going one wire alternator.

[prg machine]

If I do the one wire conversion on a 69, will the ammeter function as normal?? It has a wire that runs across the front of the core support from a hot wire junction block in front of the battery on the right fender.

[SactoJim]

Check out this site.....has great info on the "one wire" (internally regulated) alternator. It's actually best to run 3 wires......especially if you have the stock harness.

http://www.madelectrical.com/index.shtml

[pcmcobra]

Originally Posted by SactoJim

Check out this site.....has great info on the "one wire" (internally regulated) alternator. It's actually best to run 3 wires......especially if you have the stock harness.

http://www.madelectrical.com/index.shtml

I have ordered a bunch of parts from Mark at madelectrical.
Give him a call, the dude should charge $ for phone calls. He is a wealth of info, and very nice to talk to. He knows his stuff.

[Longhorn Man]

there is no good reason to run a one wire on a vehicle that is already built.
Maybe on a kit car or something if you can't figure out how to run wires or something.
And no, i don't think your amp guage will work, but I may be mistaken.

[PICKMUP]

Run a late model (more amps) alt using the stock wiring in your truck and this little plug-n-play adaptor harness.
There are no extra wires to run, it charges instantly (no one-wire lag), and the amp gauge still works.
I will sell you one of these for $25 mailed to your door.

[b&a72]

Originally Posted by PICKMUP

Run a late model (more amps) alt using the stock wiring in your truck and this little plug-n-play adaptor harness.
There are no extra wires to run, it charges instantly (no one-wire lag), and the amp gauge still works.
I will sell you one of these for $25 mailed to your door.

How much of a late model? As I am going one wire as well.

[prg machine]

I believe the circuit for the ammeter is independent of the alternator on the 69. It runs across the front of the cowl, for some reason, back to the battery.

[HomerJ]

Originally Posted by prg machine

If I do the one wire conversion on a 69, will the ammeter function as normal?

An ammeter reads current flowing through a circuit and has to be inline. Since a one-wire only connects to the battery, the ammeter cannot function. A voltmeter would, but you would have to add one on or retro-fit your gauge cluster.

Hope this helps,
HomerJ

[manimal]

I did the cs130 conversion on my trucks and LOVE it. It is very easy and really cleans up the engine compartment. I got mine off a 92-95 Cadillac 120 amps.
-Lance

[Richard H.]

Here is one way to use an amp gauge with a diode instead of the light shown in the diagram.

[Longhorn Man]

But not the stock amp meter.
If you are installing aftermarket, there's no good reason for an amp guage.

[prg machine]

Manimal,
Do you have more detail on the conversion that you did???

[manimal]

TOOLS/PARTS LIST:Alternator from a 92-95 Cadillac w/plug,soldier iron,soldier,heat shrink tubing,electrical tape/convoluted wire loom,brown wire(same guage as the brown wire on the voltage regulator), 4g welding cable, 150 amp resetable circuit breaker,(3) 1/4" hole lugs for welding cable,(1) 5/16" hole lug for welding cable,and most importantly is a resistor with a value of 5ohms (Ibelieve that is right,I'll check on the when I finish this.) Wire strippers and cutters,wire crimpers big enough for the 4g. and maybe a tap for one of the mounting holes.

Disconnect battery! Remove old alternator. Unwrap the harness all the way back past the voltage regulator to the junction of RED wires in the harness( should be close to the driver side fender) Remove the voltage regulator and cut the plug off. Remove the blue and white wires totally. Now take your resistor,strip back the brown wire and soldier one end to it,then take your new BROWN wire and strip it back and soldier the other end of the resistor to it. Now run the brown wire over to the alternator area. Mount the alternator. Strip back the other end of the new brown wire and strip back the end of the BROWN/RED wire on the alt plug(other wires on plug wont be used except for the RED one) and soldier together. BTW SHRINK TUBE ALL OF THE SOLDIER JOINTS! Now take the RED wire on the plug and run it to the BAT post on the alternator and put an eyelet on it to fit the stud.
Now, take your welding cable and put one end on it(1/4" lug) Find a place the you want the circuit breaker and mount it. Run a the welding cable from the alternator BAT stud to the circuit breaker "IN" side and put another 1/4" lug on the cable there. Now put another 1/4" lug on the welding cable you just cut off and run it from the "OUT" side of the circuit breaker to either the junction block next to the battery or directly to the battery. I went right to the battery and used a 5/16" lug. Rewrap the harness leaving the factory RED wire exposed if you plan on doing the headlight relay conversion(more on that later) Follow the directions on the above mentioned link and follow these and you will be set.
Remove the alternator from vehicle and change the pulley to the one thats on your old alternator and re install. Put the belt on,reconnect the battery,check ALL connections and start the truck. Good Luck.
I will try to take pics of the truck later today. And by the way your stock amp guage wont work. MAKE SURE you read the info on the link above for the wiring of the plug,but I think I got it right.
-Lance

I WONT be held responsible for any problems with this conversion. I am only stating how "I" did this following the instruction on the above link.
-Lance

[VetteVet]

I can't top Manimals write-up but here is another conversion with some details.http://www.chevelles.com/techref/tecref14.html

[prg machine]

By reading the Madelectric articles I think I have it figured out. The ammeters in our trucks read across a shunt. The main power does not flow through the ammeter like the old conventional wiring of an ammeter. The shunt apparently has something to do with the long wire running across the front of the truck with the little fuses in it.
The articles reccomend the #2 wire from the alternator going back to the solenoid hot lug for voltage sensing. Some of the articles I see on this site jump it back to the HOT lug on the alternator. The alternator only "sees" the 14 volts coming out of the alternator and it is not getting the correct value at the circuit which is probabvly 2 volts less.