I have had the D350 for 7 years and the alternator D/C gauge has never worked. Which recently kept me from learning of a charging issue that turned out to be a bad voltage regulator.

I cannot find the article I read a few years back on the history of the Dodge Alternator charging gauge causing problems stating it was better not to fix or replace them. I would like to discuss this again.

What should I do? Fix or replace?

Can the alt gauge be fixed?

What other options are there?

I was considering a cigarette lighter alternator/battery gauge and keep it plugged in.

Any thoughts and input would be appreciated.

 

the alt gauge you are referring to never really worked. it is a shunt type amp gauge which are pretty much junk. best to just install an aftermarket voltage gauge so you know what the charging system is doing. i am kind of surprised dodge even kept the amp gauge as long as they did before swapping to the voltage gauge in about 91.

 

Thanks Wolfie. I put a cigarette lighter voltage meter in the cigarette lighter hole and this helps out a lot. Now I see that the alternator is putting out about 15.5 volts, yikes! I double checked this with the digital voltage meter and this was confirmed.

Last week I did replace the NAPA voltage regulator with a BWD regulator from Advance Auto. Could this voltage regulator be defective? I replaced the voltage regulator because the alternator was not charging the battery.

Will 15.5 volts harm components of the 1983 Dodge D350?

Thanks!

pumbu

 

15.5 is really not ideal. it might not be good for the battery but i think most components would be fine with it. do you have another vehicle to try the voltage meter in to make sure it is accurate? 15 or under is usually what you want to see. i did a few upgrade on my 81 a few years ago and had it sitting pretty steady 14.5 down from about 14.8. i think i can get it a bit lower if i tried but almost need to tear the whole under the hood harness to do what i want and make it look decent.

 

I put the cigarette lighter voltage meter in a Honda Accord and the voltage displayed around 14 volts, so I believe the voltage meter is fine.

Should I try another voltage regulator? Do different brands put out different volts?

Thanks!

 

I would certainly consider trying a different regulator....... That does seem a bit high, and may get the battery too hot for comfort.

 

i would make sure the voltage regulator has a good ground connection. i have been told finding a good voltage regulator for is getting a lot more difficult. upgrading the alternator output and making sure everything is grounded good should help bring that voltage reading down some. even adding a relay to the system to power the charging system at the alternator would help bring it down even more. there is just no way to really make it look clean wiring wise. almost need to tear the whole harness apart to do it right.

 

Thanks for the information. After this snow storms goes away I will be tweaking the ground. Interestingly, there is only one bolt hole on the firewall to attach the voltage regulator that has three holes. The '82 service manual shows a VR with the same holes as the one I have, three.

 

i know there is 3 holes in the voltage regulator but usually the voltage regulator is only held to the firewall with 2 bolts. should be 2 bolt holes in the firewall for it.