Voltage regulator Question on 71fj55

[poseidon]

Here is the story. My 55 has some serious problem with the charging system. Tt has one of those big 6 plug voltage regulators not the 3 plug. My problem is tha the system over charges, like it blows the caps off the battery and they swell up and such.

As it is I have had a work around where if I go unplug my voltage regulator the charging drops to such a low level that the battery is slowly drained. It seems to me that there must be some current getting through because it takes a long time for it to go dead. Then i plug it back in for a while and it charges the battery back up. As you can guess this is a TOTAL PITA and sometimes I have a battery too low to start the beast or I occasional get the battery a little overcharged and it blows off the caps...

I bought a new voltage reg. Ya thats right I was able to find a NEW one in the Borg-Warner box! but I don't want to install it if there is another problem that will mess it up.

Any and all help is appreciated.

E

 

[sherwood]

I would remove every terminal in the charging system and check them for corrosion, breaks in the wire, etc.

I don't have a wiring diagram of your system, but, one wire in that gaggle is used to "sense" the charge on the battery. If it is corroded or has some other form of bad connection, then, due to this unwanted resistance, the full voltage of the battery will not appear at the regulator and the regulator will be fooled into thinking that the battery needs more...... even if the battery is already charged up. Then, the output of the alternator will be constantly fed to the battery...... hence, overcharging and excessive "boiling" and blowing off of caps.

So much of Cruiser electrical problems stem from the fact that they have such a legendary status.......("Hey, it's a Land Cruiser, it'll run forever... no need to put it in the garage.... no need to change the oil..... no need to do routine maintenance.... it'll live forever") When I take a notion, occasionally I will just pull a bunch of electical stuff loose and clean it and put it back together.

'Not saying that corroded connections are your problem, but, so many of the electrical problems I do see on here are usually cured by just following all the wires and generally "spring cleaning" the connections. Also look for discolored wires, stiff non-pliable wires that could indicate overheated, burned wires. Tug on them to insure that there is no broken wire hiding somewhere inside the insulation.

Even though everything electrical on my '40 works just fine, a few weeks ago, while poking around, I discovered some PO's work behind the fuse block. It looked like he poured molten lead from a hot-pot on a connection. After de-soldering the fat (MIBS) joint, I discovered that the wire he added (for some accessory) was just laid on top of the other wire and soldered. First rule..... first make a good mechanical connection..... then and only then proceed with the soldering. PO's.... bah... humbug !!!

HTH

John Sherwood '79 FJ-40
Charlotte, NC TLCA Upstate Cruisers