He says the gauge pegs before he even starts the engine. So that would eliminate the regulator and the alternator both. I think there is something wrong with the gauge.
As you will see in the video, the gauge reads normal, until the engine is started. It does jump around when the GP relay starts clicking. But it would stay in the normal range if I waited until the relay stopped clicking.
It then jumps to the top after the engine starts.
Personally, i think this gremlin is in the instrument cluster...either the series current resistor to the voltage gauge, or a sneak current path around that resistor.
I probably botched my posting...I still haven't mastered this phone and my fat fingers.
The wires you see clipped to the meter go to a power supply set for 14 volts.
You can remove the meter assembly once you remove the clear plastic faceplate. It's held in place by seven T15 torx screws. Then remove the black bezel...it was held in place by the faceplate. The meter assembly was held in place by the electrical connector pins on the back.
See if your meter is still lying to you on the bench. There was no series resistor on my voltmeter.
I do think it is in the alternator/regulator.
I'll know more by the end of the day.
For one, I am going to clean up the connections between the alternator and battery, and the alternator and voltage regulator and see if that makes any difference.
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The volt guage is a side effect, because that go gp controller draws so much amperage when its heating. As all heaters do. You have a bad glow or 2. Hook a test light to positive battery terminal and touch the top of glow plugs with light. If it doesn't light up its bad.
I have all new glow plugs. At some point, though, I am going to replace the entire harness with one that Chillman88 sent me. Going to wire that directly to a starter solenoid, instead, and use a momentary toggle for the switch. This is to test the GPs, with the standard relay stuff all out of the way.
Now, for some test results...
With the batteries fully charged... (They started the engine, no problem.)
Negative cables off. From one negative terminal to the other... .04v
Battery voltage:
12.92 volts, not running. (This changed to 13.35 volts, not running... After the engine had been run for about 5 to 10 minutes.)
15.61 volts, running.
Still to do, today.
Try starting with just one battery. Then with just the other battery. I'm thinking it will be the same for both, but worth doing, just because.
Clean up all the connections between the alt and anything else... Including the alt ground.
Any other suggestions?
I think I'll also try to get some pics worth looking at... Of the alternator, and regulator.
Then go get pics of the alt in my other truck. I think that one is an upgrade. The kid said something about an alternator from a Cadillac or something, and no regulator in the system.
What I am going to want/need, is recommendations on whether to swap that setup into here. And what I am going to have to do about the wiring system in here, to get that done without messing anything else up.