1986 Chevy Silverado

Tiny
VEGASMSTRJ
  • MEMBER
  • 1986 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 200,000 MILES
1986 Chevy Silverado. The truck has been sitting for about a year because of my deployment. The other day I started the truck and noticed the head lights got real bright and blew. The radio, horn, interior lights, a/c, and the head lights do not work. The power windows and instruments still work. I checked all of the fuses, and they are ok. I cannot find anything that has all of those functions in common, do you have any suggestions as to what it could be?

ps. I checked a bunch of other questions/answers and they suggested to change the body control module but my year does not have one (I believe).

Any help is great! Thanks!
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 12:01 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
DCS1998
  • MEMBER
  • 41 POSTS
I had a 1984, and it sounds like your voltage regulator went haywire.

That Razmataz fella can probably get to the bottom of your problem.
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 2:30 PM
Tiny
VEGASMSTRJ
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I checked out a few interior lights and they are all burnt out. The dome lamp actually melted some plastic. Where is the voltage regulator? I googled it and it looks like the same thing I replaced in the distributor a year or 2 ago. I dont have the distributor in right now. Another repair. But nothing under the hood looks or smells burnt.
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 2:38 PM
Tiny
DCS1998
  • MEMBER
  • 41 POSTS
Your Alternator should have a "built-in" regulator on that model. I would remove it, and take it to AutoZone or some place and have it checked.

I once found that I got more bang for the buck by having a alternator repair shop re-build and step up the amp output of my old Alt. Than buing a re-built one from the parts store.
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 2:48 PM
Tiny
VEGASMSTRJ
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I'll try to do that this afternoon. What about all the electronic stuff that wont work? Will it all work when I replace the part? I cant start the motor right now but I want to make sure I dont have anything else burning up. Thanks for all your help. Hopefully I can solve this asap.
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 3:05 PM
Tiny
VEGASMSTRJ
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I checked the alternator at autozone and its perfect. The guy there said to check the main ground. He said the electrical system might have just found the easiest ground(headlights, dome light) and used it for the whole system. I'll have to look into it.
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Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 AT 7:13 PM

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