1-wire alternator..no charge
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1-wire alternator..no charge
i recently put a gm alternator on my 429. it's new from oreilly. the problem is that it simply doesn't seem to be charging. what i bought was for an 81 camaro...i got it bolted up just fine...ran a wire from the battery to the post on the alt. that reads...batt. i thought thats all i needed to do...what did i miss?
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From: Virginia
Only the aftermarket alternators are "one wire" They have a special regulator to start the charging by itself.
But you have a good alternator. Let's call it a "2 wire". It should have two smaller terminals on it besides the large one that goes to the battery. If you look at the casting, there should be a "1" and a "2" to designate the terminals. You can buy the small pigtail connector that plugs into 1 and 2 terminals.
When you get the connector, run the #2 wire directly to the large bat terminal on back of the alternator. This terminal is what the internal regulator uses to monitor the voltage level of the system.
Take the wire from #1, and run it inside the cab to the dash. Buy a small light bulb that has a plastic socket. Hook one of the bulb wires to the #1 wire, and hook the other bulb wire to a hot in run terminal in the fuse box or off the keyswitch.
Now when you first turn the key, the dash bulb should light. When you get it started, the dash bulb will go out if it's charging. This is handy too if the alternator belt breaks or flies off.
But you have a good alternator. Let's call it a "2 wire". It should have two smaller terminals on it besides the large one that goes to the battery. If you look at the casting, there should be a "1" and a "2" to designate the terminals. You can buy the small pigtail connector that plugs into 1 and 2 terminals.
When you get the connector, run the #2 wire directly to the large bat terminal on back of the alternator. This terminal is what the internal regulator uses to monitor the voltage level of the system.
Take the wire from #1, and run it inside the cab to the dash. Buy a small light bulb that has a plastic socket. Hook one of the bulb wires to the #1 wire, and hook the other bulb wire to a hot in run terminal in the fuse box or off the keyswitch.
Now when you first turn the key, the dash bulb should light. When you get it started, the dash bulb will go out if it's charging. This is handy too if the alternator belt breaks or flies off.
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Freshman User
Joined: Dec 2007
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great answer, thanks for the help. i think that setup will work perfectly...since i removed all the wiring because it was all hacked up. so the less wires the better...this truck sees a lot of mud and water. thanks again
