The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay alternator popping fuses?

Hi chaps I have been having a problem with a fuse blowing and losing my lights/brake lights turn signals. I increased the fuse to a 30a after checking earths etc. I noticed that I got some kind of rattle noise from my alternator and my amp meter went up to full with the noise. Do you think the regulator in my alt is faulty hence blowing fuses. Is this possible. My truck has been converted to 12v with a 70's v8..

Hy UKtruckman, check the alternators actual output voltage. A noisy alternator is usually the sign of a bad bearing. You didn't say what year your truck is, the older trucks with the cloth covered wire quite often have bare spots on the wires where they can short circuit to earth (ground), so a very careful inspection is required, hope that helps.

hi shop shark, my truck is 1950 and the previous owner has sure messed with the wiring. i have started to replace parts of it and found some of the old wiring to be falling apart. the reason i mentioned the alt was the actual rattle sound isn`t there all the time but when it is there my amp guage needle goes up to full amps which made me think that my alt might me intermittantly pushing out to much which might be blowing fuses. i have corrected some loose connections on the front and rear lights and checked the earths.
another thing, both my headlamps have also blown.
i just want to fix this silly problem so i can start enjoying my truck before winter sets in.

thanks

bill.

Just a thought....the noisy altenator may not be the cause but the effect. Like a circuit going to ground, pegging the amp meter and blowing the fuse.
Edit: Another thought...Your ampmeter should not see the short circuit if it's in your wiring harness, other than the wire to the battery. The ampmeter should only see the current going to and from the battery, if I'm correct. Good luck.