63 Alt. issue

[Robert B.]

Stumped! Alt. on my 63 327 gets hot when just sitting turned off Alt. is new and Voltage Regulator. Where to look for issue?

[Jim D.]

Re: 63 Alt. issue

If it's getting hot when everything is off, it's drawing power to create that heat which means it will eventually kill your battery. My SWAG is that 1 or more of the diodes in the alternator is bad. The fact that it's new means nothing.

[Richard M.]

Re: 63 Alt. issue

I had the exact same problem with our 63 when we got it. Battery would go dead overnight. One day while diagnosing, I leaned on the alternator and it was warm. Resulting fault was a defective solid state regulator that was in the car when we got it. I opened it up and it was internally shorted. This must have kept the field coils energized, thus killing the battery. The alternator was fine.

What regulator are you using? Open it up and look for stuck contacts if the original type, or fried circuits if SS type.