Vacuum and electrical questions

Hey all -

I just have a few questions about my engine, I'd like to possibly link them to a few problems I'm having

The first is this little black box, attached to my voltage regulator



I'm not sure what it's for or if it even works.

The second problem is this set of four vacuum lines



I'd like to know what each one does. The previous owner hooked the first and third together, and I feel like that's not where they need to be.

As always, thank you so much for your help.

Cheers'

~Tyler

Love is all you need

The little black cylinder hanging off the voltage regulator is a radio noise suppressor. The black box hanging off the battery side of your starter solenoid is the circuit breaker for the auxiliary power feed wire, a heavy gauge black wire that runs up the cowl brace, across the firewall and through it in the area above the steering column. It feeds options such as power windows, rear defroster, underhood light, electric seatback release etc.

The vacuum tree looks normal to me. I've seen that setup like that before. It will usually be fed by a line from the manifold and then the lines will go to wherever they may be needed. Having two capped off like that does not necessarily mean it's incorrect.

Vacuum tree connections: One will be the vacuum source from the manifold vacuum tree. One will be for the EGR valve (for 73's) from the carb base spacer. Two will be for the dual vacuum transmission modulator.

If the transmission modulator has been changed to a single vacuum, that elimates the need for one of the lines. If the EGR setup from the carb has been eliminated / or disconnected, that would take care of the other line.

it sounded like you were calling the solenoid a voltage regulator...the red battery cable is going to the solenoid...the square box with the shiny cover is the VR.

I think the little black box. Meaning the rectangle thing that's about 5/8" by 1-1/8" is the accessory circuit breaker. Kinda hard to tell from the back, but it appears to be crimped on the sides. If the other side has two studs on it, it's a breaker.