Questionmy battery wont hold a charge and i had the generator rebuilt and replaced the bad voltage regulator, could the solenoid be the problem?
the engine is a 289 everything original in it
AnswerI doubt the solenoid would cause this - it is only a relay which provides 12 volts to the starter motor when you twist the key - it is not connected to anything when the car is turned off.
More likely, something in your car is staying on when you turn it off - something like a light (truck? Glovebox?), a cigarette lighter - something that does not go on and off with the key, but rather stays "hot" all the time. Power antennas are famous for this, and power window motors and power seats, but your car probably didn't come with any of these accessories. Brake lights is another thing that can stay on and run the battery down.
It is also possible that your battery is at fault.
To track down this kind of a problem you really need some test equipment - if you have a volt-Ohm-Amp meter, I can coach you through testing it, or you can just pull fuses from the circuits that are "hot" all the time to see if leaving the fuse out cures the problem.
Until you track it down, try this. Every time you park the car for more than a few minutes, pull one of the battery cables off the battery. If it still loses it's charge (leave the car that way for as long as it used to take for the battery to go down), your problem IS the battery - replace it and your trouble should be over.
Dick
