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I own a 1975fleetside and have had charging problems for some time now. I have owned the truck for 4yrs now and I periodicaly have to change out the alternator and regulator. The alt is not a problem, cheap(Lifetime warranty), easy to replace. The regulator is even easier to change but costs around $50 locally. It goes through an alt every 4months and regulator once a year. All of the wiring between the two and the truck is intacked and I have even put new ends and wire in places to replace burnt/frayed ends. What is the problem? There are no additional electronics on the truck. Sony cheapo sterio with one speaker. Stock electric fuel pump. It does have aftermarket headlight assemblies. Hella off road series conversion to H4 and H1 bulbs but the truck is not usually driven at night. What to do??????? One wire it? Didn't want to make a mount for the larger alternator on the 1.8l. Had plans to swap a v8 first but this might take priority. Any ideas on a mount, and how to eliminate the regulator setup? I have tried a NEW alt and reg, no diff.

There are lots of suggestions listed in the question about 9 spots down from yours on this site. It is listed as "One wire Delco Alternator".
Check there for pictures showing how to switch to a one wire alternator as well as other suggestions.
Good luck,
scjconv

Thanks

Check your fuse box. When my 77 was only a couple of years old, I started having intermitent electrical problems. i fought them for over 20 years. Finally I discovered it was bad connects where the pieces of the fuse box were riveted. I soldered them together and it runs better now than 25 years ago.

Your regulator my not be getting power from the battery.

I too had a problem with my fusebox. I disassembled it, including removing the rivets with a dremel tool, cleaned it, and riveted it back together. Problem solved. Its posted here somewhere. This issue should be front and center for others because it is not a problem most of us are likely to solve.

As I said, it took me over 20 years to find it.

THANK YOU!!! I have had an intermittant short in my Luv for years, and using your advice about resoldering the fuse box, I found the same problem, just soldered it up and no more problems!!
Thank you so much for sharing with all of us!!
scjconv

If we LUV lovers don't help each other, who will?

So THAT'S my problem! Years and years of dealing with this! I thought it might be the fuse box and have looked for replacement fuse boxes with no luck. We will try the cleaning, soldering and re-attaching the box. Anyone else with this issue??

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1980 Chevy LUV 4X4

I haven't had this issue but I did pull and clean my fuse box one day when I was working on my Luv since I constantly read about it. This is a constant problem out here with these trucks and could definitely be your problem. Of course it could be other issues. Hard to say without knowing exactly what your truck is doing. Good luck and welcome to the site.

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In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

I had worked at cleaning the fuses and holders. I had even moved the fuse box inside the truck. It still stopped dead on me once in a while. I now have a number of years in without that any more.

Thank you! I am getting familiar with the site and will be posting some pix of my little 4x4. I'll be starting a thread in the newbie section...
I see that electrical mysteries are an issue with these trucks. On mine, if it doesn't want to start, or quits at 55 miles an hour, I can get it to run/start by wiggling the fuse box and wires. I have never had a problem with the regulator or alternator. Everything else seems to be fine. I also understand that new fuse boxes don't exist. In that case, what about hitting up a buggy/sandrail/sandcar builder and asking him where he gets his fuse boxes? Maybe a swap can be done with a generic fusebox?

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1980 Chevy LUV 4X4

So would you recommend moving the fusebox inside the truck? Did you also have regulator issues like the OP?

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1980 Chevy LUV 4X4

Both of mine are still under the hood and so is my sons. I plan to slowly get rid of the generator/regulator issues by replacing it with a 1 wire alternator and re-wiring my fuel pump with a crash sensor in it to avoid these potential problems and also bypass all the wiring and relays for the fuel pump. My idea is, "simpler is better".

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In life there is the "Way things should be" and then "There's the way they are".

2005 Silverado 3/4T Crew Cab
1981 Luv 2WD
1979 Luv 4x4 Currently going through Open Heart and Cosmetic surgery
1995 Roughneck JetBoat
1981 Luv parts trk

I never had the regulator problems, just the glowing GEN light and stopping dead.

It might not be too hard to make a fuse box. I think you have 4 inputs, battery, ignition, accessories, and lights. Add branches to the feed wire and connect things with the newer blade type fuses. You could also make something from a junk yard work. Just carefully identify the wires before you start, whatever you do.

Moving the fuse box inside didn't solve the problem. It didn't help enough to be worth while.

I've posted somewhere before, just get on Summit Racing and search for 'summit fuse block,' they have universal units which take spade connectors and some even use the blade type fuses which are better. If you need 12 circuits, get 2 of the 6 circuit boxes. Only need 10, they have one for that. They even come with a cover!

E.G.,

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-900173/

You can also check with your local marine supply stores, they have all different kinds of fuse boxes for boats and they are made for harsh enviroments that's going be be my next step in fixing these problems.

Have you thought of replacing it with a one wire hookup alternator?
No external regulator, lifetime alternator and you are covered... Just a thought, if you do not want, have to keep it stock.

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75 Luv, 350 V8, TH350, Camaro rearend. New 1975 Luv Step side. Stock for now.
Grandmaster of the "Shade Tree" way.. I can't see the yard for all the cars. Come on down and we will sit on the porch and watch the grass grow.

I'm gonna try this, but I'll put the idea out if somebody wants to beat me to it. The Datsun guys already figured this out, namely that there are later Hitachi alternators with the same form factor but are 50 amps and internally regulated. So it should be bolt on for the 76-80 LUVs. and virtually bolt on for early LUVs (because the mounting ears are slightly wider...but you should only have to modify/change the upper mount, not the lower). The unit I am going to try is for a 1983 Nissan Pulsar L4 1.6 motor, at Kragen it's part number 14255. Connect the 'S' terminal to the fuse block (sensing lead senses voltage there to maintain 14.3 Volts on the fuse block, and there should be a wire from the old voltage regulator or alternator going there) and connect the 'L' terminal to the charging light (again, another terminal on the voltage regulator harness). That's exactly how you hook up a 3 wire Delco alternator BTW, which has been covered on here before. More info, check out the Datsun 1200 club, http://datsun1200.com and look at their tech wiki.

If you have bad connections in the fuse box and low voltage to the alternator, you may still have problems.