Hello Everyone,

I wanted to provide some updates on my progress with the electrical issues that I have been trying to sort out on my 81 Targa.

1. After a replacement of the external VR (Huco) the dreaded over-charging condition had returned with a vengeance (complete with the illumination of the seat-belt warning light).

2. On a whim, I followed the suggestion of a member and unplugged the seat-belt cable at the base of the belt connector to see if there might be a some type of short causing my power surge. This did not yield anything except perhaps silenced the annoying belt buzzer - A good thing in my book.

3. Today, I manged to spend some quality time extracting the alternator from my car, a fairly straight forward process following some very good documentation on this very site. My plan was to have the unit rebuild at a local shop that can get the job done in a couple of hours...

SO here is the kicker!

After pulling the Alt from the car I am a bit concerned... I was expecting to find a grimy 31 year foul smelling part. The Alt that I extracted seemed to be nothing of the sort. In fact, I think it may have been installed into the car not too long ago.

I am again asking the question? Does this Alt have an internal VR?

Based on some tests earlier, I thought I had already concluded that my external VR was active...:confused:


I am including photos for you to see and comment... Can this be a complete waste of time? At least with the alt out maybe I can have the unit bench tested before a re-build?

Please speak your mind...

RBL>

PS: To all my fellow red-blooded Americans I wish a happy and healthy July 4th, and to all my buddies from across the pond, please accept my condolences for the loss of the colonies.

Cheers!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1341373706.jpg
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That is an internally regulated alt.
The black plastic cover is where the regulator resides.
Take it and have it tested.
Post your external reg. for sale.

Looks to be a modern internally regulated alternator. I would suggest going to your local re-builder, have it tested and fixed....if needed.

DO NOT wast your time at the local Kragen, O'Reilly's or Pep Boys. DO NOT exchange it for another.

Pull out the external regulator.....it just confuses the little people. Hopefully that will correct your problem. Electrical parts aren't returnable. Hopefully someone on the board can use it.

Good luck.

I guess it is the tax you pay when you get a car with a limited paper trail. I suspect that this Alt must have been swapped out by the previous owner.

As far as modern "internal regulated" Alts, do they not all come in 95 watt flavor? I was under the hallucination that earlier Alts where rated for 75 watts?

Is it possible to have an Alt that has an internal VR and not have it "wired" correctly (or intentionally wired to used and external unit)?

Presently I have three wires coming to Alt. Thick hot, medium gauge (2) ground wires and a single blue wire.

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At this point in time my next step is to visit the rebuild shop to test and fix if necessary...


Heck... While I wait might as well clean up the fan and housing. Idell hands and all?
If I am going to do the work myself whats the best option?

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I would try a dishwasher with a caustic solution, 'purple stuff' ( a 50/50 water mix from the parts store) with a wire brush, then a scotch brite pad.

Your wired up correctly. If you look at the first picture you'll see a black wire that comes out of the wiring harness, makes a loop, and goes back into it. that is the wire that would normally go to the external regulator and is not used with the internally regulated alt.

I finally, got her back together,

A rebuilt Alt + a paint and polish of the fan and housing. Call me crazy but a normal person would find better ways to spend a weekend polishing something that is going to tarnish in a week or two...

I decided to keep the AC belt disconnected for a while to see if I notice any improvements in feel or MPG.

I wanted to thank again all you kind folks that helped me out...

Cheers!

RBL> http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1342932182.jpg