[sloppy_steering]

Hi everyone,
Long story short, My 68 firebird died going up a hill. Checked the alternator, it was bad so I replaced. Car still didn't start, checked spark, no spark. Checked HEI cap coil, coil bad. My pickup coil is OK though. Anyway, I'm going throught the parts catalog looking to replace my coil and I'm thinking did some sort of power surge get my coil? Perhaps I'll get a new Voltage Regulator. Here's my question. I just got a rebuilt 61 amp alternator. I've been reading that the original alternators were 55 amp. In searching for new electrical parts I noticed a 63 amp voltage regulator for $83.00. I also noticed a OEM for $40.00, no voltage indicated. With this higher amp alternator should I invest in the 63 amp voltage regulator?
Thanks,
PS. I saw the $14 voltage regulator down at the auto parts store. It was stamped "Made In China". I'm not buying it.

[george kujanski]

No such thing as a 63A voltage regulator, regardless if it's labelled that way or not. A regulator for a 37A alternator is the same as one for a 62A alternator. There is a difference if it's for a "A" or "F" body compared to the big cars, tho.

Rather than buying parts, get the car started and measure the voltage at the battery when the engine is running. It should always be about 14.0. That indicates your charging system is working.

A bad alternator is not going to cause your car to die suddenly unless it hasn't been charging for awhile and you ran the battery down to the point where it was almost dead. of course the car wouldn't restart just by replacing the alternator if the battery was dead. It also would not have a spark with a dead bat.

If the coil is truly bad, it is most likely due to an internal fault caused by high temperature due to poor manufacturing.

My point: check the stuff you can first B4 you throw money at a problem.

George

[sloppy_steering]

I checked the coil and got infinant resistance which according to all the web sites I've been to indicates a faulty coil. The alternator was only charging at 11.5 volts at the auto parts store which is why I bought a new one. The paperwork with the alternator indicated that the voltage regulator should be replaced also. I don't mind not buying a voltage regulator of course, but I was just wondering if the 61 amp alternator should be paired with a different voltage regulator. I don't want to accidentally burn something out because I didn't pair the electrical components properly.
Thanks

[george kujanski]

The mfg will always tell you to replace the reg also because most DIY folks don't know how to diagnose the problem correctly, and the store gets callbacks, returns, and complaints. By telling the customer to replace both, chances are the problem gets taken care of and the store has fewer problems.

George

[sloppy_steering]

Well the car has been running great for about a month now. It turned out that many electrical parts needed repacing. Alternator, HEI Ignition Module, Coil, and Regulator. Once I replaced the ignition module on the HEI I got spark and the car fired up with no trouble. However the battery was getting over charged both with and without load. The old voltage regulator was a cheap nonadjustable one so I bought a new delco and everything charges nicely now.

[Old Goat 67]

You forgot to tell George "Thank You".