455/ altentator ques.

The battery on the buick keeps goin dead , and took it to the altenator guy he said it doesnt have a " regulator " and that one wasnt put on the car when the motor was put in , would it be better to install one , rather than get altentator with one in it? all i know how to do on a motor is take it apart and put it back together , so if that makes any sense , help pls

 

Your car has an external voltage regulator. It's a black, cube-like box on the firewall just behind the aircleaner. I'm not sure what he meant about what was on the car originally, but it seems you may have the "one wire" type of alternator, which is a common swap. There are oh-so many possible causes as to why your battery won't charge...it's not rocket science though.

It was my understanding that you were taking apart this engineo No: so I'm a little confused about how you're sure the alternator is bad.

Do you have the idiot lights, or does your GS have the gauge pack?

Anyhoo, here's where the regulator is (I get so much mileage from this pic:grin: )

 

well I'm takin it apart to fix it!! Was puttin new terminals on , checked the battery to make sure it wasnt bad , then took the altenator in to get tested , he said it had no " regulator " in it , and none on the car..... umm I broke the bolt off in the motor that holds tha altenator to the bracket.. thats why im takin it apart thus far. ou: ( bolt goes from bracket through the water pump to motor ) . and there isnt a external regulator on it .. I know its bad because the man who tested it said it was , also autozone . Do I need to get the external one , or just get a altenator WITH one in it?

 

You wouyld need to change some of the wiring to use an "internal regulator" type of alernator. There is nothing wrong with the factory external type and it will be an easier job in general, in my opinion. If there's no regulator in the car I can't imagine how it ran before...or am I misunderstanding something?


It's only natural that the guy who tested it said it had no regulator- it shoudn't have one in it, GM didn't use that type at the time. Is he the one who told you there was none in the car? I think there is something I'm not understanding completely

 

ill take a pic of that spot on the motor , it dont have one o No:

 

Well, I take your word for it

You'll need one, of course. just make sure the alternator and regulator are the correct ones for the car, and you should have no trouble. There's a large black plastic wiring connector that plugs into it at the bottom, also it's a common place for the engine grounding strap- under one of the "feet" of the regulator. You'll recognize the wiring connector because it's got a very thick red wire at one end.