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Electronic vs mechanical voltage regulator
- Thread starter 70sbudget
- Start date
Rustytruck
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2002
- Messages
- 10,875
Mechanical voltage regulators suck. They have contacts points inside. As they get older they become unreliable. Ford dumped them and went electronic.
Electronic can be much more reliable if you get a good one. Buy a Motorcraft unit. None of them work properly unless grounded properly. The mounting bolts to the body tub must have clean bare ground to the body and the battery negative must have a clean ground to the body in order for the regulator to do its job.
I can't imagine how many voltage regulators have failed or been replaced because of poor grounding or loose mounting bolts. Don't buy cheep electrical parts it will come back to bite you.
Electronic can be much more reliable if you get a good one. Buy a Motorcraft unit. None of them work properly unless grounded properly. The mounting bolts to the body tub must have clean bare ground to the body and the battery negative must have a clean ground to the body in order for the regulator to do its job.
I can't imagine how many voltage regulators have failed or been replaced because of poor grounding or loose mounting bolts. Don't buy cheep electrical parts it will come back to bite you.
Hi, X2. The electronic voltage regulator is a huge improvement and mine has lasted over 25 years. We used to replace the old mechanical ones all the time. It couldn't easier, just bolt it on and plug it in. Good luck
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2005
- Messages
- 6,221
IMO, the only advantage to the mechanical ones is that you actually stand a chance of limping one home should it fail...the downside, is that the likelihood of that happening, is much higher, so I run a solid-stage voltage regulator in both of my rigs.
Steve83
Bronco Guru
Temperature is not a diagnosable fault. If it's working, it's working regardless of temp. This caption describes its operation:
(phone app link)
Mechanical VRs have 3 or 4 "positions". Electronic has infinite, so it keeps the battery healthier, and responds better to changes. This shows the guts of a mechanical in zones 1F,G,H:
(phone app link)
In addition to being grounded, there SHOULD be a wire connecting the VR case to the alternator case. Don't lose that wire - make sure it's clean & connected solidly. If it's already missing, make a new one by crimping/soldering some ring terminals to an ~8~12ga Bk (or Bk/R) wire.
(phone app link)
(phone app link)
Mechanical VRs have 3 or 4 "positions". Electronic has infinite, so it keeps the battery healthier, and responds better to changes. This shows the guts of a mechanical in zones 1F,G,H:
(phone app link)
In addition to being grounded, there SHOULD be a wire connecting the VR case to the alternator case. Don't lose that wire - make sure it's clean & connected solidly. If it's already missing, make a new one by crimping/soldering some ring terminals to an ~8~12ga Bk (or Bk/R) wire.
(phone app link)
Interesting on the wire to the alternator case. I ran a ground from the negative terminal to the are of the regulator to help ground the body.
Also after installing the new electric regulator this morning, my voltage dropped from 14 to 12. What the heck.
Also after installing the new electric regulator this morning, my voltage dropped from 14 to 12. What the heck.
If the voltage drop was after you changed the regulator check that the plastic plug is OK. You could have pushed a wire out. Did you swap back to the old regulator and check voltage again? Good luck
But if it's HOT, it is not going to be working for long... the windings on the coils and the contacts will fail when they get HOT as resistance builds with heat, the heat problem compounds, then it fails.
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2003
- Messages
- 49,461
If it was putting out 14v with the old one, why did you change it? Doing the alternator and figured on just doing the regulator at the same time? Or just wanting to go "better" in general?
As said, check the connections. But don't rule out the new one being bad right out of the box either. Happens a lot with modern electronic crap. However, a Motorcraft unit from the dealer is in theory supposed to avoid this pitfall of modern cheap replacement crap.
Still, anything can fail.
Also, did you by any chance attach the connector to the regulator before you bolted it to the body? Under that condition it's possible to fry the new unit. I've never had that happen myself, but have heard of it often. Likely I never had the problem though, because I just bolt on the regulator before connecting it, out of long habit.
Good luck.
Paul
As said, check the connections. But don't rule out the new one being bad right out of the box either. Happens a lot with modern electronic crap. However, a Motorcraft unit from the dealer is in theory supposed to avoid this pitfall of modern cheap replacement crap.
Still, anything can fail.
Also, did you by any chance attach the connector to the regulator before you bolted it to the body? Under that condition it's possible to fry the new unit. I've never had that happen myself, but have heard of it often. Likely I never had the problem though, because I just bolt on the regulator before connecting it, out of long habit.
Good luck.
Paul
blubuckaroo
Grease Monkey
Even an old electronic regulator can go bad. My 20 year old one turned out to be the reason for battery drain.
However, after just plugging in a new one, it didn't charge at all. I found that the plug was dirty and the "F" wire hadn't made contact. A little contact cleaner and a dab of terminal grease is a good idea.
I guess the old regulator had other issues as well, since the ammeter needle doesn't have the heebie-jeebies anymore.
However, after just plugging in a new one, it didn't charge at all. I found that the plug was dirty and the "F" wire hadn't made contact. A little contact cleaner and a dab of terminal grease is a good idea.
I guess the old regulator had other issues as well, since the ammeter needle doesn't have the heebie-jeebies anymore.
A few people mentioned a "connector". I have three individual wires going to the unit. I replaced them directly in the same locations on the new unit as the old. The unit is a new motor craft unit. The old unit was replaced due to headlights dimming after about five minutes of use. They would dim, then go out completely. After turning them off and back on, they would work momentarily.
So, I disconnected the battery, removed unit from the inner fender, removed three wires, placed three wires on new unit, bolted new unit to inner fender, connected negative terminal. I then ran the vehicle at idle for about fifteen minutes, monitoring headlights. Headlights worked great. However, I put about 80 miles on it after and it ran the worst it has ran since the build. Stumbling at low reva under acceleration, low power at low revs, stalled at idle neumerous times.
I have not swapped the old unit back in yet to see if it remedies the poor running or low voltage.
So, I disconnected the battery, removed unit from the inner fender, removed three wires, placed three wires on new unit, bolted new unit to inner fender, connected negative terminal. I then ran the vehicle at idle for about fifteen minutes, monitoring headlights. Headlights worked great. However, I put about 80 miles on it after and it ran the worst it has ran since the build. Stumbling at low reva under acceleration, low power at low revs, stalled at idle neumerous times.
I have not swapped the old unit back in yet to see if it remedies the poor running or low voltage.
Steve83
Bronco Guru
Then you might want to look in to a replacement VR pigtail, which will have a molded plastic connector that keeps the terminals from shorting to each other, and keeps them in the correct positions. The pinout is shown in the diagram I posted above.
That's NOT what happens with a failing VR. Sounds more like a failing headlight switch to me.
Those are NOT symptoms of a failing VR. Sounds like an ignition system problem. You should put ALL the truck's details into your signature (look at some of the other signatures in this thread for guidance) so we know how your eB is built when we want to help you diagnose it.
Rustytruck
Bronco Guru
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2002
- Messages
- 10,875
Whelp, problem solved.
As the system was charging at 12.5 volts while running, I swapped out the old alternator with a basically new unit. The positive terminal on the alternator was spinning free and loose in the housing. In addition. With the help of a wiring diagram, the wires had been switched in order on the regulator.
14 volts and running strong with lights, fan and wipers on.
Thx gents
As the system was charging at 12.5 volts while running, I swapped out the old alternator with a basically new unit. The positive terminal on the alternator was spinning free and loose in the housing. In addition. With the help of a wiring diagram, the wires had been switched in order on the regulator.
14 volts and running strong with lights, fan and wipers on.
Thx gents
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