GM Alternator question!!!!

I got a gm alternator out of a truck the other day. It only had two wires hooked up. one to the battery terminal screw and the other to in a clip on the top. I believe labeled #1. Is this a one wire alternator, if not where do the wires hook up. has Acdelco 10463424 321-1044 2b8 100a on the side.
I have 73 cj5 with amc 360 factory wiring.

 

For the two wire delco system adapted to your system you will have a 10ga wire from ALT BAT terminal on alternator going to the starter relay where the battery cable is connected. You will have a sensing wire from #2 on alternator going to the "I" terminal of the starter relay and the #1 terminal will return back into the dash connecting to one side of the GEN or ALT (CHG) light.

 

Can you hook it up without the #1 terminal going to the ALT light. Could #1 terminal be hooked up to a volt gauge or not at all?

 

The #1 terminal input voltage is important to the alternators start-up. Once the alternator begins to charge, the output voltage is about 2 volts above the "BAT" output terminal on the back of the alternator. Because there is a small bulb (gen light) in series with the ignition and terminal #1, the 2 volt difference is not enough to maintain ignition, therefore the engine shuts down when the switch is turned off. If you connect #1 terminal to the volt meter you are connecting directly to the ignition voltage source and the engine will not shut down unless you install a diode in series with the connection between the #1 terminal and the volt meter.

 

Technically you do not have to connect the #2 wire. But if you do not the alternator will not charge until you reach a much higher RPM then normal (2500 to 3000 RPMs if I remember correctly). Once it starts charging the alternator will work fine at normal RPMS after that.

It is much better to have all 3 wires hooked up. And as said above make sure you have a diode in line with the #1 wire our you could have a problem where the engine will not turn off. I had this problem when I rewired my 5.

 

where can I find The amps warning light socket for the cj5 or an aftermarket one. No one at carquest seems to know what i am talking about. Also if I cant find that what kind of diode do I need and where would I find that.

 

The diode can be picked up at radio Shack and is not expensive. The diode part number is 1N4001. Although any diode in the 1N400x line will work.

To install it, it is spliced into the #2 wire with the stripped end pointing to the alternator.

 

Ok so I guess i might have screwed up and got the wrong alternator. The one I have is a AcDelco 321-1044 100A. the oem p/n - 10463424. There is a black pigtail plug that runs into the back of the alternator. The plug only has one wire coming from it, if you pull the plug out there is 4 prongs inside the clip. the only other hook up is the batt. post on the back. I pulled it from a early chevy truck. it only had those two wires hooked up.

 

It looks like the 321-1044 is a CS130 alternator. I think everyone on this thread has been responding based upon the assumption that you have a 10SI alternator, which is more common in Jeeps. The CS130 is actually a better alternator, but it is wired differently. I don't have any details at hand, but maybe someone else does? Or you can do a web search -- there's lots of information out there.