Emergency

[big bad orange]

I broke down on th I broke down on the road and no one will help me. all lights massive back fireing and won't start the battery the week old new alternator and new voltage regulator. Any ideas an and grammar on phone in th on phone in the dark .
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[Tomahawk30]

Kinda sounds like a timing issue. Was it running good before it broke down? HEI or points ignition?

[big bad orange]

Points ignition, I had a slight miss fire when I left ,but I have 4 champion and 4 auto light plugs in
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[BlackedOut67shorty]

any lights working?

[big bad orange]

Points ignition, I had a slight miss fire when I left ,but I have 4 champion and 4 auto light plugs in


Sorry for grammar talk to texts sucks
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[big bad orange]

Lights just came on but not enough power to start. I get a cranking sound and the dash brake light to come on
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[RxPx33]

You didn't get any water some how on the distributor? Mine acted like that after I washed out the engine compartment and all I had to do is remove the distributor cap, take a paper towel and dry it out. After I did that it fired right up.

[Tomahawk30]

Last time I fought an issue like this it was a combination of incorrect plug gaps and the timing being way off on a truck I'd just bought. Unless the retainer bolt is loose, I doubt your timing just changed while driving it. If you've been cranking it for very long to try to get it started, the battery may be too low now as well.

[SS Tim]

So what exactly happened? Were you just driving along and it quit? Or do you go someplace and now it won't start to leave? Was it an active failure like a bang or pop then quit or maybe a sputter down? Are the plug wires secure at the plugs?

Had a total beater timing chain jump in stop and go traffic.

[big bad orange]

When I left my mother's,house I had a slight miss fire at about 1500 rpm. As I was driving I went to use my turn signals and nothing happend. While coasting I put the truck in N and revved it and did not have turn signals still. As i continued driving th lights got dimmer and dimmer. If I shut the lights off it would stop back firing. At this point the engine was missing in all rpms and the light we really dime. As I was going to a red light it just shut down. I am having it towed to my buudys shop since I don't have time to work on it as I am at my dads and I leave for my mothers tomorrow night.
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[Tomahawk30]

Could be a problem with the voltage regulator or alternator? Sounds like it was only partially charging and you were gradually draining the battery down until you didn't have enough spark to fire at the plugs.

[big bad orange]

This week I installed a reman alternator and a cheap voltage regulator I found a ground not hooked up could that cause it its the green wire
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[VetteVet]

Originally Posted by Tomahawk30

Could be a problem with the voltage regulator or alternator? Sounds like it was only partially charging and you were gradually draining the battery down until you didn't have enough spark to fire at the plugs.

Sure sounds like that to me. Battery voltage dropping too low to lite the lights and fire the ignition coil. Turning the lights off sends more volts to the coil so the misfiring stops. charge the battery or get a jump and see if it misfires with the lights on and if not then repair the charging system.

If you need to replace the alternator then get a 12 SI internal voltage regulator alternator and eliminate the old external regulator. Even if the battery is bad the alternator should have kept the engine and lights running.

[jocko]

concur - bad alt would be my guess, no charge to batt. symptoms sound like it's dead. A jump might get you home if someone will stop. If you can get it running (after a jump) - if a screwdriver or something metal will attract to the back center of the alternator, that's a good sign. If no magnetic pull, alternator (and/or volt reg) on the fritz. Can you call a tow truck? 411 for a tow?

[jocko]

if you're referring to the chassis ground that is bolted to the firewall, no - that's probably not your problem, but if you have a screwdriver, screw it to something.

Voltage regulator should have the following:
Red wire goes to alternator "B" terminal
Purple (or blue) wire goes to alternator "F" terminal
White wire goes to alternator "R" terminal
Brown wire goes to firewall fues block plug

Altarnator should have the following:
the 3 things noted above +
black (or any color) should go to ground.
Also, the red wire that goes to the voltage reg also should go to the battery

Probably not much help at 1150pm - hope you have a flashlight. Standing by...

[big bad orange]

My dad drove me home, we tried jumping it but it would not work. I drifted it to a funeral home .
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[big bad orange]

No rain but maybe a crack in the distributor
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[jocko]

Btw, u never asnwered the rain question - have you hit any water? Heavy rain?
If yes - possibly a bad distributor cap - hairline cracked, etc.

[VetteVet]

Your regulator is mounted on little rubber washers and needs to be grounded to the radiator shroud and also to the back of the alternator for it to work correctly. The green wire might have done this but usually a black wire is used for the ground wire. Those little electrons don't really care what coat they're wearing.

Alternator ground.



regulator mount. The small wire on the right edge is the ground.



Here is the electrical diagram. The ground wire is on the left edge of the diagram and runs to the bottom and back up to the alternator.

[sduckworth13]

I couldn't help but thinking after reading this post. Where else is a guy going to turn to at 12:00 midnight for help when he is broke down and stranded and have the best of the best mechanical and electrical gurus answer your call for help at no charge at all. That's why I've enjoyed this site from day one. Nice work guys
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[SS Tim]

Getting anywhere with your electrical gremlins?

[PanelDeland]

Don't forget,there is a hotline for help.It's run by the BB and staffed by whoever is close and can help.Members have been helped in many ways.One military member even had some fellow BB members help with an engine swap and getting him back on the road to keep him from beoing late to his post.

[DevilDog Aggie]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

Don't forget,there is a hotline for help.It's run by the BB and staffed by whoever is close and can help.Members have been helped in many ways.One military member even had some fellow BB members help with an engine swap and getting him back on the road to keep him from beoing late to his post.

Seriously? That is awesome!!! I haven't seen that before. Knock on wood (my hard head) I haven't needed it yet. But that is great to hear! I have gotten so much great advice from the boards and to have another resource available in a pinch is great!!

[big bad orange]

Thanks for the help, I got the battery charged and had another guy look at it (see what I missed) and it looks like the black ground wire is gone in the pic VetteVet posted. when I was talking to the one guy he asked if I had to polarize the system. I said I did not know. Do I need to polarize the system

Also I wanted to thank all of you for your help, Once I get my truck running I am defiantly becoming a paying board member

[VetteVet]

Originally Posted by big bad orange

Thanks for the help, I got the battery charged and had another guy look at it (see what I missed) and it looks like the black ground wire is gone in the pic VetteVet posted. when I was talking to the one guy he asked if I had to polarize the system. I said I did not know. Do I need to polarize the system

Also I wanted to thank all of you for your help, Once I get my truck running I am defiantly becoming a paying board member

Do I need to polarize the system

Polarizing is for the DC generator charging systems so you don't need to worry about that.

also when we change the voltage reulator insted of using the rubber thing we used a bolts with washers and nuts. Should I have used the rubber things

The points inside the regulator open and close at a very rapid rate and will set up a resonance in the sheet metal where the regulator is mounted. This may create a humming noise you won't be able to find and a radio static buzz. It may also lessen the life of the points themselves because of being solid mounted to the support, so yes you need to isolate the regulator. If you had a solid state regulator it wouldn't matter.

I think the little rubber thingys are called wells plugs or welsh plugs.

When you get ready to put those electric fans in or the halogen headlights or that killer stereo, come on over to the electrical forum and we'll show you how to convert to the 100 amp plus alternators.