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Hi all! Here is a report for my dad on his latest trip in his Packard mostly VERY good news with one question...

"Washed the Packard yesterday and took it up to the Coffee shop this morning. Drove like a charm. That power steering is a dream. When I got home, I checked the voltage on the battery, about 6.5 on idle and steady 8 volts with engine running at all speeds. The meter stays pegged up and back from the coffee shop. Maybe I'll try gong further and see what happens."

Some of you might recall the drama I had about a month ago with the voltage regulator(s). The new one I installed during the engine change was defective (points did not line up correctly and output was irratic) and I got it replaced then the second one was completely defective so we bought a third voltage regulator from Kanter (and that unit was the exact same vendor as was used from the other source) however at least this time the third unit worked.

The 6.5 to 8.0 volts seems a bit high. What are the thoughts from my Packard mentors? Is the Eightfold high enough to overheat the battery or possibly burn out some of the incandescent light bulbs?

The meter stays pegged up and back from the coffee shop.

Unless you've got a stone-dead battery your regulator is NOT regulating the rate of charge. Are you sure the field isn't grounded out? Constant driving the ammeter pegged + will boil out electrolyte and make very short work of your battery life. And 8 volts at the battery is excessive and will shorten the life of both the battery and bulbs.

Thanks Howard! I knew I could count on you. I will check the voltage regulator ground.

OD is correct, but I would add. Either the regulator is not regulating, as OD says, or the regulation voltage is set too high (like 8 volts).

The regulation voltage should be around 7.4 or so max (check your model here on PackardInfo if you need to).

You may wish to follow the service manual instruction sto see if the failure mode OD shared is what is happening. if not, you may then want open up the regulator and adjust the voltage regulation point, which should involve bending a tab or loosening a screw to reduce the spring force on the voltage regulation relay.

Hope this helps.
PM