The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay HELP! - How to wire Gen light and bypass Ammeter?

Stovebolt Brethren, as far as I'm concerned anything electrical is black magic so I've got my hands full installing a new harness in my '58 GMC.

The harness I bought is a copy of the original with the exception that it set up for an alternator instead of a generator. The problem is the harness is for a Chevy which has an Ammeter. My GMC just has a generator idiot light so I need to know how to wire the generator light and eliminate the ammeter circuit.

Please try to keep your responses to about a 2nd grade level and step by step if you would be so kind. I'm new at this electricity thing.

for this circut you need to run a wire from the #1 spade terminal on alt. to charge light. then run wire to ignition switch and that will work. the leads for the ammeter can be wired together

Thanks for responding. OK, I got the first part and the last part. Run wire from where to the ignition switch?

Mike,

I'm not real sure what type of system you have so this might be bum info. The idiot light has two wires attached. One wire is hooked to a switched contact on your ignition switch...it becomes powered when the key is turned ON.

The other wire from the idiot light goes to DA terminal #1 if it a internally regulated alternator. When you turn the key switch ON, it powers DA #1 to get the alternator charging...this also makes the dash light illuminate UNTIL the engine starts and the alternator begins charging...then the little dash light loses its ground and goes out. This means all is well with the charging system.

If you are using a generator, the same wiring applies except the wire from light to GEN goes to the ARM terminal on the generator. When it starts to produce voltage, the light goes out.

The dash light should have two wires...one goes to the ignition switch (battery) and the other goes to either the ARM (GEN) or to the #1 tab on the little DA plug in back of the alternator. This is a internally regulated alternator, not one with a voltage regulator mounted somewhere.

Does this make sense?

Stuart

Atomarc! You da man!! Thank you so much for your detailed answer as I'm definitely challenged when it comes to wiring. It makes perfect sense to me. Thanks again. I'm learning a lot.