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Help on charging system please

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I

ichthos

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I apologize in advance if I am re-asking some of my questions for my stock bugeye. I am still working out the bugs on my bugeye as I drive it more and more. My current problem involves the charging system. The battery is new and will easily hold a strong charge even when sitting for two weeks. The starter is NOS and was checked out by a local shop. I have been driving a lot over the last few days and have had the lights on the whole time. I noticed that on the third day,the battery had run down enough where it was difficult to start. I am suspicious of the voltage regulator, but how do I tell if it is working correctly? Is this just a matter of adjusting the voltage regulator? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Kevin
 
There is a standard, easy procedure for checking the regulator's adjustment that is listed in the shop manual and in the Haynes manual.

It may be just fine, though. These old-fashioned regulators actually don't work very well, especially with our cars, which might use modern headlights, that use more current than the original, or have other additions that use more power. My car never kept the battery very well charged, even though the regulator passed all the standard tests. In fact, I installed an ammeter, and noticed that the charging system could not keep up with the electrical demand when the headlights were on. I did have an electronic ignition and fuel pump, so maybe it might just barely have kept up without those--but probably not.

I just kept a good-quality, intelligent charger around and recharged the battery with the charger occasionally.
 
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