[65catalina]

I'm having voltage problems on my 65 Catalina. I had a bad alternator and just replaced it, and also did a test on the new one per the shop manual and it is putting out 55 amps.

Problem is, when I run any accessories like headlights, my voltage goes below 12V. So I'm thinking is a bad regulator, right? Well I had one from my 69 and put that on, and it wouldn't charge at all, even with no accessories on. So I bought a new regulator and put that one on, with the exact same results as the one from the 69.

Is there any differences in regulators from 65? The 65 uses only 2 wires, one on F and one on term 3. The 69 had at least 3 if not 4 wires on the regulator and was original and had the 2 coils with the voltage adjustment inside it that did NOTHING on my 65. The regulator that was on my 65 only had 1 coil inside with NO adjustments. The new one was all solid state.
So I put the original one back on and it will charge and run the car fine as long as I am not driving at night. Any ideas what could be wrong?????

[Jerry H.]

The question is is it actually pulling your battery down or is the gauge just showing lower? It is normal on these cars for the gauge to drop a 'little' when the accessories are turned on. Are the headlights dim or do they grow dimmer the longer you drive? Is your battery run down after you drive for a while at night with the lights on? If not I wouldn't worry about it, I would just attribute it to the gauge. Maybe George K. will chime in. He is the electrical guru.

[george kujanski]

If you have 14.0 volts at high idle or at idle with no or few electrical loads, the system is working correctly. The four wire reg is for a "A' or "F" body car, not for yours.

If the voltage drops at idle, the reason most likely is that the alt shaft speed may be too low. Alternators put out only a small portion of their max rated current at engine idle speed. You may need to up the idle speed a bit or put a smaller pulley on the alt to increase the alt shaft speed. A different alt may have better low speed output characteristics.

George

[65catalina]

Originally Posted by george kujanski

If you have 14.0 volts at high idle or at idle with no or few electrical loads, the system is working correctly. The four wire reg is for a "A' or "F" body car, not for yours.

If the voltage drops at idle, the reason most likely is that the alt shaft speed may be too low. Alternators put out only a small portion of their max rated current at engine idle speed. You may need to up the idle speed a bit or put a smaller pulley on the alt to increase the alt shaft speed. A different alt may have better low speed output characteristics.

George

That was some of my question, will that regulator work on my car? The new one I purchased will not do anything and only manages 12.2V with NO LOAD, so I figured there was some kind of difference. What do I ask for at the auto parts store?

I don't get to 14V anytime. At 2500RPM with the lights on, I will break even on the amp gauge and show 0, but at anything lower, it is discharging. I actually put a different amp gauge on it to verify the factory gauge, and it is correct. With any load on the system, it will discharge. With no load, it is above 12V and shows charging.

To the other point, I was driving at night a few days ago when I noticed all this and the battery was dead when I got home. Again, with no load, I get over 12.5V, but as soon as the lights are on, the voltage goes to 12V or lower.

[stellar]

The regs are not interchangeable. You will need a reg that will match an original # 1119511. The one you are using and doesn't work will probably cross to an OE# 1119515. see if the one on the car now matches the OE# 1119511. I think you will find that it does. The 69 will be a 515. Make sure the belt is tight. If you can't find one, I still have a couple left. Usually the reg you need will have only 3 spades to be plugged into and the one you don't need will have 4 spades. Good luck You may want to do a search on this site of 1119511 Mark

[stevep]

Your regulator fits full size Pontiacs from 63-68.

I have seen people use transistorized regulators from Auto Zone with good results and I'm no fan of AZ.

[65catalina]

Originally Posted by stellar

The regs are not interchangeable. You will need a reg that will match an original # 1119511. The one you are using and doesn't work will probably cross to an OE# 1119515. see if the one on the car now matches the OE# 1119511. I think you will find that it does. The 69 will be a 515. Make sure the belt is tight. If you can't find one, I still have a couple left. Usually the reg you need will have only 3 spades to be plugged into and the one you don't need will have 4 spades. Good luck You may want to do a search on this site of 1119511 Mark

Thank you everyone for the help. I stopped by A1 Auto today and with a little work, we have one of the correct ones on order.

Steller - thank you so much for the part numbers. That is really helpful. I never knew there were different regulators..... and neither did the A1 auto guys.

SteveP - I dislike AZ and buy almost everything from A1. These guys go out of their way to help me find parts for my old cars. They look things up in books with pictures, the old fashioned way.

[stevep]

I'm NO fan of AZ, but if they have something that works well, I don't mind using it.

Most of the problems with Az are that the counter people do not have a clue. I usually go to there website and look things up myself.

[65catalina]

Well that fixed the problems I was having. I bought an ECC #27-1682 voltage regulator from A1 (Carquest) and all the problems went away!!! Thanks again for all the help guys! Ed

Oh yea, and Made in the USA!!!!

[stevep]

Glad that you got the problem fixed.