A little out of the year range here, so we will make it general. I have a 1g alt, stock ignition switch has a wire running from it, to a splice into a wire that runs from the instrument panel to the I post on the voltage regulator. Was told to hook up the exciter wire in the kit I have, in place of this. The truck cranks, but does NOT charge. I think this wire originally was a resistive wire, but i'm not exactly sure. All the diagrams show a "dummy light" in line with this wire, but I don't have one anymore, and don't believe I did in the beginning as I have full gauges, not just lights. Is it safe to run without a light, and just run a wire straight from the switch to the regulator? **edit** Okay, I wired that wire up directly from the switch to the regulator and still didnt see 13.5...I had the alt tested, battery tested, and all cables are new grounding and power wise, as is the wiring harness.
the 1 wire alts have only 1 wire going to the battery lug on the back to the battery. nothing to the old regulator hole (should be capped off).
its not a one wire...its got field stator ground and power posts on it, its a 1g alt, mid 60-70 ford.
you need a 500 ohms resistor from the wire from the dash to that wire on the alternator or a light , just like a idiot light on the dash
You could also replace the resistance wire with a standard light bulb(1156) for testing temporarily. If that works than it is the resistor wire to the exciter circuit.
Yes it will work check that TFFN link if not PM me via my email I'll send a page for wiring a street for dummies...John [email protected] John
if it will work without the resistor, why is it still not charging? its got a good ground, power where it need to be, and everything is connected properly. I f I am supposed to use the stock resistor wire from the ignition switch, what good is the exciter wire? or visa versa if i dont use the switch wire, and can use the exciter wire. why would it even be there? emailing you now as well.
bumping this as i need this done today if possible. i was sent a couple diagrams and it shows exactly what i have. only difference is that battery power to the alt is from the battery side of the solenoid, and I get it from a wire called "alternator power" coming from the fuse box.
Have you tried bypassing the "alternator power" wire with a wire to the battery-side of the solenoid? Also, is the car running an ammeter or voltmeter or none?
none for now, may run a voltmeter once I start on smoothing the dash. I have not tried that yet, but I am about to. battery to alt power wire, nothing. no go. get power, but no charge. lovely.
alright, let me list em out and make sure im getting them all on the alt: 1) battery pos. 2)stator 3)field 4) ground On regulator: F S A I (that order, top to bottom) im checking voltage at battery pos and neg alt pos post and batt neg alt post on reg and batt neg alt exciter and batt neg ignition resistance wire and batt neg all read withing .02 of each other.
Hey, Grant. Check out this post to confirm alternator ID and schematic. http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/ford-alternator-wiring-119576.html
right, its wired exactly like that, minus the resistor/light. does the resistor/light really do that much??
im still not charging guys, any more opinions? is there anyway the alt would pass a test at autozone, and still be a shitty alternator once on the motor? what about the voltage regulator, is there a way to test it? and for this damn ignition wire with the dummy light, do I really need the dummy light or resistor? Is the resistor just a small piece like the tiny ones at radio shack?
I was in your situation. YES the resistor does that much. It needs to have resistance of some sort to charge, I ran mine through an AMP gauge, and now it charges perfectly.
maybe that's my problem then, the resistor. I wonder if they have an ammeter to match the gauges I have now. Will look into it. Thanks a lot. edit: will something like autozone have the risistor or an idiot light to wire in line, and hide if I can't find the gauge?
alright, heres the latest folks! I traced back what I thought was my purple/violet wire and found a resistor, it read around 6-750 with an unsteady hand. I wired inline with the wire from the ignition and my battery jumps to ~18 volts, but scattered, not steady. I'm thinking a bad voltage regulator? Something else possibly?
i had a similiar problem wiring up my 55 using all the old 78 pickup parts i had when wiring the truck, i went through a few of them regulators before i got it right and they are rather cheap at napa. i have a few basic diagrams here too. another thing to think about is the flex capacitor, make sure your speedometor is accurate so you know your reaching 88mph.....haha, just pokin fun hopin to lighten teh day, these problems are head banging on a hood kinda fun. good news is it sounds like your alternator is working, since running that jumper wire put it in full on mode eliminating what the regulator does. just dont leave that wire hooked up, bound to fry something and will give you a nasty power draw. so definitely i would be plugging in a new regulator.