FIXED IT!!>>OLD vs. NEW (pics) extra wire hack?

[Dan]

Bought a new Napa voltage regulator, says it replaces both electrical and mechanical versions so in theory should work on my 67 Ranger V8.

Here's my old one, obviously not factory original, but it has 5 (6?) wires at the plug, and I have no idea what that thing is at one of the attachment bolts with a hack red wire attached?


Here's the underside of the new Napa regulator, only has 4 tangs for the plug, again my old plug has 5(6?) wires not 4, I haven't unplugged it yet to see if it too is a 4 tang unit though despite the different amount of wires.


If the both turn out to be 4 tang units then I'll just hook up all wiring the exact same way and leave it as is for now, unless anyone knows what's going on with all that and has some advice? (Clearly this is not my field of expertise, just want to be sure is all)

[Lee]

The component you mention looks to me to be a capacitor that were used for filtering the DC. Some were used to clean up the DC so you would not hear a "whin" on the AM radio.

Lee

[Nitekruizer]

The little device is just a Capacitor. You don't really have to have it, but it is supposed to filter out noise from reaching the radio. You can re-use it. It doesn't take away from anything.

The plugs should be the same, each will have four terminals and may be marked I A S F. Two wires connect to the A terminal, the rest have one. So, just plug in the new VR and you should be fine. It's very important that the VR has a good ground.

Personally, I have found that these replacement VRs don't last very long, but you may be lucky. I hope this helps.

[Dan]

Thanks guys, that's what I wanted to hear. I knew about spark plugs that cancel buzz on the radio, never knew they put a capacitor on the voltage regulator, good to know!

Ya, I never expect anything aftermarket to last long (It's "Napa" but also says "made in China") I'm just trying to resolve my pulsating headlights issue, so I'll put a new regulator in and see what happens, and keep the old one as a spare just in case.

[wildcard]

If your "pulsating lights" are actually blinking off and on, you probably need to change the dimmer switch in the floor.

[Dan]

I finally got around to installing the new voltage regulator tonight, it did the trick! My voltage gauge now reads a ROCK SOLID 14, where previously it would fluctuate even when just driving (not signalling or anything). Since I had just finally wired the volt gauge a month or two ago for the first time, I wasn't sure how steady it should read since i never had one in this truck previously.

Besides the steady readings, the lights are on solid, not even a hint of dimming or pulsing at all, what a difference the new voltage regulator made.

Thanks as always for the great advice, saved me a trip to the mechanic, a possible breakdown later on, and saved me from replacing every other component on the truck except for the problem part like I usually do...kinda nice to fix the RIGHT THING FIRST for a change!