This is a solid state, plug and play replacement for your mechanical voltage regulator. The cover on the mechanical unit is attached with screws so a knowledgeable mechanic can adjust it. The cover on the solid state unit is attached with rivets. Drill them out and install your old cover so everybody will think you have an original mechanical VR.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/smp-vr166?seid=srese2

 

They work much better when they have a solid ground connection. You're missing at least one of the attaching screws, I think I see the bottom one. Clean the surfaces, use a star washer on both sides of the regulator housing for best connection and make sure it's tight. A nut and bolt solution works well as the holes in the radiator support are often stripped out.

Hard to say if that's a solid state or mechanical, as the cover has screws. I'd try cleaning the connections and grounding it as above. If you still get a flicker, then a solid state Motorcraft GR540B or Standard VR166 regulator are your best solution. The el-cheapo parts store units are hit or miss.

 

They work much better when they have a solid ground connection. You're missing at least one of the attaching screws, I think I see the bottom one. Clean the surfaces, use a star washer on both sides of the regulator housing for best connection and make sure it's tight. A nut and bolt solution works well as the holes in the radiator support are often stripped out.

Hard to say if that's a solid state or mechanical, as the cover has screws. I'd try cleaning the connections and grounding it as above. If you still get a flicker, then a solid state Motorcraft GR540B or Standard VR166 regulator are your best solution. The el-cheapo parts store units are hit or miss.

This ^^^^ if you don’t have a good ground, the regulator doesn’t have a good reference point.

 

The obvious thing that jumps out at me from the photo is the missing condenser for the voltage regulator (the yellow plug with nothing attached). The voltage regulator constantly signals the alternator to charge, then cut-out as the voltage reaches its peak, then charge again. Each time the regulator "switches" the alternator off a voltage surge occurs as the circuit opens. The condenser is placed at that location to absorb the surge. It will also quiet radio frequency (RF) noise in the audio system caused by the "switching". The newer "solid-state" regulators are a bit more efficient than the older mechanical contact-point models but they still generate a surge upon switching.

 

Great replies and thanks as always! Will start by getting this thing a better ground, and I’ll pull the cover off to see what’s underneath. @Woodchuck (I owe you multiple beers at this point haha) can you point me in the direction of what condenser I need? @awhtx & @Hemikiller appreciate the link, not trying to cheap out so will buy the good one!

 

SUPPRESSOR, RADIO NOISE - #18832-1C - National Parts Depot

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@matnetik
Hi. It appears that you have unwittingly wondered into the weird world of electrical idiosyncrasy resulting from bad or faulty grounds. That is a common topic on this forum and discussed regularly.

This is what I did, although I'll admit that I might have gone a bit over-board. I ran a 12awg black wire from the battery terminal and daisy-chained it to most everything of electrical importance under the hood. This included the starter solenoid, alternator, voltage regulator, Duraspark box, plus into the cabin where I used a bolt as a post to connect several extra grounds to instrument panel and radio. I used internal serrated washers or terminals to insure a good electrical connection.
As I understand, if you have any aluminum add-ons (radiator, intake, water pump) I'd run a wire to it as well. Very small electrical resistance can cause current which, over time, can cause corrosion with those items.

Also, I've always been steadfast suggesting that everyone get the Ford Electrical Assembly manual for their year car. It has all of the wires (including colors), connectors and other electrical components of the car, and includes the routing of all the harnesses. Very useful.

Good luck. Keep us informed of your progress.

 

@matnetik
Hi. It appears that you have unwittingly wondered into the weird world of electrical idiosyncrasy resulting from bad or faulty grounds. That is a common topic on this forum and discussed regularly.

This is what I did, although I'll admit that I might have gone a bit over-board. I ran a 12awg black wire from the battery terminal and daisy-chained it to most everything of electrical importance under the hood. This included the starter solenoid, alternator, voltage regulator, Duraspark box, plus into the cabin where I used a bolt as a post to connect several extra grounds to instrument panel and radio. I used internal serrated washers or terminals to insure a good electrical connection.
As I understand, if you have any aluminum add-ons (radiator, intake, water pump) I'd run a wire to it as well. Very small electrical resistance can cause current which, over time, can cause corrosion with those items.

Also, I've always been steadfast suggesting that everyone get the Ford Electrical Assembly manual for their year car. It has all of the wires (including colors), connectors and other electrical components of the car, and includes the routing of all the harnesses. Very useful.

Good luck. Keep us informed of your progress.

Yeah I recently went through a replaced all the ground cables and made sure straps were secure. Cleaned up and replaced the alternator cables and ran new inline fuses / tubing to tighten everything up On the passenger side, need to do the other side of the engine bay now. All my other electrical is pretty solid, obviously random things come up from time to time and I stumble upon shortcuts the previous owners took. Thanks for the great info and explanation, going to order a solid state regulator and that suppressor above. I am sure it also has to do with a mix of LED and halogen bulbs, might need to add some resistors here and there.

As far as the manuals, it’s the first thing I did when I bought the car! Got them all

 

Thanks @matnetik for starting this thread. And of course, thanks to the sage known as @Woodchuck .

I need to pick up one of those little condensers myself.

 

Okay! Took the old regulator out today and installed a new Autolite from NPD, also got the suppressor and correct mounting bolts. I have a new headlight switch I also need to install - didn’t actually get a chance to test the lights since it was during the day but no issues on the install so there’s that - ha - will report back. Also had to take the old one apart just to see what was going on in there, look at those wound coils!

 

You'd be surprised to know that unless the relays and associated electronics are damaged, a bit of dressing of the contacts with a point file and some adjustments will bring that regulator back working just fine and dandy.

 

Installed the new headlight switch (this needed to happen regardless, was hard to get the dash lights on because the old unit was finicky), new ground from block to firewall, VR is grounded properly, ground to radiator support and the lights are still pulsing in Drive or Park with the engines RPM.

I suppose next test is the alternator? I have a new battery, need to check voltage off and on with the car as well. I recently replaced all the wiring for the alternator, starter and solenoid / coil.

 

Time to check the alternator diodes. Grab your multimeter and set to a low-range AC volts scale and put the probes on the battery posts with the engine running. You should see NO AC voltage.

 

Well I am assuming this answers my question on the alternator?

With the engine on the DC fluctuates between 14.8 up to 16V
AC fluctuates between .1 and .5V

I suppose the next question is, if I were going to replace the alternator, which one? I would want to go with PowerMaster for sure but there are so many to choose from! If I understand correctly, this is a 3G alternator setup?

 

Well I am assuming this answers my question on the alternator?

With the engine on the DC fluctuates between 14.8 up to 16V
AC fluctuates between .1 and .5V

I suppose the next question is, if I were going to replace the alternator, which one? I would want to go with PowerMaster for sure but there are so many to choose from! If I understand correctly, this is a 3G alternator setup?

I'm not concerned with the marginal AC voltage as much as the high DC voltage. I wouldn't want to see DC voltage much exceed 14.7v at the battery terminals at 1,500 rpm or so. You might want to check out a different brand VR. If you decide to go with an alternator swap, I'd go with a 93-95 Aerostar 95A 3G unit with internal regulator... pretty much a direct bolt-in with some minor wiring changes.

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I recently did the swap from the stock 1G alternator to the 3G alternator. It was pretty simple. I think the hardest thing to do was reclock the alternator case, and that is not that difficult. If you decide to go with one of the Ford 3G alternators, you don't have to worry about the stock voltage regulator anymore because the 3G's are regulated internally. Here's the write-up I did on my installation:

3G Alternator Install in My 65

I decided to install a 3G alternator in my 65. Of the last two 1G alternators I installed, one had the shaft bearings go out after a couple of years and the 2nd one had the Stator post come loose and corrode so it wasn't powering my electric choke at all. I figured it was time to give it a go...

www.vintage-mustang.com

 

I recently replaced the wiring on my alternator and it has three wires going to it - wouldn't a 3G alternator just be plug and play at this point? I am slightly confused on the difference between 1G and 3G, always though it had to do with the wiring

 

Ah, fully understand now. Is there any reason I would need to go to a 3G? Powermaster makes a 7078 1G 55-75 Amp unit for $110 bones and it's a simple replacement. I have factory A/C, radio with 5 speakers and electric power steering. Wondering if this is enough or should I go the 3G route - just asking questions here!

 

Ah, fully understand now. Is there any reason I would need to go to a 3G? Powermaster makes a 7078 1G 55-75 Amp unit for $140 bones and it's a simple replacement. I have factory A/C, radio with 5 speakers and electric power steering. Wondering if this is enough or should I go the 3G route - just asking questions here!

The 3G is more efficient and will charge better at low rpm. A 55A should do just fine with EPAS.

 

My 64 did the same thing with the power master alternator the previous owner installed. I had a spare 3g and EFI plans so I swapped in the 3g and the light flashing went away.

 

95A 3g and headlight relays, you won't believe the difference.

 

Great info, here’s the current plan, I ordered the Powermaster 7078 1G alternator since I have read both good and bad reviews, couldn’t find it on NPD so I Amazon’ed it. Going to pop it in, if it fixes the issue, amazing! If not, I’ll send it back and dive down the 3G route - I hope this solves it since I literally just purchased the new voltage regulator and noise suppressor. Not sure a headlight relay would change anything given that ALL my lights pulse, both the halogen and LED’s in the front end and interior. - Anyway, as always - thanks for all the help and will report back with info!

 

Well I installed the new alternator and no luck. Lights are all still pulsing, I did measure when I first started the car and the voltage was all over similar to the old alternator in the video from above.

In the video below, this measurement is after 10 minutes of running. As you can also see, all the lights are pulsing with the engine RPM - all exterior and interior.

So one question before I go the 3G route, is it possible I mixed up my “field” and “power” wire when I re-wired everything? Would the alternator still be charging the battery? Would the car seem normal with these reversed causing the pulsing? Just wanted to ask if anyone knew. Might test them tomorrow.

Also, thoughts on the PA Performance 1G to 3G kit vs purchasing an alternator and their “VR thingy” to make the Ammeter work? If I go the 3G route, I’d like to keep it as clean and simple as possible! Thanks in advance, as always!

 

I did measure when I first started the car and the voltage was all over similar to the old alternator...

Which it will do as the regulator cuts in and out to keep the alternator from overcharging. Since you've switched to a lot of LED's you've reduced the load on the charging system to where the regulator is "cycling", recognizing an almost fully-charged battery....

Let my brain think for a minute... you said your alternator had 3 wires... a big one to the BAT post, a ground and one to the FLD post.... is that correct? That means you should have an ammeter in your instrument cluster and the GRN/RED wire to your voltage regulator goes into the "S" location? I wonder if your solid-state regulator has enough resistance in the "sense" circuit..... I'd be tempted, if you have a test light, to see what happens when you hook your alligator clip to ground and back-probe the "S" plug on the regulator with the test light.... with the engine idling, to see what it does for the "pulsing"....

 

Haven’t had time to test yet, unfortunately had to have dental surgery on Wednesday. I decided to return the Powermaster I bought and ordered the 1G to 3G PA Performance kit, regardless if it fixes the lights pulsing or not, it will be much more solid to be on a 3G alternator as many have suggested. Will update once installed - cheers all

 

Was about to put the old alternator back in, but before I do I decided to look at the wiring from the regulator - does anyone know if this is correct?

Well a quick search shows that yes, this is correct for a 68’ with an Ammeter - will try to back probe the green/red wire now -

No change on back probing the green/red wire. Question though, is the orange wire supposed to have any power? With ignition on or off the orange cable shows nothing, assuming this signals when the charge is happening - Just tested resistance and it is wired to the field post on the alternator which I believe is correct.

Yellow and green/red both show 12.8 v

 

The wire to the FLD post only receives current when the regulator signals the alternator to charge. This wire is responsible for sending current to the alternator rotor field windings, creating a magnetic field so that, as the rotor rotates and passes by the stator coils, an output current is generated.

 

UPDATE HERE:

Installed the PA Performance 95A alternator with their dummy regulator and in-line fuse setup today. I think I did everything right as far as the wiring goes. The good news, WE HAVE SUCESS! No more light pulsing!! I mean at all, it was starting to rain so I could only run the car for a few minutes but they looked solid!

Now my only concern, with all accessories off (the radio may have been on) and the car on, I was getting 12.35 volts at the battery but it was steady, maybe .01 fluctuation which is awesome but it’s definitely not charging.. Pretty sure it’s the ground, I grounded from my engine ground strap to the alternators housing (see in picture below) and I should have grounded to the center bolt as the instructions recommend. I think this is why it’s not charging.

Or is it because I didn’t connect the original BAT wire from my harness to the B+ terminal? I was under the impression to not use the wire anymore since the 6 gauge cable/fuse is going to the solenoid.

As it is now from my cars harness to their harness/alt-
-orange (field) wire soldered and crimped to green/black
-yellow from their harness to B+ on alt
-white/black from their harness plugged in with pigtail to alt
-ground from engine block/ground strap to alt chassis (might be in wrong location)
-6 gauge wire with in-line fuse from B+ on alt to solenoid battery post
-original BAT wire from car is taped off and not being used

 

-original BAT wire from car is taped off and not being used

Do you have battery voltage at the "A" terminal on your dummy regulator?

 

What have you got connected to the green/red wire at the alt pigtail?
It seems like the alt is not getting excited.

 

What have you got connected to the green/red wire at the alt pigtail?

That’s my orange wire which goes to the VR - the field cable, 12v with ignition is switched on - I thought it was green/black for some reason - I believe it‘s the exciter wire and goes to the F terminal on the VR

 

Connected the the older BAT wire to the B+ on the alternator, still no charging.

Yellow or ”A” at VR is getting 12V with ignition on or off
Green/Red “S” is getting 12V with ignition ON
Orange ”F” is not showing any voltage regardless of ignition on or off (this is the wire that is attached to the PA Performance green/red wire on the harness)

It started, I checked the battery to see if it was charging, even rev’ed it to a higher RPM and no change in the voltage at the battery. Then I shut it off and now it won’t start at all. The starter is just spinning, coil has power, just replaced the starter solenoid (just in case, and needed one with longer studs anyway) and still won’t turn over, I’m clueless, maybe it’s just flooded - it started to rain so will have to get back to it on Tuesday when it clears up.

Even tried a new coil just to see but no luck. Very odd. Still need to move the ground to that center bolt on the ALT to see if it fixes the issue but I need to get the car running again in order to check. I did however put a jump from the ground on the block to the ALT center post but the car still wouldn’t start.

Maybe the battery is just low, was reading 12.48V - going to leave it on the trickle charger until Tuesday-

 

Yellow or ”A” at VR is getting 12V with ignition on or off = Just the way it should be.
Green/Red “S” is getting 12V with ignition ON = Just the way it should be.
Orange ”F” is not showing any voltage regardless of ignition on or off (this is the wire that is attached to the PA Performance green/red wire on the harness) Not the way it should be.

Check the continuity between the FLD post on the alternator and the "F" terminal in the regulator plug. You should have less than 0.1 Ohm. I'm not familiar with the color codes used by the PA Performance harness, but there needs to be a direct connection between the regulator "F" and the alternator FLD.

 

Okay, re-wired and soldered all connections, can confirm continuity from field wire on the PA harness to orange F wire in VR harness. Redid all the grounds from block to alternator and from harness to alternator in the center post as they recommended, wired the electronic choke to the stator wire as recommended by PA.

Issue now is the car won't turn over at all, I've tried holding the pedal to the floor, I put a new coil in just in case, the battery read 13v this morning after it charged all night and I got nothing - I don't understand because the only thing that has changed is the alternator and the wiring for it - my car ran totally fine a week ago with the old alternator - I am extremely lost on this one - Can confirm it's getting fuel in the bowl

 

Car "turns over" just fine...and WANTS to start. Did you pump the pedal once to set the choke?

 

Oh yeah, that's how I start it every time, one pump then turn and it fires up every time. Going to grab a set of jumper cables and connect it to my other car, maybe it just needs a little boost - in the past I have even flooded it, held the pedal to the floor and it'll start

 

Jumped to my other car, got battery voltage at 13.3 - still won't run, tried starter fluid in the carb and nothing. I am so beyond clueless as to what could be going on - double checked all grounds and wiring. I also tried jumping the electronic choke straight to 12v just while cranking to see if there was an issue there and no luck. I am honestly at the point of putting the old alternator back in and seeing if it starts. I don't understand why it wouldn't start considering changing the alternator shouldn't affect starting -

Getting some white smoke out of the exhaust and it smells like gas specifically. I could only assume it's beyond flooded at this point and maybe I just need to let it sit for a few days. Any help is much appreciated - all this to stop the lights from pulsing (I'm over here kicking myself haha)

 

Jumped to my other car, got battery voltage at 13.3 - still won't run, tried starter fluid in the carb and nothing. I am so beyond clueless as to what could be going on - double checked all grounds and wiring. I also tried jumping the electronic choke straight to 12v just while cranking to see if there was an issue there and no luck. I am honestly at the point of putting the old alternator back in and seeing if it starts. I don't understand why it wouldn't start considering changing the alternator shouldn't affect starting -

Getting some white smoke out of the exhaust and it smells like gas specifically. I could only assume it's beyond flooded at this point and maybe I just need to let it sit for a few days. Any help is much appreciated - all this to stop the lights from pulsing (I'm over here kicking myself haha)

Toss in a new set of plugs but, before you do, check dwell while cranking...

 

The distributor is a pertronix - I just can't understand what could have changed from swapping out the alternator and why it won't run - plugs smelt like gas obviously - I feel like it has to be electrical considering it ran just fine before I changed it