The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 1954 Chevy alternator problem

i replaced the generator with a one wire alternator with built in regulator, it reads 11.5 volts and the battery discharges. i replaced it and the new alternator does the same thing. do i, or can I, run a wire directly from the alternator to the starter and not go through a fuse block or anything else?

Yes, you should run a 10 ga wire from the alt to the battery terminal on the starter, or to the pigtail wire on the battery terminal if you have that type.
If you feel you need some protection in the circuit you can put 90Amp fuseable link in line.

You guys are great, I so appreciate this site

I would say you don't want to run the alt power through the ammeter.
The meter in you rated is rated at what 15 A or 25 A.

Even if you only have a 65 Amp alt, you are risking a burn out.

When changing to an alternator you should wire direct and convert to a volt meter to monitor system condition (or leave the ammeter and run a power wire from the fuse box to it to keep the rest of the wiring the same).
Running that much current through the dashboard is not a good idea.

Here is a discussion on wiring through the ammeter.

Also shown in that thread is a "stealth" wiring method that utilizes a stripped voltage regulator. I have not done that, but a friend has done that with a 90amp 6v alternator.

if i try to summarize all of the responses, i would take my one wire from the alternator and go to the starter instead of the Ampmeter and i would put a fuse between the battery and the Ampmeter. how would that be?

i probably was not clear, i was trying to say how i might change the diagram in the tlcederman response

Going directly to the battery cable connection at the starter will keep the ammeter from indicating a "charge/no charge" situation. Other than that, no problem. Running a maxi fuse or a fusible link upstream of the ammeter is a good idea, one that GM chose not to use as original equipment. Lots of under-dash wiring has been burned from the lack of a fused circuit there.

Definitely DO NOT use crimped connections on high-current circuits. Solder them!
Jerry

Thank you everyone