Voltage Regulator...?

'69 442 won't start.

I'm suspicious of it being the voltage regulator, but I'm pretty new to mechanics stuff, so could anyone tell me if this sounds like a voltage regulator issue:

Battery WAS dead, I recharged it fully but still no start. Flicked the charger to "start car," when I turned the ignition it sounded like a combination of electric buzzing and a little grinding. I turned "start car" off, I then got a clunk but nothing more. (From this, I ruled out ignition switch and selenoid) This happened three more times, now I can never get anything out of it.
To top it off, my lights shine ridiculously dim and my heater fan on HIGH setting randomly chooses to blow normally, half-@$$ed, or hardly at all.

Does this sound like voltage regulator to you guys? And I can't even find the regulator on my car... the assembly manual made it look like it's behind the distributor, but I couldn't find anything...

[Dapapadon]

Sounds more like a dead battery yo me. Did it start before?

Don

[BILL DEMMER]

or a problem with the starter motor...


bill

Yeah, it used to start up fine. Funny thing is, though, last summer it acted up too, even though I just assumed it was a weak battery. After random wire adjustments, it would eventually fire up again. Once things cooled down outside the problems just went away and it slipped my mind... but now they're back along with the heat I guess...

It's got a brand new battery now, CCA's in the 700s I think. But the battery itself is holding a full charge at the moment. There could be starter motor issues, it drains the battery real quick... any diagnosis tips?

[BILL DEMMER]

some tips:

battery connections clean and tight?
battery cables in good condition and properly sized?
ground connection to block clean and tight?
positive cable to solenoid clean and tight?
solenoid to starter connection clean and tight?
starter to engine block mounting surface clean and tight?
thicker purple wire to starter solenoid connection clean and tight?
body to engine ground strap clean and tight?
battery to body/frame ground wire clean and tight(if used)?
neutral safety switch functioning? jumper the two thicker purple wires with a short piece of 14 gauge wire.

then,
remove starter and have it tested for current draw and free-running speed.

that's what i've got off the top of my head.


bill

We isolated the problem to the starter, bought a remanufactured one, starts up better than ever! Thanks for the help!

Nothing more inspirational for the resto project than hearing it chug again...

[Dapapadon]

Good call on that one Bill. Seems you've nailed a few lately on the first guess. Congrats!

rocket69 - Glad to hear you got it running! Have you posted any pictures of that 69?

Don

[BILL DEMMER]

Originally Posted by Dapapadon

Good call on that one Bill. Seems you've nailed a few lately on the first guess. Congrats!

rocket69 - Glad to hear you got it running! Have you posted any pictures of that 69?

Don

thanks for the compliment-i try to keep my diagnostic skills sharp.


bill

[rustyold66]

I am far from the shiniest wrench on the cabinet..but I am curious as to whether or not the bad starter was also the cause of the dim lights and the intermittent fan motor. Or do those problems still exist, and just the starting issue was fixed.