Need a bit of Help

[67-Fury]

I have a Few questions on a electronic ignition install in a 67 Fury. It Has a LA 360 with a eletronic distributor but with a All stock engine harness. Had to ask before I did something wrong.

Is it wise to wire in a 70 & later style Voltage regulator?

And the original harness is also made for the stock 2 wire alternator.The alternator i am using is a later 70s style.

 

[Big_John]

I have a Few questions on a electronic ignition install in a 67 Fury. It Has a LA 360 with a eletronic distributor but with a All stock engine harness. Had to ask before I did something wrong.

Is it wise to wire in a 70 & later style Voltage regulator?

And the original harness is also made for the stock 2 wire alternator.The alternator i am using is a later 70s style.

It's not a bad conversion, although there isn't much, if anything to gain by doing it.

The difference in the two systems is this... The earlier alternator has it's field connection grounded internally. It has one external field connection and that is the positive wire from the regulator.

The later alternator has two field connections. One is the negative connection from the regulator and the other is positive power. They call that an "isolated field".

So, you can figure out that the regulators are different, the early one controls the positive side of the field and the late one controls the negative side of the field.

In stock form, the early regulator is mechanical. There are points that "make and break" rapidly to limit the voltage to the field. The later regulator is electronic and does the same thing electronically and much faster giving a more constant output to the alternator.

So.... an electronic ignition conversion "requires" an electronic regulator giving a constant voltage. At least that is what Chrysler has always dictated in their conversion kits.

Since the conversion kits have come out, electronic voltage regulators for the early alternators have become more available.... and there are a number of people that have used the mechanical regulator on the conversion with no issues.

As I said, not a bad conversion and if you want to do it, there's nothing wrong with that.... but you can buy an electronic regulator from one of our members here pretty reasonably and leave all the wiring alone. Talk to @FURYGT

If you want to use the later alternator (because you have it!) with the earlier regulator and wiring, all you need to do is ground one field connection and you're good to go.

 

[CBODY67]

When I did the "upgrade" on my '67 Newport, the Race Manual recommended the MP regulator to replace the OEM regulator. Mistake! The MP regulator keeps the voltage at 14V and (as I later confirmed in the race manual) leads to earlier demise of all electrical components in the vehicle, including headlights. It helped me find a place on the red wire going to the ignition switch where the previous owner had stripped the wire for a voltage source, then covered it with chewing gum paper. Had to replace that section of wire. After that, I cautiously put the OEM regulator back in. NO problems at all. Some replacement regulators look like the old ones, but have electronic guts in them, unlike the OEM Chrysler electronic ignition regulators (points-type, as noted).

I used an MSD-5 box on mine, attaching it to a stud on the lh front fender extension. I spliced the harness, hiding that in the harness on the lh front fender. Then the extra wire for the distributor behind an existing harness along the top of the cowl, then down the rh valve cover to the distributor, accompanying the wire for the electric choke that I'd added previously.

The main reason I did mine was that the cam lobes on my distributor (and others I had, including a 440-6 distributor and adapter) were worn. If I set the gap to specs, the dwell reading was off. When I tried to set the points with a dial indicator, that's when I saw just how much wear was on the lobes and no two were exactly the same. Plus the lack of maintenance factor!

Also, do NOT use the Chrysler Orange Box as it needs the MP Voltage Regulator to really work right. It also has a higher threshold of necessary voltage to fire the plugs. One night we were at a cruise-in and a '70 Challenger next to us wouldn't start. It spun over fast enough, but would not fire until another car's system was hooked to it via jumper cables. The MSD (from back when MSD was MSD) and OEM Chrysler boxes have a min voltage requirement, but more like 5 volts rather than 12 volts. When I got my MP kit, the Orange Box was in the kit.

The minimum voltage requirement to fire the plugs on a point system is "if it sparks" at the points. In some cases, this can be a big plus.

When the "two output" alternators came out and basically replaced the earlier ones, I asked an associate (that was a Chrysler parts person) about that and he said to just jumper-wire the two outputs together. Later, in looking at the factory wiring diagrams, it seemed that the second output was where the electric choke power wire originated. Leaving the normal output to run everything else, as the single-wire alternator had done previously. This was back in the earlier 1980s I was investigating the alternators.

I haven't regretted the ignition system upgrade one bit. I like the Chrysler system and it works well. I don't know that it runs any better, but I don't have to worry about changing/adjusting points any more.

These are my experiences, your's might vary.
CBODY67​

 

[67-Fury]

Glad I can keep the original style Regulator. I am not opposed to using a earlier alternator but the later style is all I have.

 

[FURYGT]

Glad I can keep the original style Regulator. I am not opposed to using a earlier alternator but the later style is all I have.

No need to not use the newer style 2-wire (square back) style alternator. As noted above, just ground the second field terminal.

If the wiring harness has wiring for the 2-wire alternator, the harness has been modified or changed.

With the electronic ignition conversion, make sure that you are running a heavy duty ballast resistor. They make heavy duty 2-prong ballast resistors.

Below is a photo showing the stock appearing electronic '69 & earlier voltage regulator that I sell for $19.95 shipped by priority mail to a U.S. address. (I will ship anywhere in the world but the buyer pays the actual shipping rate.)

Bill

Bill