1962 Battery dying after installing new voltage regulator

[Tommys Bird]

My generator light keeps coming on. I installed a new Voltage regulator. Light went out (yea!!!!). Went 10 miles light came back on. Had to keep the car going to put the top up. Shut the car off, tried to start it. Battery was dead. Where do I go from here?

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 

[biddle]

How is anyone going to know what your post is about when you title it "1962"? As you were prompted, post a summary of your post in your title.

As a one-time courtesy, your post title has been updated for you.

 

[74 Harley]

Two questions, did you polarize the regulator? Have you had the output of the generator tested?

 

[Frankie the Fink]

Actually you polarize the generator, but you can do the procedure at the voltage regulator.
And its a simple test with a multimeter across the battery terminals at a fast idle to see if you're getting between 13.8V and 14.2V, anything less indicates a charging problem

Did the OP install a restored V/R or a repro?
I've had mixed luck with the repros - for some reason modern vendors can't seem to properly emulate the simple "vibrating points" regulators of 60 years ago - ugh.

 

[doug7740]

Polarization is a procedure which matches the polarity for the generator and the voltage regulator. The majority of Thunderbirds are manufactured negative ground, except for the 1955 Thunderbird which was manufactured positive ground. The generator has to be setup for either polarity. The generator will charge either way, however the voltage regulator has only one polarity. After the installation of a battery, generator or voltage regulator follow these procedures.

The terminals on the voltage regulator are labeled ARM, FLD and BAT, and this is where you will do the polarizing procedure. Both the generator and voltage regulator will have battery power, so don’t start the vehicle or turn the ignition on before polarizing them. You will need a small piece of 14 to 16 gauge wire with alligator clips on the ends.

Before starting the car take the short jumper wire and briefly touch the FLD terminal to the BAT terminal to polarize the generator. You can touch the terminals a few times and it will produce a soft light spark. Under no circumstances touch the FLD terminal or any other part of the regulator or you could damage the regulator.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue