The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay 12v conversion-voltage regulator question

ok, so I swap my generator for an alternator.
the 2 wires that went from the generator to my voltage regulator on the 6v system now have different places to go. BUT, what do I do with the 3rd wire going to my voltage regulator, this is the wire that runs from the ignition to the 6v voltage regulator.

What kind of alternator did you install?

Internally regulated or externally regulated?

Your old 6-volt regulator should no longer be part of the system and if you have an external regulator type you need the correct regulator to go with your new alternator.

oldsub or others, i have a similar question that i think you answered for me once before but of course i have lost it. i put a "one wire" gm alternator on my 54. i presently have the one wire connected to the "bat" post of the old v.reg. did you tell me that it could/should go straight to the positive side of the amp gauge and completly do away with the v.reg? also, in reading other posts it appears that everyone is using a 3 wire alt. opposed to the one wire. are there more advantages to the 3 wire set up?

Read this article and decide for yourself. It convinced me.

If you are running a one-wire alternator you don't need the old regulator.

If you are using the regulator as a junction and only using the B post, I don't think it will cause any problems. If you study the wiring diagram for an AD truck you'll see that a wire runs from the B post to the amp guage.

I'm not a big fan of the MAD Electrical guy. I feel his solutions are geared to selling his products, and that often there are better and cheaper ways to solve a problem. He's not evil, or even wrong, he just annoys me.

I stopped reading the article Cletis referenced at the point the guy asserts he has no vested interest in the answer because he doesn't sell alternators. I already knew he sells a kit to wire an alternator, and I'm sure his discussion points you toward buying his 3-wire kit.

While I'm not a fan of the MAD Electrical guy, I do agree with his conclusion that you are better off using a 3-wire approach. The 1-wire approach requires that you rev your motor in order to get the alternator to start charging. Not the biggest problem you might have, but not the best way to get the job done.

I think the best approach to getting the alternator going is the charge light approach. The diode approach leads to overcharging the battery, which can reduce battery life.

djed50,

I have been using a 1-wire alternator on my '54 12v pickup for 7 years with no problems. It starts charging at about 900 rpm and once it starts charging, it will charge at a 400-500 rpm idle.

The wiring was quite simple and there is no need for an alternator (you might leave the old one there - for "looks"). Below is a picture of the wiring through the ammeter (forgive the poor spelling, the figure is from this website: OneWireAlternator ).

Tim

[img]http://mightymo.org/public_html/images/Projects/DelcoOneWire/AmpMeter.jpg[/img]

thanks for the input guys, I'll explain my scenario more
I'm using an alternator with a built in regulator and I'm following the MAD plan for it.
I replaced my ignition coil with a 12v one and put a resistor in line from the ignition coil to the ignition.
It's starting to look as though the other wire running from my ignition to my voltage regulator and then on to the generator is the wire to attach to the #1 post on my alternator, and this is the wire I should attach the diode and warning light to. BUT, I'm not sure, so I was hoping someone could confirm this for me.

crow,

Does the third diagram at this site look like your set-up?

Tim

tim, diagram 1 from that page shows how my system is now. diagram 3 shows pretty much how it should be, I will give this a try.

thanks