Starting and Charging problems

[sfapsey]

I have been put in charge of sorting out a Unique 289 Cobra my father purchased a few years ago.

The initial problem started with the starter not turning over the car when it was hot. My father replaced the starter motor, selenoid and also wrapped the starter with insulation. None of this fixed the problem. He then determined the charging system was not working and replaced the alternator since he thought the battery voltage was dropping while he drove and that was why it would not start. Still the charging system did not work. He checked the voltage regulator and the terminals were burnt up. He purchased a Select voltage regulator from an O'riely autopart store and has not been able to work on the car because of health reasons.

Now I am in the picture. The Select voltage regulator has the same connection lables as the older voltage regulator so I wired it in the same way. I started the car but the charging system still does not seem to work. I put a meter on the battery and the battery voltage goes down a couple of tenths of volts when the engine is running(12.2 VDC). At this point I am not sure where to start trouble shooting the car as I have no idea of where the wires going to the voltage regulator go. The Alternator my father purchased was a reconditioned alternator, should I have it checked?

Questions I have.

1-Do the alternators on these cars autput an AC or DC volatage?
2-Anybody know what the terminals from the Voltage regulator go? There is an F,I, and B connections.
3-Is there a specific regulator for these cars? The only documentation I found in the Select voltage regulator was that it was for a Ford engine.
4-How can I check the voltage regulator is working.

Any help anyone can provide would be appreciated as I would like to sort these problems for him so he can drive the car when he heals up.

sfapsey

[scott h]

try lightly tapping the alternator with a hammer or mallet with the car running. when i first got my car running it would not charge. my mechanic gave the alternator a light tap and viola its charging. also slow cranking when hot could be a grounding issue, i have 3 grounds now- battery to frame, battery to starter mount and a strap from the starter mount to the frame, no more slow cranking!

[arrowdriver]

If your system voltage measured at the battery is only 12.2 then your charging system is not working right as it should be at least 13.5 to 14 volts when running. I expect you can pull the alternator off the car and take it to a local auto electric shop to get it tested. Take along the regulator you have and they can test the pair and hopefully will also tell you how to wire it up. To check your starter to see if it is just the low battery charge try fully charging the battery with a plug in charger and see if this makes a difference. If not, then check the battery to see if it is shot, this also can be done out of the car by a competent shop or perhaps just substitute a know good one to compare how it cranks.

Might as well get this all sorted out now as having a car sitting with a dead electrical system somewhere along the road will not likely be much fun.