40 amp circuit breaker?

Nutty, Yes that is my engine. I cannot take credit for the appearance, though. Previous owner rebuilt and painted. I'm all for the diagram and upgrade. I just know very little about electrical systems (though I've learned a lot while trouble shooting this problem).

JEFF, the ammeter does show discharge when the engine is off and key is on.
The wire from ing. to solenoid does not seem to be battery power and is hooked to the small post.
My wiring appears to be the same as the diagram other than where the ammeter is placed and the breaker.
I have not yet replaced breaker, though I did get one. Today I am putting in a freshly charged battery and see what that does. If it does not help, I'll finally install the new breaker.

Fresh breaker seems to have solved it. I put in freshly charged battery and had a hard time getting it running. One running with old breaker, it went up to 20 amps at 2000 rpms and stayed there. After I replaced the breaker, It initially went up to 20 amps and then came right down to below 10 and I could not get it back above 10 . I guess that this settles it?
Thanks, fellows. I learned a bunch from you guys and now have a lot more confidence in trouble shooting electrical probs. This is why I did not take into a shop. They would have just fixed it and I would have learned nothing.
I hope that I can return the favor some time. Obviously, it won't be in the form of engine repair advice
Chris

     112, glad to see the breaker cured it. I was wondering if you changed it and couldnt figure out why 20 amps would heat it up. Troubleshooting these things can get a bit stressfull and was amazed by your persistance and patients.
     8122, I have seen quite a few schematics/wiring diagrams that have errors. I think the error is when they tried to mix volt and ammeter wiring methods on the same diagram. Id be more than happy to explain anything you have questions on or uncertain about. Its hard to put this stuff into words. Anyone going to the New England reunion?? It would be cool to sketch some crazy ideas on paper with your next beer as a paper weight.
     6Strings, I agree with you on learning. Would be nice to utilize the "extra" wires since converting the alternator and using them to your advantage without ripping it out.
     Cool post guys!!
     

                                   Jeff...

nuttyskier2002 wrote: 6strings wrote: Nutty, I would definetly be interested in the wiring diagram you mentioned. My 76 has had the one wire alternator change over but all the old wires and regulator are still in place with clipped wires. I'd like to go through it all and remove the old wire remnents and make sure the rest is up to date, including a main breaker. I'd also like to clean up my dash wiring since replacing the ammeter with voltmeter. It sounds as if I can eliminate a couple of wires that are still in place. Thanks everyone for all the knowledge sharing!

I'm going to try to post this wiring diagram on this site. If this doesn't work I can fax it to anyone here who is interested.

6, the image size is too large to upload. I'll fax it too you and see if that works. Maybe someone else on here can give me some help sending this out to all who want it. Also, give me your e-mail address and I'll try to send it that way as well. Brian