I tested the charge rate on the van yesterday - good job i did!

At idle, it was sitting about 14v and when revved it reached 15.9v before I chickened out.

I tried two of the 'solid state' (three prong) type voltage regulator but neither helped. In the end, we fitted an old 'coiled wire' (twin prong - earth via bulkhead mount) type from a Diane.

The older type have an adjuster inside so you can set the rate of charge. I should have taken photos

Essentially, you turn a wheel which adjusts the regulator so it outputs more, or less volts.

Hetty is now idling at about 12.5v and when revved goes up to a more sensible 14v.

I'm glad I could cure it this way because (typically) the alternator is a weirdo 60s 2cv one that citroen only fitted specifically to 350s for about 6 months of production

Some questions:
Why were the two solid state regulators not up to the task?
Am I going to blow up my phone/stereo/lights/battery if the battery is holding 13v instead of 12v?
Can I buy any little plug in thing that will further regulate the power supply so that only 12v is fed to the CD player/12v socket, or does it not matter?

Sam,
I'd guess that the earth lead on the 3 pin plug was not making contact, or isn't actually connected to earth, since electronic voltage regulators are usually directly interchangeable with the electro-mechanical type.

By switching to a Dyane/Ami? type, you've simply bypassed ( another ) problem with your loom, as those regulators are earthed through the bolted connection to the body.

As far as I know, the only difference with those alternators is that they have a couple of 'prongs' poking out of the back, which are connected to the unrectified part of the alternator's wiring.
That's used to operate a 'lack of charge' warning light, via a small box of electronics on the bulkhead.

System voltage in a 12 volt setup is 14.4 volts, so anything which is designed to be connected to a car's circuit should cope with it.
But, if you're worried, fit a good voltmeter.

ken.

( No more references to 'Dianes', please, or Hetty will have her name mangled in future posts... )

hmmm, the old one had a wire going to the gearbox, but I guess the connection was iffy.



Aha! So maybe now the 'zit' on the dash might work?

Cheers Ken

Sam read my thread on my car
Been there, done that

[quote][Sam read my thread on my car
Been there, done that
/quote]

Did you get the T-shirt to James?

No, but he wants one.

like