I picked up a great deal on a '77 Dodge Power wagon (Adventure 200, 360), or so I thought. It drove great for about a week, then it burned through 2 coils (was told the engine heat was causing them to break down, and that I should mount it on the firewall which I have done), and a solenoid. The ignition, dimmer and brake switches have gone bad, and are being replaced. The truck is pushing excessive power 18+ volts, and blows any lights (headlights, tail-lights, gauge lights, turn signals, some had actually exploded) anything that was lit when the gas pedal was pressed and almost set the in-dash volt gauge on fire.. I haven't been able to find the culprit part or wire. I have replaced nearly every electrical component in the truck, among them the alternator, starter, battery, battery cables, control unit, regulator, ballast, and the parts mentioned above. I had the truck in the shop, and they had replaced the regulator, and control unit believing that they had fixed the problem. Someone please help or give some advice.

 

Is the current problem still, that you are charging at 18+ volts?
Do you have 1 green wire and 1 red wire on the alternator?

 

Yes, there is a green, red and black wire on the alt. I have been doing some research, and found out if i turn the run power on, and test for voltage in the green and red wires (at the regulator connection) it will determine the nature of the over charging problem. If there is power to them both, then its the regulator, if not its the wiring between the alt, and reg. I suspect I will find out that there is an issue with the wiring. Wont be able to check until Monday though. Your reply kinda confirms the info I just found today, so I'm guessing this was what you were leading to. Hopefully, I will have the truck back in the mud by Tuesday. Does anyone happen to know a good way to reduce or quiet a lifter tick (I don't think the ones in the truck are adjustible). It comes and goes as the truck runs. If its not to bad of a job, then I would really like to fix it, if not I'm planning on dropping in a 440 in about a year.

 

Good, you have a working knowledge of this system! The red wire will have 12 volts when the key is "on" it is fed by the run circuit. The green wire goes to the VR and is your ground. The VR sends a ground signal on the green wire which causes the field circuit in the alternator to activate and charge. If the green wire is shorted to ground anywhere in the harness you will get a "full field" on the alternator and maximum volts and amps...17+ volts. The VR could also be bad, the 2 pin connector from the harness may be bad(NAPA has new ones). Make sure the VR has a good ground thru it's metal case against the firewall. The red wire on the VRhas 12volts from the run circuit also. The VR is looking for proper voltage on this line, if it's not there or is low it will think it needs to charge more. You might want to pull the tape off the engine harness where the green wire travels, I have seen several harnesses that have melted wires in this area.

 

Thank you for the help, I am really glad to have found a place where people know what they are talking about, and give solid help. I will post again after its fixed, and am starting a gallery of the project that I will up-load as I go. This truck will have to go through a pretty big transformation, paint, body, engine and interior work. After the overcharging issue is fixed, I'm installing custom guages, and having a new custom fiberglass dash made. (partly because I want it, secondly because its needed since the old gauges and dash were pretty damaged..lol). I need to replace the doors, the window tracks have rusted completely out and the drivers side door wont open from the outside, and have it painted. It has a two barrel carb that I'm replacing with a four, after installing a dual plane intake manifold. New air cleaner, and am considering going with headers and glasspacks or flowmasters, but I'm not sure about those yet. The exhaust is currently running from the stock manifolds, 2 1/2 pipes, dual resonators with side exits. (barely passed the state inspection because it doesnt have mufflers) Anyways, thanks again.

 

Dodge disease of melting wires at the bulkhead maybe? The wire feeding the ammeter from the firewall connector like to melt in the cavity and can cause problems. (center connector I thinkmaybeblack wire from alternator)

 

You may want to read thru this 2 page article. It have saved alot of people and their trucks. The person that wrote it, Mark Hamilton, is a professional automotive electrical guru and the shop owner.

http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...p-gauges.shtml

 

Going to read it now, and both of those wires are good. Going to do a complete rewire from a new ignition switch throughout the engine bay following the Chiltons schematic. Might as well take care of any current problems and maybe a few that havn't popped up. Most of the wiring looks like its the original, but some has been re-done. I would be much happier and feel safer if I -know- all the wiring is good.

 

LOL..not to sound funny, but now that I have read the link you gave..That was the basic plan for a good portion of the re-wire (because as noted in previous posts my gauge did nearly catch my dash on fire). Thanks for the step-by step, I am positive that it will be saving myself alot of headache and time.

 

Here's some service manual diagrams too. I have found over the years that there are some mistakes in the published wiring diagrams and even the Factory Service Manual, so take your time and trace each wire if the colors seem to be different than what the book says. There are many types of wire that can be used, the stuff you get at NAPA is for the most part type GPT and has a max temp rating of 80* C....the better choice is type GXL (rated at 125*C for underhood) which you have to get at a real wire store. There are some online and I have a bunch here at the house if you need some, both solid and striped.