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Alternator wiring - external regulator - got problem
I replaced the alternator ('91 E150, 302L V8) and took the old one to Autozone so I could be sure the replacement was correct. There's very little wiring because of the external regulator mounted above/behind the passenger-side headlight. The cable from the battery is no problem, but the clip with the small wire doesn't seat properly. Is this for the meter on the dash? Although the clip is set up for two wires, there's only one wire attached to it. The alternator has two spades sticking up. What are each of these for and why only one wire in the plug? Would a loose connection here make the gauge in the dash jump around? Sometimes the gauge reads all the way over to 'C' (charge), sometimes just below center line (towards discharge).
BTW, this issue is related to attempts to repair continuously discharging battery, especially when the lights are turned on. Already replaced battery, alternator, voltage regulator and starter solenoid. Suspect there is a short in the tail lights wiring somewhere because of intermittent operation of running lights.
I checked the 1991 diagrams, and if it has an external regulator, the old standby wiring form the early years is still correct, though it has the idiot light wiring instead of the amp guage style wiring.
The lightgreen/red tells the alt to come online from the keyswitch.
The orange/lightblue tells the alt how much to charge
The yellow/white on the regulator tells the reg how much voltage is in the system, so it can tell the alt through the orange/lightblue how much output into the elec system.
Thanks for the information. I'll take a look at it again tomorrow, in between rain showers. I'll post results when I figure out what happened to the second wire (only one small wire in the plug connector now).