Alernator Wiring..?

I have an Alternator with the "external " Regulator and want to convert by replacing with the " One-Wire " unit.
I get the simple " One-Wire " connection, but how would I retain the Amp gauge to still work..?
Does anyone have a schematic to do this..?
Thanks,

George

 

Ammeter goes in series, so run the wire from alt to ammeter +, then finish the circuit running from ammeter - to the battery.

But I actually dont recommend that because you are probably also upgrading to higher amp output alternator which will likely burn up your ammeter if the alternator is placed under heavy load. Recommend using a voltmeter instead.

 

I agree ditch the amp gauge. Those things are fire waiting to happen

 

I would go for a three wire instead of the one wire for better efficiency.

Three wire is easy so set-up...even more if you buy the easy wiring adaptor from napa. One big wire to the battery, one wire to the accessories post on the ignition switch and one wire to the wire to the ignition post on the ignition switch.

ac delco part PT2288

 

I prefer the three wire..

 

So....with the "Three-wire " setup.
Can I then retain the stock ammeter or..?
I could add the Voltmeter I guess..?

Thanks
George

 

I have a 3 wire in mine and a volt meter.. Volt meter tells you more than an amp meter will.

 

To have an ammeter, you need to send all the charge current to the dash and back to the battery. This has nothing to do with a one-wire or three-wire alternator. If you insist on an ammeter, you can have it with either one or three wire type alternators. Ammeters are something of a fire hazard, becasue all the current must go from the alternator, to the the dash, through the ammeter, and back to the battery. Lots of opportunities for bad connections. A voltmeter is simpler and less susceptible to dash fires.

Look here Catalog

and here Catalog

 

What about an "Induction" circuit..?
Basically, a coil around a section of the main power lead off the alternator connected to an ammeter.
The gauge would need to be calibrated to a known load amount.
I have used something like this ( a " shunt " ) on large electric systems at the plant.

George

 

The shunt is the wire that the induction coil wraps around. All current passes through the shunt, and the induction coil measures the alternating EM field around the shunt. A DC ammeter works by measuring the voltage drop (V=IR) across a shunt of known resistance and displaying the voltage as a needle deflection. Automotive ammeters have the shunt in the meter itself, but there exist ammeters that work from a remote shunt. Thus you could put the remote shunt under the hood, next to the alternator, and send only the voltage drop to a remote ammeter in the dash. IIRC such ammeters exist for marine applications; likely not cheap.

 

So... Is there a way to " measure " actual amperage load at the Alternator..?
Looking to see what this is versus the battery capacity.
I ran into a situation while out with my other vehicle while driving long range out in the desert with FULL off-road lighting.
When we made camp.... next morning battery was so low...could not start...ran fine all next day after jumping.
I get that if a voltmeter was watched...which I did have... would have seen it was dropping during the driving.
BTW... was driving very slow in compound low all the way with very little RPM for about ten hours.
Battery charging at about 13.8vdc.... Starter won't turn below about 10.5vdc ( too slow of turn over to start ).

 

A voltmeter would help with this. The regulator works to match the output voltage of the alternator with an internal reference, say 14.5V as Howard notes. Cruising down the highway, you'd see a voltage reading equal to that reference, 14.5V. If you're then running at low speed and seeing a consistent voltage that's lower than 14.5V, that says the alternator cannot keep up with the current demands of the Jeep, and current from the battery is making up the difference. This is the same as your ammeter indicating discharge all the time. Neither the voltmeter nor the ammeter will tell you how discharged the battery is; that depends on how long you have been running at a current deficit, with the battery making up the difference.

 

Some alternators wont charge at an idle.

 

A one wire has this weakness I go three wire with the sense wire tied in to the dash wiring where the voltage matters

 

Sort of. Upon starting a one wire doesnt charge while at an idle. Once you blip the throttle it begins charging as needed based on load. It will not go back to sleep when you return to idle. I think that's a pretty neat feature actually.

 

i can tell my cs144 is putting out 80-90 amp a idle

 

I’ve had the one wire type and didn’t have good luck....on more than one occasion. Your results may vary.

 

Yeah.... I heard about the "sleep" mode...makes sense to guard against over-charging and such.
Just trying to find a way so that whatever I do.... No dead battery.
I am trying to get off my plate while maneuvering day or night again.
Maybe design up a "traffic Light" monitor with a LED circuit for this..?
Green = 13.8
Yellow = 12.8
Red = 12.2
?????