Bad alternator vs. Voltage regulator

[Cready1]

I have a 73 with a 302 and 1g alternator with a voltage regulator on the firewall. My battery is not charging so I took it to the parts store they said it was bad and gave me a new one. 2 weeks later same problem when I check battery voltage at rest it reads 11.8 and with engine on it reads the same also the same when the engine is given gas. It sounds like the alternator to me even though it is only a year or so old; could it be the voltage regulator if so is there a way to test between the two? Thanks in advance

 

[Viperwolf1]

Measure voltage between a good ground and the orange wire of the regulator. Thats the field excitation current to the alternator. That will tell you if the regulator is trying to work or not. It should be close to battery voltage with the key on.

 

[Cready1]

Well it appears to be the alternator that's bad. New question though, the alternator is mounted on the bracket that included the ac compressor which is no longer there so is there anyway to get the alternator out without removing that entire bracket maybe out through the bottom although it looks pretty tight that way. If anyone has run into this issue please let me know. Thanks

 

[commoncold]

If that's a local autoparts replacement alternator, it wouldn't be too surprising to see it only last a year. I've had these same troubles on my end.

I recently did a 3G upgrade for the same reason. Highly recommend it! It's a lot more reliable, predictable, and gets rid of a birdsnest of voltage regulator wires in the engine compartment.

Unfortunately, I've never had an A/C compressor mount... Can't help you there.