Putting in a new alternator and...

[DoobieBrother]

Trying to decide wiring for a new alternator. Current alternator, and I'm guessing voltage regulator are shown below. So here's my questions...

1) Is what I'm picturing in fact an external regulator?
2) I want to use a modern alternator with minimum extras. So do I still need this thing unless I want to change wiring significantly? What would I have to change? I want the generator light and everything to work correctly.

[DoobieBrother]

Ok, I found this... http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=119379

...and I think that covers it. That is unless anyone knows of any new ways to do it better, corrections, etc. Eventually I hope to do a ground up on this truck. At that time, it'll get a full re-wire amongst other things. But in the mean time I want everything to work well.

[ChevLoRay]

Check out www.wiringharness.com. This is M & H Fabricators, in California. They build really nice harnesses. My suggestion is that you check out what they have, after reading the other article. If you want a stock harness, they have it with the proper connections for the stock replacement parts. If you want to upgrade to a one-wire (internally-regulated) alternator, they have the right harness for that.....and you will retain all the features of your charging system (warning light/guage) that you want/need.

There are vendors on the board who sell these specific harnesses, although you can buy from M&H, too.

[DoobieBrother]

Sounds good for when I get into full rebuild mode.

Now on the other mentioned thread, does doing it that way retain usage of generator light and such?

[Wrenchbender Ret]

The alt. in the photo uses an external regulator. Although ive never seen one like that , if it has the right plug in connections it should work. Put a volt meter across the bat. It should run up to about 14 volts when you rev the engine a little past idle.

[MonteSS454]

Yup it's a Borg Warner R281 regulator. going to internally regulated is one of the best things you can do.

[cameeks]

I also wrote something up on this yesterday. If you have the light all you will need is the alternator.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=320787

[Willys47]

Originally Posted by MonteSS454

Yup it's a Borg Warner R281 regulator. going to internally regulated is one of the best things you can do.

why is this what make the external so bad?

[thelonerife]

Theres less amperage with the original style 60 something. Most of the one wires got 90 something. I have one (one wire) and the only thing thats keeping me from puting it on is the cost of a replacement one. I figure if the original style is working and I can replace it cheap enough I'll keep it. I can get it for 40 bucks. One wires run in the 90 dollar range. I don't see the huge advantage that people talk about???

[Old Chevy Mech]

To anyone who want to keep the stock set-up I have a few suggestions. Obviously if you change the power needs of your vehicle drastically, you would need a bigger alternator. But what I have found to be a very successful methods of making these old systems perfom flawlessly is simple;

1- Keep the battery amp choice close to stock. A little over original is ok, but keep in mind that recharging a high amp battery requires a high amp capacity charging system. I run a stock battery I get from walmart.

2- Spend time and make sure the grounds on your truck are flawless. This could seem trivial, but poor grounds create line voltage fluctuations which can fatigue the charging system. I cant emphasisze enough how important this step really is.

3- Change your battery every 4 years, disregard the 60 month theory. If you think about it a $60.00 battery costs about $1.25 a month for 4 years. Its worth changing in my opinion. I also cut open a battery that was at its 4 year life and did a cel by cell volt check and the cell at the positive terminal lug was .5 volts lower then the rest. So if thats at 4 years, how low would it be at 5?

4- If you kill your battery accidentally, never ever use the charging system on the truck to charge the battery if possible. If you need a jump in the field as soon as you can get a charger on that battery do so and leave it on low amp charge for about 8-10 hrs.

I'm sure I dont hold the patent on electrical system good ideas, I just figured I offer what has worked flawlessly for me over the past 20 years.

Frank

[DoobieBrother]

Well, I got it done using the link I gave above. Looks like everything is good to go. Can anyone tell me specifically what is the proper way to meter everything to make sure it's doing exactly what I expect?

[DoobieBrother]

Nevermind. I didn't realize it was this simple... http://www.carbasics.co.uk/How_to_te...alternator.htm

[Andy4639]

While the truck is running take a volt meter and check the battery. It should have more than 12 volts showing. Rev the engine and see if it goes up to around 14 volts.
Then turn the lights and stuff on and check it again. With the engine rev'ed and all the stuff on it should be 13 volts at least.

[70 net440]

Will this set up work on a '63? It's too cold and dark out to go look and see if my wiring is the same.

[cameeks]

Originally Posted by 70 net440

Will this set up work on a '63? It's too cold and dark out to go look and see if my wiring is the same.

Yes

[hotrod 80]

I am planning on doing the CS130 conversion also . I have a light dash now so the brown wire goes to a bulb in the dash and does the same as the resistor would , no problems for now . I was eventually going to a gauge dash . With the gauge dash the resister goes in the brown wire that will now go to the volt gauge ? Seems it would throw off the reading .

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by ChevLoRay

If you want to upgrade to a one-wire (internally-regulated) alternator, they have the right harness for that.....and you will retain all the features of your charging system (warning light/guage) that you want/need.

"Internally regulated" and "One wire" are not the same thing, though one wire is internally regulated.

Most would not consider one wire to be an up-grade. You can't use the dash "light" in the first place..and if by chance it would fail you on the road somewhere, a "normal" 3-wire internally regulated alternator is available at any autoparts store. Cost-wise the one wire is also more expensive w/o any performance advantage. They will keep a battery charged enough to start the engine, but they don't boost the voltage while running like a 3-wire alternator does.

[Andy4639]

In my opinion a 1 wire is just a bunch of talk. I did the external to internal 3 wire and have been very happy with it. My dash lights are bright and I have 14 to 16 volts on the gauge all the time inside the cab while the truck is running. If you follow the directions on changing it out it's very easy.