dschock Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 My battery isn't holding a charge. The battery is only a few months old, and I have replaced the alternator (NAPA remanufactured) and voltage regulator, but it still dies out at stop signs and won't start up again. What do you think the problem is? Is there a way to test each component individually? Is there more to the charging system that I'm missing? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwnwar Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Are you getting power to the white wire at the volt reg?? if not check your fuse links with a test light or multimeter. If you can get the car to an auto parts store and keep it running they can check the charging system on the car free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschock Posted September 18, 2008 Author Share Posted September 18, 2008 It turns out that my voltage regulator was fried (the one i just bought) which leads me to believe its a grounding issue maybe. I don't want to go out and buy a new voltage regulator yet if its just going burn out too. Where should I check for grounding or other wiring problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismopick Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Where should I check for grounding or other wiring problems? Where there's grounds and wires. There's no specifics... wiring problems can be anywhere there's wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zmanco Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 A few things: Is the battery "not holding a charge" due to a failed battery or is the charging system just not recharging it? The other day I saw a post where it was suggested that parts stores like autozone and checker can load test a battery. You might want to do that to make sure it's still good. How did you determine that the regulator is "fried"? What else have you done recently to the car? Any other work that might have had some impact on wiring? Given the alternator is a rebuilt, you might want to test it at the parts store as well. It's not uncommon for a rebuilt to fail shortly after being installed. As for where to look for a ground problem, as nismopick said, it's really not possible to give you a specific list. More than likely one of the 3 devices (battery, regulator, alternator) was the cause of the failure. Even though the wiring on our early Zs isn't all that robust, unless something is done to it (such as a wire is crushed/damaged/shorted to ground/etc) it rarely just "fails". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dschock Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 A few things: Is the battery "not holding a charge" due to a failed battery or is the charging system just not recharging it? The other day I saw a post where it was suggested that parts stores like autozone and checker can load test a battery. You might want to do that to make sure it's still good. How did you determine that the regulator is "fried"? What else have you done recently to the car? Any other work that might have had some impact on wiring? Given the alternator is a rebuilt, you might want to test it at the parts store as well. It's not uncommon for a rebuilt to fail shortly after being installed. As for where to look for a ground problem, as nismopick said, it's really not possible to give you a specific list. More than likely one of the 3 devices (battery, regulator, alternator) was the cause of the failure. Even though the wiring on our early Zs isn't all that robust, unless something is done to it (such as a wire is crushed/damaged/shorted to ground/etc) it rarely just "fails". The battery and alternator are both good, I had them tested at the parts store. I know the voltage regulator is fried because I opened it up and one of the coils is literally melted through. So the reason it isn't charging properly is that the burned out voltage regulator isn't letting enough voltage through to charge the battery while the headlights were on. I bought another one to put in, but I am hesitant to install it because it will probably happen again. Other than the charging system, I haven't done any work related to the electrical system, just rebuilt the carbs and some replaced some gaskets. Has anyone else had a problem with voltage regulators that keep going bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WizardBlack Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 You have two Misc Tech posts that I think are related. Please see the other thread for my solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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