The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Alternator wiring?

Have tractor, putting on 10 S alternator. It's not a one-wire, but may be later! I usually run 10 gauge wire to starter term with plus batt cable on it. BUT, my Oliver has a big push-button switch and wouldnt connect to battery unless pressed you see. SO, do I go to the switch and connect to other side of it where power comes in? Then I can jump one wire from side terminal to the big wire lug on alt, but don't remember where the other wire goes? Goes to light on dash usually? Do I need to hook a bulb up to make a circuit to ground? I have seen tractors with a bulb taped up around the gen, is that what starts it charging? Otherwise, what else do I do? I'm thinking that hooking one lead to output terminal bypasses the usual ignition/key switch as usually used. Correct? Not sure if a circuit will always be on and drain battery if I don't go thru switch? I don't have gauges yet, but should I just run the 10g wire to an ammeter and other lead to battery from it? Man, this should be simple, just something not coming to me.

GL, you should run the 10gu wire to the ammeter and the other side of the ammeter to the battery with another 10gu wire.

Sounds like you have a two terminal plug on the alternator also?

Terminal #1 is the idiot lamp wire and is switched with the ignition if you want to use it. For a tractor, you should probably hook it up as without it, you have to rev the motor up a bit to get it to "kick in" and start charging.

Terminal #2 to the battery +terminal. This is the sense wire and is required for regulating the alternator. You should measure it AT THE BATTERY - makes a big difference on the performance of your charging system.

Have fun!

Ken, wont the little "short-cut" wire to the terminal in plug from the output stud be the same as going to battery? Patricks and others sell a connector for that, overpriced for sure! I'm wondering if it's ON all the time that way and draining system?
I think the one you rev-up to start is just the one-wire type regulators. I may just do that and forget rest of crap. That's what I did on my 54 truck. I just thought it would be harder to "rev" the tractor than a truck. Tractor only goes about 1600 rpm wide open and you need 1200 or so to start the alt working.

GL, if you do a good job crimping the connectors (and even use solder) - yes you can connect the short jumper directly to the charging post. But, it does a better job of regulating if it goes all the way to the battery as then it gets a more accurate read on the battery voltage. Having it connected all the time wont cause any drain on the battery.

The other wire for the idiot light should be wired up if you don't want to have to rev it to get it charging. If you don't hook it up, you are right, you will have to wrap the motor up above 1200 rpm (depending on pulley sizes) to get the alternator to start charging.

To connect- run a wire from the alternator to a light bulb and then from the light bulb to the ignition power. The power source will light the bulb up when you turn on the ignition, when the alternator voltage comes up and matches the battery voltage, the light will go out as no voltage drop across it so no current flow.

Ken

GL . . . does it work yet?

Ken, talkin' and studying is easy "no effort" part! Gettin' to it is another story. I just got the alt mounts made for tractors and NOW gonna be gettin some wiring and cables to hook up. Sheeesh! Give me a month! By then it will be too cold to want to mess with them and they will set all-winter unfinished and be like rest of my Junk, er, I mean "projects"! :rolleyes: Yeah, 10hr days at GM, I don't feel like doing much and can't get up early. Been waking around 11:00 am and come home from work about 3:30 am, go to work about 4:00 pm, so not much time. I'm getting my annual "Depression" now, with work, cold fall weather, and too many things to do.
OK, Cryn's Over! :p

Yeah GL - winters coming and I will start my "sunlight affective disorder" rant. :mad: :o I spent about a month in Trollberget Norway above the arctic circle in Nov/Dec once - thought I would go nuts - never saw the sun once.

We have been lucky this fall - 70 degrees and sunny every day for the last couple of weeks. I am building a big honkin storage shed to get all my rusty trucks out of the rain and out of my shop so I have enough room to change my mind.

Took the day off of work today and pounded nails and then did a set of king pins on Rugos 52. Nothing like smashing your thumb with a hammer and then burning your fingers picking up a steering knuckle after heating the crap out of it with an acetylene torch. It was a great day! :mad: :p

BTW Ken, GL, you can use a 10 watt/10 OHM resistor in place of the light bulb in the excitor wire as Ken stated.
You can buy these resistors at Radio Shack for about $2.00. Part #271-132.
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Yes, you can, but isn't it more fun to have a bulb so you can see if it is working? If you mount it in the right place you can use it as an underhood light or an underdash light.