Last year I recall a discussion about modifying an original voltage regulator to electronic. I have not had any success in getting my original unit to work properly, so I performed a variation of the conversion I read about on CRG.
My goal was to retain the stock look of the regulator which meant retaining the resistors on the back side of the original unit. The resistors can be seen when the unit is mounted on the core support. The electronic regulators work great and are trouble-free but I wanted to retain my original date coded regulator body.
The conversion worked well, yielding proper voltage; however, the resistor between terminal “F” and “4” gets hot, even when the car is off (indicating current flow). I realize that the electronic unit no longer needs the resistors on the back side of the unit. I would like to discretely isolate the resistor.
Question:
Can I do this by simply cutting a small slot(s) in one or both of the metal connector tabs to break the current flow thru it? See the red lines in the picture of the back side of the regulator.
The conversion process:
1.) Remove the guts from the original regulator. DO NOT REMOVE ANY RIVITS OR STUDS THAT RETAIN THE METAL TEMINAL CONNECTORS ON THE BOTTOM SIDE OF THE REGULATOR. Instead, cut the stem off any stud and grind the heads of the remaining studs and/or rivets down to within about 1/16" of the base.
2.) On the new electronic regulator, drill out the rivets to remove the circuit board. Use caution not to remove electric contact rings or eyelets of material under the rivet on the circuit board. These eyelets are what make the electrical contact to the circuit board.
3.) Clean the heads of the ground off rivets. Line up the (4) eyelets in the circuit board with the rivet heads on the regulator. Apply generous drops of solder in each eyelet to secure the circuit board to the rivet heads. See pic.
4.) Add a ground lead similar to the lead on the electronic unit, to the rivet on head toward the rear. See attached pictures.
PS: I cannot yet attest to the durability of this conversion but will keep you posted. If you attempt this conversion, and drive your car, keep a spare electronic regulator tucked away in your car – just in case!
