Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

[John L.]

I just saw the advertisement in the recent Driveline issue, placed by Bill Caldwell Corvette LLC, discussing the service he provides of having '63-'68 voltage regulators rebuilt with new "state-of-the-art electronics for enhanced performance.

I would like to hear from anyone who has utilized this service and your level of satisfaction with this service?

Thanks for the reply

[Jack H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

You can do it yourself! SS V-Regs compatible with '515 are an off-the-shelf item from JC Whitney. Last time I checked they were a whooping $10 item. Transplant the guts...

BTW, such a critter probably won't pass the scrutiny of a savvy PV judge... They react SO FAST to changing electrical loads that a trained eye can readily determine the difference between a real McCoy electro-mechanical V-Reg and a SS critter.

[Steve H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Any idea of what part number? I checked the JC Whitney web site and came up empty.

Steve

[Jack H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Hum, looks like they don't list it anymore. Probably low demand for older car parts...

Well, fire up your Google search engine for a Tru-Tech VR103T and you should find more than one supplier source in the $10 range. Also, the AirTex V715 is close in price with a smaller silhouette.

[Michael J.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

BTW, such a critter probably won't pass the scrutiny of a savvy PV judge... They react SO FAST to changing electrical loads that a trained eye can readily determine the difference between a real McCoy electro-mechanical V-Reg and a SS critter.

True, when I replaced my SS VR with an NOS 515, I could easily notice the difference on the voltmeter. I wonder if this applies to flight judging as well? You could get some deducts for a SS VR.

[Jack H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Probably not... The operations check portion of Flight judging is supposed to be a less stringent technical check of the car in comparison to that done during Performance Verification.

Typically, things like hot/cold engine idle RPM are checked for exact numeric value under PV scrutiny while the Operations Check is to simply confirm the engine/carb exhibits grossly a cold engine idle RPM boost compared to that of the warmed up engine.

But, you never can tell what a given NCRS judge will 'catch' during an Ops Check and rule on. As you confirm, there IS a noticeable response delay to changing electrical loads on the electro-mechanical V-regs vs. an almost instantaneous response from the solid-state regulator.

Personally, if I were the judge doing the ops check during Flight, my reaction would be to pass the car but make a notation to the effect the owner might want to consider changing the regulator if he/she intends to PV the car...

[John L.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Jack, I do not plan to PV the car so a change to solid state controls in the VR is not an issue. I do drive the car frequently, and so, when I can up grade areas for enhanced/improved performace, I look to do it.

With that said, is there downside to converting a VR to solid state controls and what is the primary upside, a more accurate gauge reading?

[Joe L.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Jack, I do not plan to PV the car so a change to solid state controls in the VR is not an issue. I do drive the car frequently, and so, when I can up grade areas for enhanced/improved performace, I look to do it.

With that said, is there downside to converting a VR to solid state controls and what is the primary upside, a more accurate gauge reading?

John------

All 1969 and later Corvettes used a solid state voltage regulator that was internal to the alternator. These work perfectly and I have found them to be ultra-reliable. If I had a pre-69 Corvette with electro-mechanical voltage regulator, I'd change the guts of the regulator to solid state without thinking twice.

[Jack H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Other than the loss of factory authenticity of the original electro-mechanical regulator, there is no downside.

As others have said, that was the direction GM took for '69 and later Corvettes (build a SS regulator into the alternator and eliminate the discrete external 'box' with its interconnecting wires).

The SS V-reg won't make your ammeter/battery guage any more accurate though. That gauge is what it is...an el cheapo voltage meter looking at two different places in the car's electrical harness where the resistance between those points is controlled/known.

The upside benefits are, there are no moving parts to wear out and it reacts FAST to a dynamic load situation.

The only potential pitfall I can see is if you decide to 'gut' one of the after market SS regulators and 'stuff' it inside a bona fide Delco '515 regulator case. Then, you need to know what you're doing and make sure you don't actually short circuit or open circuit some part of the SS regulator module during your transplant!

[John H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

The Wells VR715 solid-state regulator is ten bucks at AutoZone, and it accepts the Delco-Remy cover; plugs right in, no modifications required, but doesn't have the correct number and date stamped on the base.

[Kurt B.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

John,

I just went on line to find the Wells VR715 at Autozone here in Massachusetts and found it but it said "Exc. 62Amp Alternator"
I have A/C in my 68; how critical is this difference?
I believe the cars with A/C have the 62 Amp alternator and since my alternator was rebuilt by John Pirkle, I don't want to risk damaging it.

I wanted to just swap out my existing Voltage Regulator with this solid state version to do a test to see if my bouncing amp gauge needle is caused by the voltage regulator.
Will I do damage, if I install it but just don't use the A/C.
They now list it as a Duralast part # VR715 and the price has doubled to $21.00 but it would still be chaper than using my Pirkle restored VR for the test.

Your thoughts please?
Thanks,
Kurt

[Jack H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Interesting (they warn against 62A & higher system use)... Most of the SS V-reg modules are rather omnibus, designed to run the gammut of up to 100A applications.

If your battery is nicely charged and you don't run high current drain circuits (heater, A/C, headlights, Etc.), your system won't traffic current anywhere near the alternator's max output rating. For a quickie test, you won't hurt anything.

But, shop the alternative SS v-regs (several have been mentioned in this thread) to see if there's one that's rated for your car's peak load...

Also, just because a given alternator is stamped XX Amps on the case, doesn't mean that that is its current configuration. A number of rebuilders use 'omnibus' internal parts (rotor/field) to get their parts volume purchase discounts maxed out AND to create a more 'universal' (one fits all) rebuilt alternator product.

Of course, if that's been done, the only way you can detect/determine, is to run the alternator on a test/exercise machine and observe its actual max current output...

[Dick W.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

Interesting (they warn against 62A & higher system use)... Most of the SS V-reg modules are rather omnibus, designed to run the gammut of up to 100A applications.

If your battery is nicely charged and you don't run high current drain circuits (heater, A/C, headlights, Etc.), your system won't traffic current anywhere near the alternator's max output rating. For a quickie test, you won't hurt anything.

But, shop the alternative SS v-regs (several have been mentioned in this thread) to see if there's one that's rated for your car's peak load...

Also, just because a given alternator is stamped XX Amps on the case, doesn't mean that that is its current configuration. A number of rebuilders use 'omnibus' internal parts (rotor/field) to get their parts volume purchase discounts maxed out AND to create a more 'universal' (one fits all) rebuilt alternator product.

Of course, if that's been done, the only way you can detect/determine, is to run the alternator on a test/exercise machine and observe its actual max current output...

I can guarantee that if Pirkle did the alternator, and it is rated 62 amps, it will put out 62 amps.

[Jack H.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

I don't consider Pirkle to be a volume rebuilder (on the order of NAPA/Eschelin). John does 'botique' work in the overall scheme of things.

But, we can 'find' alternators for our cars from many sources; including scrap yards and mass merchandizers of recycled/rebuilt parts. Hence, my educational comment to the effect of not being able to universally trust a given alternator's output profile to be that which is stamped on the case...

[Joe L.]

Re: Voltage Regulator Rebuild - Solid State Controls

John,

I just went on line to find the Wells VR715 at Autozone here in Massachusetts and found it but it said "Exc. 62Amp Alternator"
I have A/C in my 68; how critical is this difference?
I believe the cars with A/C have the 62 Amp alternator and since my alternator was rebuilt by John Pirkle, I don't want to risk damaging it.

I wanted to just swap out my existing Voltage Regulator with this solid state version to do a test to see if my bouncing amp gauge needle is caused by the voltage regulator.
Will I do damage, if I install it but just don't use the A/C.
They now list it as a Duralast part # VR715 and the price has doubled to $21.00 but it would still be chaper than using my Pirkle restored VR for the test.

Your thoughts please?
Thanks,
Kurt

Kurt------

I believe this is one of those "foibles" that has gotten into various parts catalogs. First of all, NO Corvette for the 1968 model year used a 62 amp alternator. Some did use a 61 amp, though, including those with C-60. So, isn't that the alternator that they're really talking about when they say "62 amp"? I don't think so. I believe the 62 amp alternator they're talking about was a completely different "animal". I believe that 62 amp alternator was a one-year-only piece that was not only not used on Corvettes, I don't think it was used on ANY Chevrolet product.

So, what was it? It was a one-year-only INTERNAL REGULATOR type alternator and was a predecessor to the 1969 and later SI series alternators. However, it was not an SI-series alternator. I've never actually seen one of these but I have seen pictures of them and know they existed. I don't know what applications they were used on and I don't know what the part number(s) were. One thing I am certain about, though, is that they were NEVER used on a 1968 Corvette.

These alternators appear sort of like an SI series, but the rear of the split ring end case half is COMPLETELY different. You'd never mistake a 63-67 DN series alternator or a 69+ SI series alternator for one of these.

By the way, I think the reason that the catalog says "except 62 amp alternator" is because these alternators did not use an external voltage regulator. Therefore, the solid state external regulator conversion module is not applicable to them.