Excellent writeup above, WR. It is all there.
OP, read and heed. Check wiring. If you hit a wall, come on back in. You have a voltmeter and we will tell you how to seek out the problem.

 

Cougar..
I LOVE these old trucks and I LOVE this place.
Only happy to pitch in.

 

Auto electric wears me out! I got a headache reading that. Note to self: Go to wrhineherts house for electrical...

 

and the beat goes on....
checked the alternator wires, put another spacer in and nothing's touching anything ..belt is new and tightened...
read through the schematic and all wires are in the correct place/order/connector
tried again...still stays on (the alt light in the cab)

I'm going to change the pigtails on the regulator as soon as they get here just to be sure and I checked that they were connected correctly...



so where would I go next? following it back I assume....but seems that all under the hood looks correct and "clean"...

 

lol....you think YOU have a headache Troll?! Ugh! It's MY truck with the issue....lol.

 

I savy cowboy. Go have the alt. checked. just because its new, doesn't mean it's good.

 

Chaz, we are getting close.
Pull a tickler wire off the field. Briefly touch it to the + side of the battery.
If all wiring is correct, one of two things will happen:
1) It starts charging. Bad alternator.
2) It does not start charging. Bad regulator.

Never assume new stuff is good. So much China junk.

 

o.k. will do in the morning...just to be correct the "tickler wire" is off the alternator field?
i'm thinking regulator because this is the second alternator...

and i want to change the pigtails that go on the regulator too while i'm at it...and i'll check where those two come out of the harness to make sure they're o.k. it could be that plug too....hhhmmmm

persistence is free and it usually pays off...
thanks for the next step...i'll keep posting....

 

Chaz, the tickler is off the Field terminal. Not Alternator, Field. "F". Here is the idea:
Field voltage comes from the regulator which senses battery voltage. If the battery is low, the regulator sends more current through field windings, increasing output.
When you put full voltage to the field, you override the regulator. Output will jump to the max
Put the engine at fast idle and do it briefly. You can have wifey sit in the cab and holler if the light goes out.

 

^^^
What he said.

By tickler wire (Jumper) he means a wire from the positive side of the battery to connect to the "F" post with the engine running.
First though, you need to pull the wire from the regulator to the
"F" post ... Pull it off the post.
Pull it off the alternator. Tape it up so it doesn't hit anything.

Be careful with the Jumper wire as it's direct from the battery +.
Be very careful here.

 

i am "the wifey"....lol.....

i get the tickler part was just making sure it was from the alternator field...

i'm thinking now it's in the wires of the regulator..beings it's (also) the second regulator i put in...the wires come out of the harness as 2 pigtails...

but i'm gonna try it like you said...as soon as it stops raining... again...
what I wouldn't give for a garage!

also I think maybe the pigtails are shot, corroded, or whatever...they should be here tomorrow too...

i so appreciate you guys helping me with this! like when I rode a bike. other riders always would help me out if i needed it.

guess that's what really makes the ride...

 

It's EASY to re-wire.
I wish I was there...I'd be happy to fix it for you.

Maybe make me a nice dinner afterward where we could all laugh about it?



I like Pigtails

 

Careful

 

Chaz, are those YOUR stems hanging off that creeper?

 

My question exactly.
If they are, Good Lord.. Perfect.