Frankie the Fink

If its not being judged put a Wells VR-715 solid state regulator in it and be done with the whole thing. About $28 at your local FLAPS...

cardo0

Wow how special can those contacts be? Standard practice for relay contacts in the power industry is clean when needed with a "burnishing tool". I guess what i'm saying is i dont take what that service manual says is gospel. I think it referring to somewhat higher abrasives that would leave a rough enough surface to create risers that promote arching but who knows. If u dont feel comfortable using a contact burnishing tool then buy a new relay/regulator.

Dave Cunningham

Thanks for your suggestions, I doubt I will have any more problems, I think that when the regulator was manufactured they just didn't gap it properly, but if the problem shows up again I will know where to look right away. I like the looks of that Delco Remy reg that I paid way too much money for, sure hope it was made in the US!

Frankie the Fink

Well if your original style works so much the better - the repros are pretty bad and most (all?) aren't adjustable like the originals. Time will tell - just keep an eye on it.

cardo0

Thx, had me wondering what was really in the car. Gens w/separate regs before my time - though i could have looked it up.

SWCDuke

Never, ever use any kind of abrasive to clean electrical contacts. The grit is non-conductive. There is such a thing as a "point file", but I've found that a typical fingernail file does a decent job with light strokes.

Duke

cardo0

Yes and they make a tool for this called a "contact burnishing tool" as i mentioned in my previous post #18. Why would you use a fingernail file when they make dedicated tools for this and the service manual states precautions for using abrasives? That or a "points file"?