Topic: Voltage Regulator - 68

[dave6768]

I have a quandary.  I purchased a Concourse correct voltage regulator (not sure of the vendor, but it was a MartiAutoWork part) and the plug will not stay attached.  It has popped of twice while just driving around.  The picture on the bottom is the VR in question.  The VR on top is an aftermarket solid state unit that I've had on the car several years with no issues.  You can see the difference in the length of the pins.  The pins on the concourse one are just too short.



Now looking at the top.  The one on the right is the concourse correct one.  The one on the left is the aftermarket solid state unit with what I think is the original cover that I bolted in place several years ago.

I'm going to put the aftermarket one back in the car to get some reliability.  I need to contact the vendor with the issues and see it I can get it corrected (or returned.)

My question in all this...had anyone else encountered this problem?

What I'm tempted to do for now is paint the original cover, put a correct decal on it and rivet it to the wrong base.

I went to the aftermarket VR because the lights were pulsing like crazy.  The solid state unit solved the problem.

[midlife]

Have you tried bending the pins relative to one another, such that one pin applies forces upwards on the connector and another pin applies a downward force?  You'll have to be careful applying the connector if you do this, but it should keep the connector on.

To me, the pin leads look the same.

[dave6768]

I thought about bending the alternate pins but have not tried it yet.  It's barely hanging on now.  With bent pins I believe it would only be marginally better.

The aftermarket pins in the upper pictures are longer and do fully engage the plug.

For the life of me I cannot find the original base I took off the car several years ago. 

[jwc66k]

This is a common problem with that type of terminal called a push-on. The problem is in the cable connector where the female part has widened providing poor retention. Each female terminal is shaped so the sides curl in and down to grip the male blade, but over time, loosen. It is also possible the male blades are thinner on the replacement regulator, same effect and same solution. The fix is to carefully squeeze the female's curled ends a bit tighter. The difficult part is getting a tool inside the connector housing to squeeze them down. Sometimes the contact in the housing can be slid out, there are usually a couple of retainer pins on the side of the wire crimp that can be retracted, and then the contact can be squeezed tighter. I use either a pair of diagonal cutters or a pair of vice grips to get better grip/contact. If you use the cutters, be careful.
Jim

[midlife]

This is a common problem with that type of terminal called a push-on. The problem is in the cable connector where the female part has widened providing poor retention. Each female terminal is shaped so the sides curl in and down to grip the male blade, but over time, loosen. It is also possible the male blades are thinner on the replacement regulator, same effect and same solution. The fix is to carefully squeeze the female's curled ends a bit tighter. The difficult part is getting a tool inside the connector housing to squeeze them down. Sometimes the contact in the housing can be slid out, there are usually a couple of retainer pins on the side of the wire crimp that can be retracted, and then the contact can be squeezed tighter. I use either a pair of diagonal cutters or a pair of vice grips to get better grip/contact. If you use the cutters, be careful.
Jim

It's easy to remove the female terminals.  Slip a very small flat-head screwdriver down the small slot opposite of the curls when bends the retaining pin.  Then slip the terminal out and do as jwc66k (except the diagonal cutters part *G*).  Use the same screwdrivfer to re-bend the retaining pin and insert terminal back in.

Some VR connectors have a molded backshell, in which case you're screwed. 

[J_Speegle]

My question in all this...had anyone else encountered this problem?

Have used originals for decades never a problem with the regular tabs. Pulsing at low rpms is pretty typical even on the original cars. What is the idle rpm set out or are they set to factory recommendations?

What I'm tempted to do for now is paint the original cover, put a correct decal on it and rivet it to the wrong base.

Of course it will not look like the original (decal and lack of the bottom bar)  - there is no "Correct" decal    it was stamped/silk screened 

Prepainted ones are available in reproduction form - or at least they were

[dave6768]

Have used originals for decades never a problem with the regular tabs. Pulsing at low rpms is pretty typical even on the original cars. What is the idle rpm set out or are they set to factory recommendations?

Of course it will not look like the original (decal and lack of the bottom bar)  - there is no "Correct" decal    it was stamped/silk screened 

Prepainted ones are available in reproduction form - or at least they were

I don't know the idle speed off hand, but I'm sure it's high enough.
I ended up polishing my original cover and riveting it onto the solid state base for now.  At least I can drive it with confidence.  There's something nice about having an original part on the car.

I will look to see if I can bend the female tabs.