Generator vs Alternator
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 122
Likes: 48
Generator vs Alternator
I have seen a lot of discussion on this forum about generator vs alternator, the pros and cons of both. I myself have asked several questions about this as well. I just thought that I would pass along that a friend of mine who is a retired electronics professor at WPI college in Worcester , Ma has come up with a solution . Over the winter months I let him take one of my 6 volt regulators to study and work on. He made a circuit board for it and developed a solid state regulator. We bench tested it the other day and it seems to work as it should, as you put a load on it it will increase itself as a regulator would. I will have my truck back from winter storage in another week and we are going to try it out on my 49 F1 flathead six. I will keep you posted. If it works as it should he is willing to make some more
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 122
Likes: 48
After i get my 49 back from winter storage, I will be installing it on mine. I will be able to give you further details as to how it works from that point
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 289
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From: Langley, BC
Sounds like an interesting project from an electronics standpoint but begs the question. Why? I've had the same six volt regulator on my truck for twenty years. Works as advertised.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2017
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Some people have had problems with the newer ones, myself included. The ones back then were made differently and most were made in the USA. Those days are gone
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Tuned
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Tuned
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 289
Likes: 127
From: Langley, BC
I think it's possible that people give up on them too easily. I've had one incident of malfunction. The regulator was not putting out enough voltage to keep up during the winter with lights and heater running full tilt. I followed the book to make a very slight adjustment to bring up the charging voltage and it's been perfect ever since. The adjustment took about one minute. The regulator is one of the newer aftermarket most likely made in China but the quality is very comparable to FoMoCo original. Quite likely I bought it from Chuck's and I'd do it again. I still think it's a cool project just because it's innovative. If it proves to function more reliably than the FauxMoCo™ part you might have a winner. Does it fit in the stock housing?
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 122
Likes: 48
I think it's possible that people give up on them too easily. I've had one incident of malfunction. The regulator was not putting out enough voltage to keep up during the winter with lights and heater running full tilt. I followed the book to make a very slight adjustment to bring up the charging voltage and it's been perfect ever since. The adjustment took about one minute. The regulator is one of the newer aftermarket most likely made in China but the quality is very comparable to FoMoCo original. Quite likely I bought it from Chuck's and I'd do it again. I still think it's a cool project just because it's innovative. If it proves to function more reliably than the FauxMoCo™ part you might have a winner. Does it fit in the stock housing?
Tuned
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 289
Likes: 127
From: Langley, BC
Chuck has a wealth of experience and an impressive stock of original NOS and reproduction parts.
https://www.chuckstrucksllc.com/
https://www.chuckstrucksllc.com/
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 122
Likes: 48
Chuck has a wealth of experience and an impressive stock of original NOS and reproduction parts.
https://www.chuckstrucksllc.com/
https://www.chuckstrucksllc.com/
Last edited by tico47; Apr 20, 2026 at 09:22 AM.
Tuned
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 322
Likes: 45
From: La Center WA
One wire
I bought 3 powermaster alternators from jegs when they were having a sale.,One for a straight 8 buick,one for a sbc,one for the y block in my 52 F1.Super easy 1 cable positive battery terminal to alternator cable connection. No wiring hassles,straight. Works perfect.Ford and both Buicks use a red light for exciter.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 185
Likes: 80
I have seen a lot of discussion on this forum about generator vs alternator, the pros and cons of both. I myself have asked several questions about this as well. I just thought that I would pass along that a friend of mine who is a retired electronics professor at WPI college in Worcester , Ma has come up with a solution . Over the winter months I let him take one of my 6 volt regulators to study and work on. He made a circuit board for it and developed a solid state regulator. We bench tested it the other day and it seems to work as it should, as you put a load on it it will increase itself as a regulator would. I will have my truck back from winter storage in another week and we are going to try it out on my 49 F1 flathead six. I will keep you posted. If it works as it should he is willing to make some more
It reminds me of my "electronics savy" son who made a GPS speedometer for our orphan car. He took the original speedo housing and faceplate, added a stepper motor to turn the speedo pointer, bought an amazon GPS module, and created/made his own circuit board. We took it out for a road test (in his lap), and tested it against our Garmin and it was accurate! Yeah, you can buy a GPS speedometer, but what fun is that for a teenager!
