Picked up my F350 crewcab this past weekend from being at the father-inlaws house since last march. Its been run a few times since then but not driven on the road. The battery keep going dead and had to be on life support. So I put a used optima red I had in the garage in it and she fired to life. But I checked to see what the alternater was putting out at the battery and its anywhere from 15.50 to 16.20 vdc. That seems a little high to me. Is it suppose to be that high? I thought it was more around in the 14 vdc range. Also if thats to high could that make my battery go bad quicker by over charging it?

 

Yes, and yes. If you're confident that your meter is reading properly (good batteries, etc), then try running a temporary jumper wire from one of the regulator mounting bolts to clean, unpainted metal on the engine (ground). If the reading does not drop to the 13 to 14 volt range, then replace the regulator.

 

Thanks for the help. I will try my other brand new meter and see what I get. The battery was used but holds steady at 12.50 vdc. I will do that this weekend and let you know. What gauge wire should I use? 14 gauge and lower? Also, if it drops to the 13 to 14 range then I just leave the wire there?

 

It's just a jumper wire to help close the sense loop; 18 AWG is fine for these purposes. Whatever you have lying around the garage.

No, it would point to a ground issue which you would need to investigate and resolve (missing ground strap, etc).

 

That's what I figured. Thanks for your help.

 

Update: got around to doing what you said and it ended up being the voltage regulator. Now it it stays between 14.40 to 14.50 vdc but mainly steady at 14.43. I also put on a electronic ignition from Petronix and did away with the points. Later down the road it will get a updated ignition system. Thanks for your help.

 

That's great, glad to hear you got it worked out.

 

Rob I am glad it was just the regulator. Good job with the Petronix they are actually a very good and simple set up. I hate points!! I install at least a couple of Petronix kits a year in boats. The one thing you want to check with that system is the ohmns of your coil. The reason I say that is the stand alone Petronix is sensitive to coil ohmns and to much ohmns will cause the unit to burn out. If I recall correctly it is no more than 1.5 ohmns. The only other problem I have had with them is the air gap due to bearings in distributor shaft being bad. Personally I think it is as good a system as the DuraSpark II. There is always the DuraSparkII distributor and use a MSD box set up which is a step up from stock. But I myself if money allows I will always go with MSD billet distributor set up as my favorite.

 

Minor clarification: too little resistance (meaning less ohms) is what prematurely wears electronic ignition systems. This comes from increased primary current through the primary winding of the ignition coil and hence the power transistor in the module. Aftermarket "performance" coils often have reduced primary winding resistance and often lead to such problems. That's why the stock Duraspark II system is perfectly fine as is. For points, I agree that the Pertronix upgrade is pretty solid. I converted my Galaxie from points to an Ignitor II.

 

Thank you for the clarification of my mistake I wouldn't want to miss lead anyone. I just remember a few years back I installed a Petronix and due the coil it burned out the pick up a year later. So I should have double checked my facts before posting.
http://www.pertronix.com/support/tips/default.aspx#a2
Since then whenever converting a points system I try to always replace the coil at the came time. Now my '76 motorhome has a DuraSpark ignition system and I have only had to replace the ignition module once 15 yrs ago. So 2 modules in 38 yrs is pretty good in my book. Other than that I have never had a problem with it. If I recall correctly it had a gray or was it green module and I installed the blue one.
Which is the preferred DuraSpark ignition module?
Since now that we are talking about it I should get a spare ignition module to keep on hand as a back up. Since I might have just jinked myself.

So Rob if you didn't replace the coil you might want to also use the Petronix Flame Thrower coil to just place it safe. http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/fla...5000_volt.aspx
I should have just worded it that way in the first place to play it safe. Since I almost steered you in the wrong direction on the coil ohmns. Oooppsss

 

Thanks guys for that extra info. I have no idea if the coil on there is the original one or not but now that you guys talk more about it it makes perfect sense to change out the coil. I will have to get 2 flame thrower coils because I put the same ignition on my other truck last year but left the same coil on there.

 

Heres a question, does it matter about the wiring on the truck as in would it have to be upgraded at all by going to the Flame Thrower?

 

No, you shouldn't need to change the truck's wiring. I ran a Flame Thrower coil with my Ignitor II because I needed a new coil (there is something to be gained by moving from a points-style to a Duraspark-equivalent coil).

 

To answer your question I agree with FMC400 that you do not have to. But lets say you were going to move the coil and need to make the coil lead wires longer you might have to if you had a voltage drop or a weaker signal from the pick up. They touch on that in the link I posted earlier in the Q&A section. But with your truck it a none issue.

 

The only reason I was asking because the wiring on a 41 yr old truck isnt in the best condition but certainly not the worst either so I didnt want to burn it to the ground when I should have updated it, because when it comes to wiring I really suck at it.