Pinto Car Club of America

i have a 1980 pinto 2.3/auto and am having trouble with the charging system. the problem is if I leave the regulator plugged in it will drain the battery over night. do you think it is the regulator or the alternator, i know ford alternators have diodes in the and if one goes it will feed back and drain the battery.thank you

Sounds like a diode problem.   Checker/Kragen/Schucks http://www.cskauto.com/ (http://www.cskauto.com/)stock individual alternator parts (brushes, diodes, bearings, etc) from $8 to $15 ea, as well as a generic regulator for $15.   Should be cheap enough to swap parts & troubleshoot.

HTH

Tony

I had the same problem on one of my Mustangs.  With the regulator plugged in the battery terminals would arc pretty good when connecting the battery.  It ended up being the regulator.  I would take the alternator off and have it checked regardless.  Good luck :)