I overhauled an alternator for my project car, and it didn’t work. I may have damaged the regulator by installing it wrong? In the spirit of saving some money (and not destroying another expensive solid state unit), I decided to try an external regulator. I soldered a wire to the leg of the regulator that fed the field. I ran it out the enclosure, and re-installed the alternator. With the engine running, I energized the field by touching the wire to the alternator post. The alternator immediately started charging, proving that everything was ok except the regulator.
I wired up a Ford voltage regulator (diagram post later) and it seems to work.
Here's where to energize the field
Just need to clean the regulator up and give it a permanent mount.
I did clean and paint the regulator, and mounted it for long-term use. It works fine, no reason to mess with it!
When I replaced the transaxle, I got in a hurry putting it all back together.
I left the power lead loose on the alternator, and the main ground strap loose between the engine and the chassis. Everything worked, except the intensity of all the lights varied a lot. For a couple of weeks.
Then the alternator stopped charging.
All the diodes were fried.
I found a great place in West LA that rebuilds alternators and all kinds of motors.
Allen Alternator Company. Recommended.
Oh, yes: Allen put in a new regulator, so the external regulator is no longer needed. Yay!