Looking for a Dodge person, alternator-charging problems (vehicle, German, auto)

[Dbl-r]

OK here is my story, my son purchased an 88 Dodge 1 ton van with a 360 motor in it. Vehicle has a new battery, voltage regulator and alternator, it will not charge the battery. Performed a full-field test and it checks OK, checked all grounds and fusable links for proper connection. We / I have failure to regulate!
Any possible suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated

[Bazzwell]

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You'll have to register and find the proper sub-forum for vans. They're a good bunch.

[M3 Mitch]

If you did a "full field" check on the alternator, that is you turned the field current full "on" and got the expected high output voltage, that means the alternator is good but not necessarily the regulator. If you can't get someone to check the regulator, it may make sense to just replace it, if it's not the problem having a spare regulator is not a bad thing, not like it's expensive or takes up much room.

If you live near the ocean, you probably have some corrosion on the various wire-to-wire connections in the system, taking them apart one at a time and cleaning/reassembling may help.

Have you been able to measure the output amps of the alternator? I have seen what for lack of a better term I'll call a "soft" short - a high-resistance short to ground, that pulls say 30 amps - enough to load down the alternator so much that the battery does not get full benefit and the alternators will not last as long as you might expect - I have seen this exactly once on a Datsun 510 - the fuse panel was on the inner fender, and only the paint insulated the "hot" conductors on the panel from the fender itself.

If the van has an "idiot" light for charging, does it work normally? A few cars won't "boot up" the alternator if the idiot light burns out (mostly this is German cars).

[Dbl-r]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

If you did a "full field" check on the alternator, that is you turned the field current full "on" and got the expected high output voltage, that means the alternator is good but not necessarily the regulator. If you can't get someone to check the regulator, it may make sense to just replace it, if it's not the problem having a spare regulator is not a bad thing, not like it's expensive or takes up much room.

If you live near the ocean, you probably have some corrosion on the various wire-to-wire connections in the system, taking them apart one at a time and cleaning/reassembling may help.

Have you been able to measure the output amps of the alternator? I have seen what for lack of a better term I'll call a "soft" short - a high-resistance short to ground, that pulls say 30 amps - enough to load down the alternator so much that the battery does not get full benefit and the alternators will not last as long as you might expect - I have seen this exactly once on a Datsun 510 - the fuse panel was on the inner fender, and only the paint insulated the "hot" conductors on the panel from the fender itself.

If the van has an "idiot" light for charging, does it work normally? A few cars won't "boot up" the alternator if the idiot light burns out (mostly this is German cars).

Voltage regulator replaced with new and checked ok. I am really stumped here as everything is new and I am still lacking the ability to regulate.

[M3 Mitch]

Originally Posted by Dbl-r

Voltage regulator replaced with new and checked ok. I am really stumped here as everything is new and I am still lacking the ability to regulate.

New parts are *seldom* defective but no one's QA/QC is 100.000%. How did you check the regulator? You don't get full credit for a proper test by having some kid at a chain auto parts store test it for you. Again, if you have not tried another new regulator, if you are pressed for time at all to get this thing fixed, it might be worthwhile to do that.

Am I correct that you did an alternator test where you jumpered a wire and turned the field "full on", and this gave you the expected high and rising voltage when you revved the engine a little?

When you say it "won't regulate", are you saying the alternator isn't charging when the engine runs?

How are you measuring system voltage, are you able to measure amps?

If the alternator, regulator, and battery are all really good, but the system still won't charge, you either have one (more likely multiple) high-resistance connections in the wiring amongst them, and/or a wire that has actually broken. Check all your grounds, the alternator grounds to the engine block through it's mounting, usually, and typically the battery ground cable goes to the engine block as well, if both these are "bright and tight" the grounding of the altrnator at least should be OK.

Chrysler has always been fond of "fusible links", check that you don't have one of these "blown".

[Mobile Mechanic]

Check your belt tension and pulleys. If they're not tight enough, it won't fully charge.

[mideast]

Not to just mention place a load test on the battery itself. It may not be able to hold a charge even though it was said to be new. The load tester only costs about $40 and the directions are easy to follow.

Hope this helps.

[dkf747]

We had this exact problem with Dodge full size van. Turned out to be. That the battery we bought (Die-Hard) was the wrong battery for the van. We replaced it with an Interstate battery that was properly rated for the van. No problems since.

[Johnny C]

Check the plug on the alternator - a bad plug can cause you a lot of agony.

[christoplnan]

Check your manual for the right battery and be sure that all connections are clean and secure.