I need help guys. Left the house at 3am for a field trip with my son's school, we're gone for 3 days. Limped my truck with a now bad 2g alternator to the school. I ordered a 130amp 3g 1 day shipping to my house. My wife will put it in my truck with tools to be waiting when we get back (we're ocean bound to Catalina Island). What tools and other equipment besides the alternator do I need to tell her to bring?

No signal at sea and we are about to leave, don't have time to search for a write up.

I have, a 94 F350 with a 7.5L, alternator has 8.25" ear spacing.

What do I need guys? Any help is appreciated. Would have checked out RJM but Ryan isn't in business I guess. Thanks.

Jeff

 

Other than removing the alternator, you will need some wire strippers, cutters and crimpers to crimp on new connections. In the 3 wire connector, one of those wires will come off of that connector and go to the positive output of your alternator. Another of the three wires isn't used and the third wire, green with red stripe on my truck, stays the same. From there you'll need to make sure you can get your positive output to from the post on the back of the alt to the battery. You may or may not have a separate ground wire that needs to go from a grounding post on the alternator to the neg of the batt. If you don't that just means the ground for the alt uses the bracket it is mounted on to ground through the block.

 

Tell her to buy a new regulator plug for the 3g, 3-4 feet of 2 gauge cable, a 175 amp mega fuse and a holder for said fuse.

Fuse:
Napa part number:
BK 7821139

Holder:
BK 7821143

You will also need terminal ends, solder, a propane torch and heat shrink. The wiring is simple. Green wire from new regulator plug to green wire on old one. The other two are obvious. The 2 gauge cable goes from the post on the alternator to the fuse then to the starter relay on the fender.

 

Do the newer trucks need the bracket "massaged" to mount the new alternator?

On my 87, I had to straighten out the lower mounting bracket, so having someway to do that might be something to consider. Also, my lower bolt didn't match and I had to get a new one.

 

Why are you trying to modify/upgrade in a time like this? You're away from home and relying on your wife to bring you tools that someone on the internet told you you'd need. Times like these you do what you can to get you home...not more modifications which opens up a huge possibility that your truck will be stranded in a parking lot a lot longer due to lack of tools and/or parts.

Just get a stock alternator, plug-n-play, and run it until you get home and can do the 3G swap at your own leisure.

 

Apparently the island has a connection. But to answer your question, because the 2g alternator is unsafe. And since I have the tools, and she's a handy woman, and works only 5 minutes away from my sons school where the truck is parked, I'm ok, she knows what tools are what in the garage.

 

Evan, please share your 3G swap link, that should help Guitar a long way. And Guitar, don't worry, this isn't a complicated swap, as long as you have the proper tools and parts at hand, keep us posted.

 

A quick search on the interwebs turned up this - http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps09d2a70a.jpg

From what I can tell, that wiring looks correct.

 

Read through this
3G Interchange Facts. If you're thinking 3G read here. - FSB Forums

 

Here you go.

www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1152014-3g-swap-should-i-think-about-doing-one.html

 

hey guys just giving you an update. My dad was a total trooper and told my truck home from the school, and went to the junkyard and got me a 3Galternator wiring harness. If I'm not mistaken, I just hook it up straight, no need to splice wires if it was a factory harness from a 97, right?

the only thing I need to do is put the mega fuse in line with the battery charging cable I believe.

 

I've done it with a 92 but if your truck came stock with a 3g style alt then you should be able to plug n play. If I'm not mistaken though you would have the 2g 2 plug harness. I know that you do have to connect the green/red wire from the 3g plug to the green/red wire on the truck. On mine it was connected to the stock harness at one point and I cut the wire, took out the stock harness, and hooked the two g/r wires together. Then ran the battery cable from the alt to the starter solenoid and worked fine for me.

 

I have seen many threads on this multiple ideas theories and ways of doing it. This is a pretty popular topic I VOTE STICKIE.

 

My truck has the 2g harness and alternator. I'm replacing both. So in theory, I should just hook up the stock 3g donor harness to the alternator, solenoid, and little plug connector under the solenoid, right? I shouldn't have wires to splice.

 

How can you tell if you have a 3g alternator or not
1997 f350 460