if I can find any in the garage...

Why on earth is it that the fender not got a good ground? I think I need to hunt that issue down...

Hope you are feeling better!

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

You don't need a heavy cable.

The regulator is only using ground for reference, so it can tell how high the voltage is getting, coming from the alternator, and then it cuts the field back.

Older mechanical regulators do this with a set of points, just like the ICVR does.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Gotcha, I think I am just having concerns about the grounds in general! At the very least I need to get the correct size crimps on that wire.

Thinking about it, right before all this went on, there was a wire from the battery -Ve to the front crossmember. It was a really badly done crimp at crossmember end and bare wire at the other wedge in a nut at the other. I pulled it without thinking... Maybe that was there for a reason..

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

Does your truck have the OEM battery ground cable with the little 'flag' bolted to the cross member on its way to the block?

If it has been replaced, maybe the best solution is a 12" cable (like I pointed out above) going from the block ground back to the cross member bolt.

$3, and a sturdy ground like it should be!

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Gary Lewis

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

In reply to this post by Gsmblue

Gsmblue - The early trucks, including your '82, had sketchy grounds. For instance, the tail lights ground to the bed, but the bed only grounds through its 8 bolts to the frame. By '85 they'd changed that such that the tail lights et al came all the way back into the cab to ground.

And by '95, like the front clip I'm working on, they'd gone way beyond that. To the point that the cab mounts have ground wires around the bushings. So you can't go wrong by adding grounds.

Jim - I hadn't thought about whatever they used to deaden my mouth wearing off. And here I thought I was doing well.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

Steve83

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Banned User

Gary Lewis wrote

...the cab mounts have ground wires around the bushings.

Those are just for radio noise - they're not power grounds. They should never have current flowing through them.

Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

In reply to this post by ArdWrknTrk

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Does your truck have the OEM battery ground cable with the little 'flag' bolted to the cross member on its way to the block?

I think it does! Battery -Ve to passenger side frame and then on to the block, right? So that is all there and looks in good shape, but maybe it is time to pull that all apart...

I added an 8AWG cable (crimped and heat shrinked) from the battery to the VR and now it is performing well. Took the mutt to starbucks for a "puppy-ccino" I kid you not, it is a thing...

Still need to check the grounds.

Still need a 3G! But there are some more serious issues to deal with, like the rear diff needs a new pinion seal and rear cover seal, Radiator still needs replacing.. I have had that part since September!

Thanks for all the help! She is running again, the sun is shining and I will use her to go to soccer tonight! :)

Gary Lewis

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

Congrats!!! Well done.

Gary, AKA "Gary fellow": Profile

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

In reply to this post by Gsmblue

I'm glad Espy is behaving herself with just a simple ground as repair.

With better weather I'm sure you'll be chipping away at that list and soon enough opportunity to modernize the charging system will appear.

Until then enjoy the game.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

Steve83

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Banned User

In reply to this post by Gsmblue

Gsmblue wrote

...rear cover seal...

There is no seal - it's just glued on. Ford says common silicone, but the dealer techs I worked with preferred either Ford gray silicone, or HondaBond. I prefer RightStuff, but as expensive as it is, I've started using E6000.

Gsmblue

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Thanks for the help everyone!

So that rear diff cover is a super simple job! I could do that in a lunch break... thanks Steve!!

I don’t think the pinion seal is all that tricky either. If I can get those sorted out in one afternoon along with the radiator I would be happy! Need to find a helping pair f hands...

ArdWrknTrk

Re: 1982 Bronco Alternator wiring mess!

Administrator

Just a word of warning....

Always start by removing the fill plug.
Whether it is a diff, gearbox or transfer case, make sure you can get fluid into it before draining all the fluid out.

Plugs can get stuck and sometimes there's little room for a bigger wrench.
The aluminum plugs on Borg Warner transfer cases are real bad about stripping out completely.

It can make an easy job a nightmare if you need to use that vehicle to enact plan B.

Jim,
Lil'Red is a '87 F250 HD, 4.10's, 1356 4x4, Zf-5, 3G, PMGR, Saginaw PS, desmogged with a Holley 80508 and Performer intake.
Too much other stuff to mention.

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