BSiegPaint

I had the Rallye out yesterday and when I was at a turn I noticed that the blinkers were erratic - sometimes fast, sometimes slower, but uneven. Not the blink -- blink -- blink but more blink-blink - blink -- blink - blink-blink-blink etc - I'm sure you get the idea. All the bulbs are new all around. Everything works fine when the car is OFF, but when running, it's not right. As a side note, I installed an aftermarket radio which works perfectly when the car is off - ACC or Run position on the key. I am running the power from the yellow radio power wire. When the car is started, the lights in the radio go on, but there is no sound and no response from the electronic controls. Am I looking at a dying voltage regulator??? The alternator is new. The wiring under the hood from the firewall is new. The battery is new. I've never seen this odd behavior before...

oldcutlass

If everything on the radio works fine with the car off, it should work fine with the car on. Double check your wiring. Blinker issue sounds like a bulb intermittently losing contact or a bad signal stat. Its located near the steering column.

BSiegPaint

There's only one power wire, and that's the extent of the stereo wiring. I disconnected the yellow radio wire and ran a jumper to the fuse block and the radio works fine, car on or off. I'll leave it this way for now, but something else is odd with the yellow radio power wire, like there's a voltage drop when the car is on. Maybe the old connection is corroded? I'll replace the signal stat and see if that works for the blinkers.

oldcutlass

If the radio fuse terminals are rusty you may be losing contact by vibration.

Fun71

So you have one power wire to a radio with electronic controls? Sounds as if you would lose all programmed channels, clock, etc. every time you turned the ignition off. Most have two power wires: constant (for electronic memory things) and switched (for tuner and amplifier power).

BSiegPaint

Antique Automobile Radio. One red wire to 12v power. There is a green wire that connects to the dash light circuit so the panel lights dim with the rest of the car lights, and an orange wire you can use as a trigger wire for an amp or sub. But that's it.

cjsdad

Guess work won't solve the problem. Put a VOM on it and find out what the voltage difference is between ON vs. OFF. You may have a bad ignition switch if the ON/OFF is ACC position vs. IGN. position. Too much voltage can also cause irratic stereo function. Find out what the battery voltage is when the car is not running and then again when it is running.

oldcutlass

cjsdad

Eric, if the radio works or not is insignificant. The fact that there are other circuits that don't work right as well, is significant! The radio wire in the dash is connected to the ACC circuit of the ignition switch. The turn signals are on the IGN circuit. If they both have problems while the vehicle is running there is a bigger problem than a single rusty fuse. And guessing at it or bypassing the factory dash wiring will not fix it. It may be more than one corroded fuse, it could be the regulator, it could be the ignition switch, it could even be the alternator. Hopefully it is something simple but you need to find out. The wiring in older vehicles is pretty simple compared to new ones but you need to use a volt meter to find out if it is as simple as a rusty fuse connection or something more important.

RandyS

My question would be, where was it hooked up to before you moved it???

BSiegPaint

OK - put a VOM on the yellow power wire and checked the battery - here's what I find: battery by itself is showing 12.51V. When attaching the meter to the yellow radio power wire, it shows 12.2 with the key in the ACC or Run position. When I start the car, the voltage runs up with the speed of the engine, starting at 12.8 and going as high as 14.8. The lights in the car also get brighter with the increase of the revs. This is where my uneducated self was thinking the regulator might be the issue. As an update on the flashers, I took the car out again last evening and they worked fine (with no changes). And for a while last evening the radio worked, but for a while it didn't.

I have checked the fuse connections and from the front they look fine. Solid connections in each slot. Again, the wiring under the hood is all new, but under the dash it's original. Really don't see much in the way of cutting or splicing anywhere other than the clutch safety start switch was bypassed, and the original radio was removed.

BSiegPaint

Randy - wen I got the car it had a crappy non-stock radio in the dash, and it was powered by the yellow radio wire. I swapped in the newer unit and stayed with the connection that was working before, the yellow wire.

RandyS

The lights should not get brighter with revs (like they did back in the day with generators). I'm thinking it's your voltage regulator as well. They make electronic voltage regulators now that are pretty bulletproof and don't cost any more than the older mechanical style.

BSiegPaint

That was my thought as well.... and as mentioned before, too much voltage can cause the stereo issues as well. Easy swap, not much $$. One of the few things under the hood I haven't replaced :/

oldcutlass

The headlights will dim at idle and get brighter with speed. One of the problems, not related to the radio, may be that the battery cable lugs and terminals need to be cleaned. If the old radio worked off the yellow wire then so should the new one. Perhaps a bad splice or terminal crimp. At 12.51 volts the battery is not fully charged. Since the voltage regulator is putting out 12.8-14.8, the regulator is doing what its supposed to considering the state of charge of the battery.

BSiegPaint

I'll have the battery checked as well. I wasn't aware that was a low reading, but I'm seeing that it should read 13.7-ish. The battery has been on a tender, so there is no reason it should be reading low. The battery cables are both brand new.

oldcutlass

Battery should read 12.7ish

BSiegPaint

I took the battery to Autozone and it tested on the low end of Good, so we topped off the water in the cells and I'm back home. I got one of the nice electronic voltage regulators and installed it - oh boy. When idling below 800, everything is fine. When revving the engine a little bit, the GEN light comes on and all the lights pulse bright-brighter-bright-brighter-bright - about twice per second - every light including headlights. And there's a nice low whine that comes out of my speakers. I guess I got the wrong regulator. I've had enough for tonight. I sure appreciate the replies here.

oldcutlass

Something wrong with your new regulator. Did you get a VR715?

BSiegPaint

No stock of those to be had. I got a BWD select voltage regulator R281.

stellar

If you have a capacitor on the regulator, take it off.

BSiegPaint

No capacitor, thanks

BSiegPaint

After reading as many regulator issue threads as I could find, I'm going to start by first checking my grounds - even though the bolts are tight, anything can happen. From there I'm going to take the alternator and the regulator both in to have them tested. One or both may be bad. Third, it seems like I should wait for the delivery of the Wells VR 715 regulator from my local Autozone. Grrr...

BSiegPaint

Thanks everyone for the feedback and info. I had a bad regulator and replaced it with a bad regulator. So I got the recommended VR 715 regulator from Autozone for $22 but was still getting some odd lighting, and the stereo was intermittent. Then I remembered a key item - when I removed the three attaching bolts from the firewall, I noticed they were rusty, and I shot them with a rust converter, not a rust remover. It turned the rust into a paint, and I didn't have a good ground. I put them on a wire wheel for a few seconds and reinstalled - voila! Everything is right as rain. Yes, there is a little surge in the light brightness with engine speed as I expected, but nowhere near what was happening before. And in all of this I found that my alternator is fine, is a 61 amp unit (it's not marked anywhere), and the battery checks out good. At some point later in the summer I'm going to tackle the wiper motor, but I've had enough of electronics for now. Header replacement is next.

cjsdad

Glad you were able to find and fix your issue. I think part of the satisfaction of these older vehicles is just that, finding and repairing small issues like this to keep them on the road.

RandyS

I'm glad you got it figured out. It can be very frustrating finding those little gremlins.

oldcutlass

X3