[70pontiaction]

I appreciate any input - or confirmation of my thinking.

I just replaced the voltage regulator on my Ventura.
Now the battery is much happier than it was before.

When I got the correct bolts to mount the regulator
and put them in, I noticed two things:

First was a light gray wire with a broken terminal on
the end right there by the regulator. It's not hooked
to anything now and was not hooked to anything
before we swapped in a new regulator.

In looking around under the hood, the only other gray
wire I can see is attached to the screw that holds the
"condensor" to the outside of the generator. I'm just
guessing that this mount would be a good ground (?).
And in testing the wire-end near the regulator, it seems
to be going to a ground. Is this supposed to be the
ground for the regulator? This regulator has a small
screw on the side of the base that would serve well
as a grounding point (the old one didn't, but I don't
think the old one was correct style for the car).

Second question is regarding what appears to be a
vacuum storage tank inside the drivers' side fender,
just below the hinge area. It just has one fitting or
nipple that looks like it would take 3/8" hose. Was
this supposed to be teed into the vacuum line to the
brake booster? The brake booster looks newer and
I'm guessing that they just bypassed the tank with
a new piece of hose then they did the repair.

Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Stuart]

I'd have to go out to the garage to be sure (and it's cold and blowing snow out there) but I'm pretty sure there's a ground wire that connects to one of the mounting bolts on the voltage regulator.

That canister is a vacuum reservoir for your power brakes. There should be a tee fitting on the top of the brake booster, one leg of the tee connects to the reservoir with a rubber hose and the other leg goes to the engine. Maybe if they replaced the booster, the replacement didn't have that tee fitting.

edit: You can look at a wiring diagram for a '61 Pontiac here: http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/t...re5765-333.jpg I don't see that wire on the diagram, but it's still pretty useful for reference.

[Safari Larry]

I see the gray wire on the regulator in the wiring diagram. It is a ground that runs from the regulator to the generator.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by Safari Larry

I see the gray wire on the regulator in the wiring diagram. It is a ground that runs from the regulator to the generator.

Attachment 154248

Sure enough, there it is. I didn't blow the picture up big enough to see it the first time around.

[70pontiaction]

I knew someone would have a wiring diagram. 8^D

Would the tee fitting make any difference in the
brakes or just a reserve of vacuum for them?
I'll probably put one in regardless, Pontiac didn't
normally do things unless they had a reason.

Thanks again!

[Stuart]

Without the canister you may not have a lot of power braking action if the engine cuts out. It probably won't make much difference when the engine is running, assuming you don't have a big cam that kills the engine vacuum.

[pfilean]

My 61 Ventura has the gray wire connected to the regulator base on the lower screw near the "BAT" terminal. And my shop manual does indicate a ground wire (no color stated) from the generator to that mounting post just like the above furnished diagram indicates. Interesting in that my wire seems to go through the firewall and not across the firewall toward the generator. But a lot of wires don't seem to take the shortest path. There is also a ground wire on the generator which looks more brown or tan than gray which also has a supression condensor also screwed to the generator case. Can't tell if it is the same wire without takeing some stuff apart and checking continuity. Wire is probably not necessary if everything grounds through mounts like you would expect but it is just included as a good engineering precaution.

My car has been converted to 4 wheel Corvette disc brakes and no longer uses the vacuum canister. The brakes are not grabby but damn sure stop the car even without the canister. But in the brake conversion the old booster was replaced with what I presume is the Corvette unit. I think that the old boosters did not have a built in reservior canister whereas some of the later units may have a built in reserevoir. Look at the relative size of some of them. If you now have a later style booster maybe you don't need the canister. And if the car stops (time after time) then you probably don't.