voltage regulator - please help

m0par0rn0car

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i was driving my 69 Plymouth fury 3 earlier today and noticed the ammeter acting weird so i did some poking around and decided i needed a new voltage regulator, unfortunately no one around me had one and I'm out of state so had to keel driving. just a few minutes ago the dash started smelling weird and suddenly started pouring smoke so i turned off the car and pulled over, now the right turn signal indicator is melted, the temp and gas gauge don't work and the high beam and left turn indicator are always on. im kind of stuck now and not sure what to do to get the car and myself home
 
i was driving my 69 Plymouth fury 3 earlier today and noticed the ammeter acting weird so i did some poking around and decided i needed a new voltage regulator, unfortunately no one around me had one and I'm out of state so had to keel driving. just a few minutes ago the dash started smelling weird and suddenly started pouring smoke so i turned off the car and pulled over, now the right turn signal indicator is melted, the temp and gas gauge don't work and the high beam and left turn indicator are always on. im kind of stuck now and not sure what to do to get the car and myself home

I suspect that the problem was not the voltage regulator. You might have smoked the ammeter and if that shorted to ground, it probably toasted the circuits on the back of the instrument cluster or the wiring harness. Disconnect the battery before proceeding. Try disconnecting the two wires from the back of the ammeter, check the terminals on the ammeter as you remove the wires, are they loose or burnt? If so, splice the two wires from the ammeter together, that will by pass the ammeter. Try turning the key on to see if that cures the short. If things are still trying to short and smoke, you should probably have the car towed home or to a safe place as it probably is not going to be possible to replace a shorted harness in the field. The ammeter may have been acting weird because of a short in the harness.

Dave
 
I suspect that the problem was not the voltage regulator. You might have smoked the ammeter and if that shorted to ground, it probably toasted the circuits on the back of the instrument cluster or the wiring harness. Disconnect the battery before proceeding. Try disconnecting the two wires from the back of the ammeter, check the terminals on the ammeter as you remove the wires, are they loose or burnt? If so, splice the two wires from the ammeter together, that will by pass the ammeter. Try turning the key on to see if that cures the short. If things are still trying to short and smoke, you should probably have the car towed home or to a safe place as it probably is not going to be possible to replace a shorted harness in the field. The ammeter may have been acting weird because of a short in the harness.

Dave
I'll try that, but I'm in Tennessee and live in Michigan there's no way I can afford to get it towed bacm
 
For clarification, you mentioned that the turn signal indicator is melted, are you referring to the socket in the dash or the switch in the column?

Dave
 
Something shorted and it showed in the ammeter when the short caused a big electrical draw on the system. You'll have to figure out what it is and go from there.

It's not the voltage regulator...
 
Start looking under the dash for a burnt spot on the harness. Cut the tape off the harness and tray to locate the spot where the short is. If the ammeter was shorted that may have been the source, otherwise, it is in the harness someplace,

Dave
 
There is a large plug on the back of the instrument cluster. I will usually have tabs on the ends or the sides that when depressed allow the plug to be removed from the cluster. Removing the plug will remove power to the cluster and disable all the circuits there. You will not have dash lights or gauges, but if the insturment cluster is shorted, that will also get rid of the short and should allow the car to be driven if that is all that is wrong once the ammeter is bypassed.

Dave
 
Probably just one more reason to bypass that damn ammeter. It has caused many a fire and stranded driver.
 
To get him home, can he just do that and forgo the IP? By that I mean. Disconnect the wires from the ammeter and tape them up?
 
To get him home, can he just do that and forgo the IP? By that I mean. Disconnect the wires from the ammeter and tape them up?
I think the wires from the ammeter need to be spliced together or the ignition will be dead because the power all feeds thru that circuit. I will pull the wiring diagram and comment further if needed..

Dave
 
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Sorry for the late response but I ended up bypassing the ammeter and making it all the way home, taking it real slow just in case. I took apart the dash and the entire wiring harness needs to be replaced, so much is burned up it’s not even worth trying to fix at this point
 
Sorry for the late response but I ended up bypassing the ammeter and making it all the way home, taking it real slow just in case. I took apart the dash and the entire wiring harness needs to be replaced, so much is burned up it’s not even worth trying to fix at this point

Good to hear you and the car are ok.

PIA to have to rewire the harness, but now you can do what you want and do it safely.

Post some pics. Always cool to see how things get done. Good luck.
 
Glad to that you got home ok. Sounds kinda what ive beengoing through with mine the last several months. Mine was in the driveway when it had its melt down. Good Luck.
 
I threw in the towel and did the IVR3 (internal Voltage regulator) upgrade as well as changing my ammeter to a voltmeter. I have a 65 Fury so my instrument panel is driven by they VR in the fuel gauge. When I opened it, it looked like it had been cooking a while. Between that mod and bypassing the bulkhead connector (ammeter bypass) you eliminate a very dangerous factory design. I get that guys are set on having stuff remain factory, but if you can do it discretely and keep the car alive for a life-time... why not.
 
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