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My Generator finally gave up the ghost. At first I thought that it was the voltage regulator because the light would stay on after I shut off the ignition. I bought a new regulator but that didn't solve the prob. I took apart my generator and it had several problems. It was either a rebuild or switch to an alternator..... Bob's auto had a GM, single wire unit, for fifty bucks that he said would work by simply attaching that lead to my + battery. Simple enough..... Uh-oh... bracket doesn't match. Fortunately I simply flipped it around and like magic, the pullies lined up! I then drilled a new hole for the top adjusting bracket and it was in! Only, now what do I do with all those wires from the old voltage regulator and the three wires that went to the old generator? It worked but looked sloppy and my generator light no longer worked.

I ended up taking it to a local gen/alt shop and these Hispanic dudes did an amazing job! I explained what I wanted and they did it for thirty bucks!

The only thing that I don't like, is that with each passing year, my truck becomes less and less original... Seems like it won't be long before we are discussing hybrid engine swaps. Well, at least it still LOOKS like an old truck.

Thanks for the post. it my be good to hang a after mark volt meter some place.

Chester: That's exactly what I was thinking. The idiot light is now working but even if it is working well, it still sucks...

With gas prices going up up up, I probably won't be driving the 62, 3/4 ton much anyway though.

That's just one of the problems with a one wire alternator. At least they got it working for you. It's not entirely useless as some believe. It tells you if you've thrown a belt before you over heat your engine.

Does a 1962 truck come with (1) an ammeter or voltmeter and/or (2) a water temperature gauge?

Good point!

This generator shop got my idiot light working for 30 bucks and I'm happy as a clam. I just need to get a nice box for the new wiring to make things nice.

I think that it depends on the model. Base models have idiot light.

go with the three wire 12v alternator

and I'll admit my one wire has worked very well for me too
but
the benefits of three wires set up is much better
my.02

I'll second that. I had a single wire alternator on the '55, it worked ok, but was slow to come up on voltage/amps without a lot of rpm. That kind of sucks when you need to idle, especially witha cold 6 cylinder. I changed it to a 3 wire by putting in a standard voltage regulator. Haven't had any problems since.

My one-wire alternator has worked flawlessly for 8 years on a 12 volt conversion of an Advance-Design truck (1954 - a truck with a temp gauge and an ammeter). No special wiring is needed. The alternator kicks in at about 900 rpm and then works at all rpms, including 500 rpm idle. Since I reach 1000 rpm when I first start my truck, I have no charging problems. No boob light on A-D trucks, so no boob-light-wire needed.

If my truck did not have gauges, I would get a 3-wire alternator - no question about it, for me.

Well, it's in now and the generator guys used two of my three original generator wires so I only have one unused wire. They also removed the regulator got my idiot light working and connected the remaining wires. So this thing is in and it's not coming out. That old generator lasted me over twenty years. I should get at least the mileage from this 1 wire alternator. I might not even be here when that thing quits.....