my '66 in the past week has decided it doesn't want to charge it's battery any more, the end result being I got stuck at work pushing the silly thing around the parking lot until it fired up.
I think I have the culprit identified, but was hoping for some verification from more experienced souls. Tests I have done:
Voltage when I put my meter between the battery posts is a dismal 9 volts. When I get the engine started up it may rise a volt or so.
I checked the brushes on the alternator and they're getting kind of worn but seem to still have good contact. The way I understand it though, if it were definetly the brushes I would have had a "warning" period where the red idiot light would flicker, which I haven't been seeing. Occasionally the red light pops on when I got the headlights on and I'm idling at a stop light, but that's it. It goes away as soon as I tap the gas.
Revving the engine with my voltmeter attached, voltage doesn't change at all. That says the alternator isn't working, and the car is using the batter to stay running, right?
However, I disconnected the battery from the car while it was running and it didn't stall. That means the alternator is working, it's just not charging? Bad regulator?
The car is a '66, 12v. It has an internally regulated alternator.