atomarc,
yeah it threw the solder. all three times. i'm inclined to think it's the regulator too but i've had two different ones on the truck and both of them fried the armature. "motoring" it appears to be the problem but it must happen fast. yesterday it worked for most of the day and then "bam!" no charge.
now i don't know if the needle on the ammeter pegged when this happened but i didn't notice any surge.
springs on the brushes are good and hold the new brushes nicely in contact with the commutator surface.
baldy,
the ammeter ran just the way it was supposed to. at idle it would float just under 0 and then as the engine would rev up the charge would climb a little and then level off. honestly in the last month it's probably the best the charging system has worked since i've owned the truck...well until last night.
can have a new armature wound up in about a week for $50.00 or have my old one rewound in two weeks for about $90.00. have a contact here that may have another old one sitting on a shelf that i could try.
any other thoughts?
