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Hello from Napa! Help with my charging system.

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Stepgirl38

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Hello. I’m new here, and looking for some help with my 1991 Dodge D250. I’ve read lots of threads, but I’m not sure EXACTLY what my problem is, so don’t know what I should be looking for. Also, please be gentle with me. I’m not a mechanic like all of you. Just trying to trouble shoot before I have to take my truck to a shop.
My truck had a new alternator installed in 2017. A cheap one. Truck ran fine until a week ago. It progressively had trouble starting, and then just wouldn’t start. I had a jump to get home. Determined the alternator wasn’t charging, so I replaced the alternator AND the battery (which was about 10 years old), and the alternator STILL isn’t charging the battery.
We checked that the positive post of the new alternator shows battery voltage when the key is off, so the positive connection between the alternator and battery is good. That’s where I’m at.
Voltage regulator, fusible link, etc etc is confusing, and I’m hoping someone can give me an idea where to start. Thank you so much for any help.
 
Is this gas or diesel?
Gas engine had the regulator in the computer that year, diesel models still had the same regulator like dodges of the 70s had. For the ones regulated via the computer that was a particularly bad year for computers going bad especially the part within that controlled what you are having trouble with.
 
It’s a 5.9 Cummins diesel. So I should be looking at the voltage regulator first? Is this it?

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Google Mopar alternator full field test, this should help you test the alternator on the truck
 
Is THIS it? I put a new alternator and a new battery in it, and the alternator is not charging the battery. I’m trying to figure out what else could be wrong. Step by step. I’m trying to figure out the next most likely reason my new alternator isn’t charging my new battery.
 

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Nope. Look for a box like a post or 2 up, could be chrome or black, about the center of the firewall just to the passenger side of the valve cover
 
Thanks you guys. Found and replaced the voltage regulator. It seems to have fixed the problem! It looks like it was the original VR. Does it make sense that it probably failed because of age? I think I read that even if you replace the regulator, it could have been caused by a short somewhere else. Should I be worried about that? Or just count my lucky stars that it seems to be fixed, and I won’t be taking it to the shop that was going to charge $250-300 to diagnose the problem? I appreciate your help!
 
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