1973 F-250 - Turbo BBF - It's off to a new home!

[BBR]

I was thinking a Reagan Bush '80 sticker. Haha.

[BBR]

Productive day today! I replaced the vent hoses, but it was not without issue. I read that the hose was 5/8, so that is what I bought. Well there is no way you could ever get a 5/8 reinforced hose to go over those fittings! I went back to Oreilly and bought some 3/4 and it worked perfect.

I fired it up and took it for a drive. It really rides much nicer without the extra shocks on the front. I did notice that I mounted the steering wheel a little crooked. I was afraid that might happen and it certainly did. Upon my return I popped the hood and noticed the battery puked acid out. What the heck? I have noticed that once before, but thought it was because the battery was not secured well. I hooked up the volt meter, started the truck, 14v. Nice. I revved the engine and watched the voltmeter start climbing. 14..16..18.. Ok voltage regulator must be kaput. I guess it was over charging the battery just a wee bit. I will swap it out later.

After that was finished, I decided to pull the instrument cluster and just take a peek to check the condition of the wiring. Good thing I did. What I found was multiple cut wires, and a big blob of splices that were twisted an taped. POS... Previous Owner Sins. No solder, no connector. Phooey. I considered soldering them all up, but decided to wait until I had my wiring diagram in hand. I ended up cleaning the door panels, hvac controls (and removing them) instrument panel and dash surround.



Once I was at a stopping spot, I decided to try my hand at straightening out some of the mangled trim pieces. Whomever tore them off really did a good job of screwing them up. I banged and bent until I think they are usable. Not pretty or perfect, but usable. I also straightened the bedside trim and had to reseat the rubber portion in the mounting grooves. That was much much harder than it sounds, but it is done!!

I dumped a bottle of MMO in the fuel tank and then I checked the plugs. They were pretty black, but were all consistent. I leaned out the idle mixture quite a bit and it seemed to like it. Still not sure the timing marks are correct though.

I also worked on a friend's 99 4runner.. I'm beat.

[NewEnglandRaceFan]

Not with these rusted bed bolts!

4 holes and 5 minutes with the nibbler is pretty darn easy. I'll screw down a patch for future access when I am done. No biggie.

haha, cut um and replace..
weld on piano hinges and have flip tops..

[RAIV70Judge]

good days project work....

[BlueCuda340]

I was thinking a Reagan Bush '80 sticker. Haha.

I thought of this post yesterday. I saw a cllleeeaaaaaannnnnnn 68ish chevelle/Malibu station wagon with a Nixon bumper sticker.

[squirrel]

My brother has a Nixon Now sticker on his 58 chevy wagon

[BBR]

Swapped the voltage reg from the Mustang onto the pickup. Not thinking it works either. Running voltage is 12.5v and does not change with rpm at all. Oh well it was worth a shot.

[milner351]

Did the mustang have a charging issue? Maybe it's the alternator - and the regulator that are fubared on the truck?

Take the alternator in and have it tested - go from there?

[BBR]

I converted the Mustang to a 1 wire, so I was not using the reg. Not 100% sure if it was working properly before I converted it either. As I recall, the reason I went to a 1 wire was because I didn't think the stock alternator was keeping up with demand.

The truck's alternator was definitely putting out juice. Regs are cheap, so I will just get a new one and give it a whirl.

[BBR]

Ok I gave it a whirl. The new reg acts just like the one from the Mustang. So I swapped the original back on and it started at 14.2 then the voltage started climbing to 16+ while the engine was idling. The original one (Transpo F540HD) is apparently adjustable as it has a hole in the cover with a flat tip adjuster inside. I might put it back on and try adjusting it to see if it starts working properly again. It may just be cranked way up or something.

[milner351]

hmmmmm

[STINEY]

Do these need a working idiot light to excite the circuit? Does the ijit light work?

[milner351]

2g or 3g alternator - I found a light and need to add it to the falcon... with those hacked wires behind the dash maybe one of them was the "batt" light?
hmmm but that seems opposite - it's OVER charging, not under charging (the falcon has been running off the battery me thinks)

[BBR]

I'm going to check the fusible link connecting the alternator to the battery.

I read:

The alternator output can shoot sky high if the battery is effectively disconnected from the alternator. Please check the continuity of the fusible link before continuing any further.

If I read your post correctly, you're saying that the alternator put out nothing with the original voltage regulator, but now puts out something with a different voltage regulator. But your concern now is that the alternator puts out too much.

Anytime an alternator runs unloaded without a battery sinking current from it, the output voltage climbs sky high. This can happen if the fusible link goes open circuit, which you verified. In all likelihood, the alternator output will climb back down after you replace the fusible link. However, before replacing the fusible link, you want to understand why the original one blew in the first place. 99% of the time, it's due to the owner doing something he shouldn't do, like working behind the back of the alternator, or working on the charging system with the battery connected.

Fusible links can be bought at most parts stores. Replace the fusible link with one rated two sizes below the wiring it protects. For example, 10-gauge wiring would be protected with a 14-gauge fusible link.

That may be where the mysterious "plastic melting smell" has been coming from!

[milner351]

fusible link? ugh.... that reminds me - did this thing come from the factory with points?

If yes - remember to run full voltage to your distributor which I hope is now electronic.