"Amp" light on a 1965

Hello,

I'm a new owner of a 1965 Riviera. The car had been sitting for a long time, so it's been getting some work done to get it back on the road.

the battery was not very old but totally dead. I charged it and it held for a little while, but died while at the shop. At that point the alternator was not charging. The mechanic ended up figuring that the battery had an internal short. So now I have a new battery, alternator, and regulator. He confirmed the alternator is charging. The only strange thing is that the amp light stays on when the car is running. It goes off when you turn the car off to the center position on the ignition, but comes back on in the left position. Does that seem normal? I was assuming it's the same as an alternator light, and should go off when the car is running... Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! John

Hello,

I'm a new owner of a 1965 Riviera. The car had been sitting for a long time, so it's been getting some work done to get it back on the road.

the battery was not very old but totally dead. I charged it and it held for a little while, but died while at the shop. At that point the alternator was not charging. The mechanic ended up figuring that the battery had an internal short. So now I have a new battery, alternator, and regulator. He confirmed the alternator is charging. The only strange thing is that the amp light stays on when the car is running. It goes off when you turn the car off to the center position on the ignition, but comes back on in the left position. Does that seem normal? I was assuming it's the same as an alternator light, and should go off when the car is running... Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks! John

I just went through this last year on my 65 Riviera. I had my original alternator gone through and had replaced the voltage regulator with a new one just as a precaution using my original

voltage regulator painted cover so it would look original. That's when the hell started.....amp light

coming on in the dash and the regulator would make a buzzing noise. Tried a different alternator, same thing....different regulator....same thing, original regulator....same thing. Keep in mind it was

fine before I started working on it. At that point I knew it had to be a wiring problem, and it turned

out to be corroded female spade connectors on the voltage regulator plug....they were all tarnished and green looking instead of shiny brass. I sprayed WD 40 on the plug and plugged and unplugged the

voltage regulator about twenty times.....problem solved!

This can also be caused by a bad diode in the alternator. The alternator may be a defective rebuild.

This can also be caused by a bad diode in the alternator. The alternator may be a defective rebuild.

Agreed......I thought it was a defective rebuild on my car, that's why I first tried another one. Since the actual problem was a two minute repair, I'd check the voltage regulator plug very carefully and clean the contacts thoroughly before yanking off the alternator.

I just went through this last year on my 65 Riviera. I had my original alternator gone through and had replaced the voltage regulator with a new one just as a precaution using my original

voltage regulator painted cover so it would look original. That's when the hell started.....amp light

coming on in the dash and the regulator would make a buzzing noise. Tried a different alternator, same thing....different regulator....same thing, original regulator....same thing. Keep in mind it was

fine before I started working on it. At that point I knew it had to be a wiring problem, and it turned

out to be corroded female spade connectors on the voltage regulator plug....they were all tarnished and green looking instead of shiny brass. I sprayed WD 40 on the plug and plugged and unplugged the

voltage regulator about twenty times.....problem solved!

This is great advice,

Tom Mooney