[AllanC]

I went back and looked and you are correct there is no shown link, however I KNOW I typed it in. Anyways I will post it again here. MadElectrical.com - Mad Enterprises (at http://www.madelectrical.com/ ). click on the "Electrical Tech" section. . . . .

This was a good article as it explained the pitfalls with running all electrical power for lights, accessories, heater, A C, etc through the amp meter. Weak spot was definitely the firewall connector as the images illustrated overheated and melted wiring connectors. So you did the right thing and eliminated that "fire source" and frustration.

I believe there are services that can convert a Chrysler amp meter into a volt meter and it will reside in the same opening in the instrument panel. You will maintain an original look and have a more modern gauge for monitoring the electrical system.

. . . I had to run a wire to ground the alternator so I just grounded both the alternator and the regulator to the body at the same place (although the voltage regulator has two other tabs that also act as a ground for the voltage regulator). I also used new star washers on each of the voltage regulator tabs to ensure a good ground. . . . .

This comment is interesting. Did you have to use a connecting ground wire between alternator and voltage regulator to get the system to charge the battery? You could have run a ground wire from the voltage regulator to the negative terminal at the battery to accomplish the same goal.

As you do your continuity checks follow the positive battery cable to the terminal on the starter solenoid. Do you have exhaust headers on the engine? Is the positive battery cable and terminal on the starter too close to the headers???? Sometimes the close proximity can cause electrical problems.

Disconnect the battery cable at the starter solenoid. Do a continuity check between the solenoid battery terminal and starter case. There should be no continuity.

Just follow all the wiring that you replaced and / or reinstalled and check any short, small, identifiable segments. If you have a short to ground it will be easier to identify and isolate.

 

[CudaPete]

in the article there are three schematics shown.
The first schematic shows the original wiring with a one field alternator. It shows the field wire from the alternator going to the mechanical voltage regulator
The second schematic shows the system with an up-graded two field alternator.one field wire (green) going to the new electronic voltage regulator ...BUT it shows the other field wire grounded to the mounting tab on the voltage regulator... this is not correct is it? Shouldn't the second field wire from the new alternator go to the mounting plug on the new electronic voltage regulator?

Yes, this how I have my dual field alternator wiring set-up and it works fine.

 

[Terry Richards]

I just got in the house
I was in the garage most of the day working on the car then we went to a friends. The short was not at the starter, I keep getting continuity between any ground and several different places. Pulled my bulkhead connectors with everything pretty much disconnected I am getting continuity between any ground and locations m and n at the bottom of the middle connector. After all my upgraded new wires were disconnected, I pulled ignition switch, wiper switch, neutral safety switch, four way flasher, directional signal flasher, checked all fuses. NOW, I have no continuity between ground and my main wires coming from the old connection at the ammeter, but there is barley anything hooked up anymore ... LOL. I volunteered to do some charity work tomorrow starting at 6:30, so I have to get up around 5:00am. If I feel up to it I will continue with this car tomorrow. It was hot in that garage all day today 93 degrees, and I will be out in the sun all day tomorrow gonna be tired. I will post a pick of my voltage regulator ground tomorrow. There are no problems in that area.

 

[AllanC]

. . . . After all my upgraded new wires were disconnected, I pulled ignition switch, wiper switch, neutral safety switch, four way flasher, directional signal flasher, checked all fuses. NOW, I have no continuity between ground and my main wires coming from the old connection at the ammeter, but there is barley anything hooked up anymore . . . ..

Obviously one component or wire or device you added is causing a short / current drain to ground. So methodically add back 1 component at a time and then thoroughly test for a short to ground. When you add the culprit you will definitely know it. Tedious but don't let frustration overwhelm.

 

[Terry Richards]

Adding one back at a time right now is the plan. BUT ... what is doing right now is what started this whole process. First, I bougjt this car for my wife to drie to cruise-ins with me over a year ago. She has never driven it, so it has sat mostly for over a year with only occasional driving by me. The guy I bought it from has a rats nest of wiring up under the dash. It has a 360 Magnum engine that had been modified. It does not create enougj vacuum for the power brakes so it had a low dollar noisy vacuum pump mounted under the nattery box, well it ran most of the time and finally failed. I installed a new Masterpower vacuum pump per instructions, on first start up, my lights started flickering so I just assumed the pump was drawing to much amperage. Without checking to be sure, I bought a new 105 two field alternator and switched to an electronic voltage regulator. After all work was completed it is doing the same thing as it was doing before this operation started. I have already started tearing out his rats nest of wires to his mounted stereo, under dash gages. You would have to see the wiring mess to understand. Installing both of these simple items should have been simple, for example one wire for power to the radio has three splices in it, all a different color and wound up and over and back again ... well that is just one wire so you get the idea. It is a beautiful car, but when I got the car the stereo did not work, that was the first thing I went to fix. I found out why it did not work ... it was a simple fix ... He had the stereo ground wire screwed to a piece of black plastic light cover that he also added. Switch the wire to a proper ground and voila stereo works. My friends and I got a good chuckle out of that. I have no room to talk, he like I, was was good at mechanical stuff but not strong on electrical issues, well I consider myself to be a little better at common sense electrical issues like proper grounding. I am taking a break at my volunteering work sitting in my air-condition Tahoe, but later today I will send you some pics.

 

[Terry Richards]

OK ... I believe I have found the problem or at least the circuit where the problem exists. It is in the circuit for the interior lights that trigger through the switches that turns the interior lights on and off when you open and close the door. Now to find what is causing the short. I have a continuity test set up on the wires that are my disconnected wires from the ammeter and rerun with new 10 gauge wires to a distribution point on the outside of the bulkhead. I have one test lead on ground and one test lead on what if the battery was connected would be the HOT wires that provide power to the inside dash and other components (stereo, tach, gauge pod). As hooked up and with the door open, the continuity test is sounding a connection between the hot leads and ground. With the door open if I push the switch in simulating a closed door the continuity is broken. I am sure you can imagine what I am saying but I will try and post a video as well. NOW to find what is causing the shorted circuit, test it again, clean up the wiring, put my dash back together, put the seats back in. Since I bought the car I have had a slight problem with the battey but I just assumed it was an old battery and it needed replacement. But since my wife did not want to bother with the car until we got the air-conditioning fixed in the car, (the previous owner removed most of the components). Nope it won't let me upload the video says it is to large.

 

[Terry Richards]

LOL ... reading some of my earlier comments ... my apologies for the typos. Now I am the computer but most of my earlier comments were typed in on the phone.

 

[dana44]

I had this issue with an 82 Ramcharger (which was lean burn that didn't work) and the two wire vs. the one wire field alternator. The one wire does go to the voltage regulator, the second wire goes through all the sensors on the intake manifold and the lean burn, and if you trace the wiring all over hell and back, it attaches to the positive side of the coil. If it isn't hooked up to that location, the alternator will not excite and charge. I think the two wire alternator was only used a couple years.

 

[AllanC]

. . . It is in the circuit for the interior lights that trigger through the switches that turns the interior lights on and off when you open and close the door. Now to find what is causing the short. I have a continuity test set up on the wires that are my disconnected wires from the ammeter and rerun with new 10 gauge wires to a distribution point on the outside of the bulkhead. I have one test lead on ground and one test lead on what if the battery was connected would be the HOT wires that provide power to the inside dash and other components (stereo, tach, gauge pod). As hooked up and with the door open, the continuity test is sounding a connection between the hot leads and ground. . . . .

All contributors on this forum are always willing to help in any way that we can. But it is extremely difficult to visualize this ENHANCED wiring mess you have with this vehicle and offer a scenario for a remedy

Go to this reference I posted on June 21, 2018 and retrieve the wiring diagram for 68 Dart A.

Mopar 1966 - 1971 MyMopar - Mopar Forums & Information - Mopar Wiring Diagrams 1966 to 1971 (at http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=27 )

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/1968/68DartA.jpg

Look for the wiring for the door jamb switches that control the interior lights. From the wiring schematic the door plunger switch when extended completes the circuit to ground. So that seems to be the way the system works.