Brain fart regulator question Options

[mb911]

So was noticing I have less voltage while the car is running. I am use to seeing 13/14 volts as the pretty much normal. I have a fairly new marchel alternator and this year I am seeing 13v on the high side. Now I do have more electrical items, wide band o2, mega squirt, and active exhaust. Regulator going bad? Pictured in upper left. Hmm maybe I have them on the wrong pins? Might have messed that up?

[mb911]

So verified some basic connections and ohms tested the wiring. The 12v wire all good. Ground good. dF is weird as I get different values depending on what 12 pin connection I check. I know that’s not a field test but now concerned I could blow something out with over voltage

[Superhawk996]

dF is weird as I get different values depending on what 12 pin connection I check. I know that’s not a field test but now concerned I could blow something out with over voltage

The DF varying by where you test it may be a sign you’ve got some voltage drop going on. Either within the relay board multipin connector (pin 2) or within the board between pin 2 and DF. Might try a quick clean up of pin 2 and its female counterpart.

I wouldn’t worry about it going over voltage from varying DF due dirty connections. If anything voltage drop might be why you’re seeing only 13v instead of something more solid like 13.6 - 14 volts.

One other thing about DF is that it usually isn’t a rock solid stable voltage. It’s the nature of the beast (mechanical regulator) due to the regulator solenoid serving as a sort of very crude pulse width modulation of the field. Some fluctuation is normal as DF leads and lags the actual alternator output. Example if you measure pin 2 and then take a minute or two to remeasure over at 3 pin DF connection, the voltage may have already changed a volt or two.

The ultimate judge is what’s coming off D+ and B+ (alternator output to battery positive).