so i wired one up and its charging but its fluctuating really bad. i had it hooked up and it was working great but was draining my battery due to being hooked up to constant power. well now i have it hooked up off of keyed power and when it is running the motor slightly idle surges and the voltmeter is surging. i turn on my headlights and they they dim and get strong back and forth. this motor is in my crew cab chevy and i have it running off my key on power to the cruise control. my question is.... will it do this if it doesnt have enough voltage at the regulator?

 

These trucks are bullet proof! Only problems are with the electrical. If you redo your regulator to a external, you should have a even reading on your gauge. If not, the jolly little computer over by your battery is in on the mix. I just disconnect the darn little ****. All it does is control the charging, plays hell with your air conditioner, and is in on a couple of others as well. In the older cars and trucks, these things were done by relays, etc.

 

Thing is its swapped into my chevy so im running no computer

 

I take it this is the Dodge Alternator, is the regulator also Dodge?
Not familiar with these but reading other threads they seem to need a good ground.
You could try running a wire from the regulator case to the alternator body.
Other than that check all the connections right through to the battery.
Do you have a good ground cable to the body, not just to the engine block?
Why did you change to an external regulator? Did it have problems before?

 

i changed it to an externally regulated alternator due to swapping the cumins in my chevy and i wanted to use the stock dodge alternator. the dodge alt. is regulated internally in the dodge pcm. i didnt have to use the pcm in my chevy so i had to put on an external regulator

 

I have been driving this thing and I am still having this problem. I have it grounded in several locations and it is still fluctuating but sometimes when I turn on all the loads (lights stereo heat) itll go normal and ill get to my destination and shut it off than ill come out to leave and itll be doing it again than ill turn on all the loads and it wont change. it will still be fluctuating. please anyone that can help please do. its an after market regulator and plug with stock dodge alternator. my truck screams "pull me over" due to the lights flashing and making me stand out

 

I had a similar issue with my 90 ctd I got pissed and took it in. They kinda fixed it with an external voltage regulator that had a dial on the back of it. I can still see a flicker if I stare at it hard enough but it's no where near the flicker I had before. I cant remember the brand of the regulator it was they used but I think you just ground the regulator, put a voltmeter on the battery and turn the little dial to the desired position. I went through my entire wiring system checking the fuseable links and grounds and replacing the headlight switch, alternator, and a fresh serp. But this has been my best remedy so far.hope this helps

 

Thx, anyone else got an idea? I know others have had this problem there's got to be a fix

 

Mine in my chevy conversion does the same thing, found a write up on it one time and forgot to bookmark it and now i can't find it.

 

did you fix it? plz help