The alternator is in....the questions begin

I thought that was the question too. Anyway, I got mine, again refer to pix the model number and everything else is in one of the pix, from Good Ole Pep Boys it is a remanufactured job - it ran me like $50 and I had a $10 coupon...Nor core to trade though, alas.

I spent all day yesterday with a race car builder friend of mine welding measuring eyeballing wrenching and wiring, so I have not even gone out to look at the thing today...

 

Actually no, that was my own stupidity since there was a ground and one big terminal

 

Cabover, thanks for the pulley link!

 

a good alternator info link is madelectrical.com

 

i have a one wire alt on my cj and when i first start it up it has low voltage until i hit the gas and then goes to the 14 volts. it has done that since day one and has been like that for 8 years. just check to see if you have 13-15 volts at the battery.

 

Matt, did you ever solve your alternator problem?

By no means am I an expert on alternators. My understanding is that when dealing with GM alternator such as the SI or CS series, the “1-wire alternator” and the “3-wire alternator” are one and the same alternator. The only difference is whether you hook it up with one wire or 3 wires. (I understand that there are true 1-wire alternators often used on tractors.) Madelectrical.com makes a strong argument for the 3-wire. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/onewire-threewire.shtml A major reason I went to a 3-wire was that I got tired of running my battery down when I forgot to rev the engine. This happens more than you would think, especially when diagnosing engine troubles or running a winch.

If you go the 3-wire route, make certain you have sufficient resistance in the wire coming from the idiot light to the #1 terminal on the alternator (the left plug of the 2 plug terminals on the edge of the alternator). Evidently, this difference in voltage between the #1 and #2 terminals is needed for the internal regulator to work properly. In my case, I installed a CS 130 which needed at least 35 ohms of resistance. http://www.extreme4wheelin.com/tech/alternators/tech.htm. The small idiot light I bought did not have sufficient resistance, so I added a small flame-resistant resistor. Everything works fine. To me, the benefits of the 3-wire arrangement far exceeded the extra work.

The case on your alternator looks like the case of a 10SI. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/delcoremy.shtml. Unfortunately, I do not know the amount of resistance needed for the 10SI. I have a diagram which calls for 15 ohms but it does not specify which GM alternator is being used. It just says “Delco Alternator.” Hopefully someone else will provide this information or you can find it with a little research.

Some of the websites that I had gathered information from are no longer available. However, I had converted a few to pdf’s (wiring diagrams, step by step instructions). If you want them, send me a PM and I’ll email them to you.

 

Have not been back out to even look at the Willys since the fabrication and install on Sunday, I need a thicker wire to connect the alt to the batt so for now it sits. Would love the PDFs, will PM if I can figure out how or just PM them to me.

Can anyone tell me WHICH wire was the one that goes to the AMP light on the dash dial?

There was a wire that was mounted about halfway down the cylindrical body of the generator, held in with a screw. What is that? Is that the AMP light?

All help welcome!

 

If it was the wire that was screwed directly onto the metal frame and not one of the studs then it was the ground wire to the base of the regulator.

 

If by amp light you mean the idiot light, it is wired from the ignition switch, to the idiot light, then to the #1 terminal on the alternator. (the left wire connection of the 2 wire connections).

If you were referring to an anmeter, everything I have read recommends that you use a volt meter instead. They are only $6 at Harbor Freight; don't require heavy guage wire; and you wont have 50-100 amps running through your instrument panel.

 

Autozone does sell a true, 1 wire, self-exciting alternator. I opted not to buy one and just got done converting mine to a 10si 3-wire.

The real benefit of the 3-wire 10si alternator is that the remote voltage sensing wire reads voltage out in the field wherever you want...at say a main terminal bus, where voltage drops will already be taken into account. Keep in mind, the 1 wire alternator is getting its voltage reading right at the main wire, hooked directly to the battery. Here, voltage may be 14.4 volts, but down the line, in an area where wires lead to headlights, accessories, ect...the voltage drop may be so significant that voltage may only be 12-13 volts or lower with old wiring. By hooking the voltage sensing wire in this area, you are telling the voltage regulator, at the alternator, to turn the voltage up more to compensate this. This, and being able to run the battery light, are the main reasons the 3 wire is a no brainer when compared to the 1 wire...and the thing is easy easy easy easy to wire. Get the plug at Autozone or anywhere...1 wire goes to the battery light, the other to a remote voltage area where most of your accessories tie into. I simply ran a marine style terminal bus on the firewall that my MSD ignition and all other accessories with constant voltage run into and put the voltage sensing wire here.

 

Brushjeeper and all, so where was that idiot light connected BEFORE I put in the alternator? If the wire on the body of the generator was a ground, which wire do I run to the #1 on my new alternator? Where would I find that wire PRIOR to the changeover?

I've got some extra wires hanging around that old regulator....

 

Matt, looky here:http://www.earlycj5.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/CJ_With_F134.pdf In the diagram it's the light green one, comes off the gen to the V/R. From there to the instrument cluster. Look under your dash to the speedo cluster. Amp light should be on lower left?? It should have 2 wires on the bulb socket. Check wire color, and follow that color into engine compartment. Wire should be in the bundle that went to the V/R.

 

OK this is all starting to make sense, now I need an education on volt meter/ammeter...i get one of these and put it where? LOL I really DO know how to shade tree, I've just never had this particular upgrade before! LOL..

 

Sorry Matt, but when I did my swap, my jeep no longer had its engine wiring harness so I can't help you tie into one. I did not have an idiot light either, but it was easy to string a 16 ga. wire from the run post of the ignition switch, through a bulb and then to the #1 plug on the alternator.

 

with no volt meter?

 

My jeep is not here so I cannot go out and look at it but I am pretty certain that the volt meter is not included in the idiot light circuit. Since there is no electricity going through this circuit when the alternator is functioning properly (idiot light is off), then the voltmeter would not function. Of the few reference documents that I recently reviewed, none had the voltmeter in this circuit.

Regarding the placement of the voltmeter, I just swapped in a voltmeter for the ammeter that was already in my dash. I am guessing that you did not have the good fortune of already having one in your dash. If you are not using a factory opening, then placement is an issue of personal aesthetics.

Regarding wiring, a google search will retrieve a lot of how to sites for installing a volt meter. Here is one: http://www.v8buick.com/archive/index.php/t-8575.html. I think the main thing is to have the power source come from a keyed circuit. By that I mean a circuit which powers down when the ignition is turned off. Otherwise, the volt meter would run all the time and would drain your battery. If the voltmeter has a light, tie it into the light circuit somehow so that it dims and goes out with the other inside lights.