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72 k5 wiring

kyle.rj133

kyle.rj133

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Im doing under the hood wiring, and i have A question.

There is a voltage regulator going from the fuseblock, alternator, and junction block. my question is what does it do? and if i get a different alternator can i remove it?

i also can snap a few pics if needed
 
You can put in a later model GM, internally regulated higher amp alternator and there is a wire harness adapter that will let you plug it into that voltage regulator.

Or, you can get a 1 wire alternator, bypass that regulator and remove it.

Either way works, most people lean towards the wire harness and GM alternator.
 
chalet2506 said:
You can put in a later model GM, internally regulated higher amp alternator and there is a wire harness adapter that will let you plug it into that voltage regulator.

Or, you can get a 1 wire alternator, bypass that regulator and remove it.

Either way works, most people lean towards the wire harness and GM alternator.
Click to expand...

is there any advantages or dis-advantages for using the voltage reg?
 
A few, and I do mean a few, of the higher amp alternators had problems with overheating of the regulator circuit.
If you have this problem, an external reg is helpful.
Otherwise, probably the fewer external parts the better.
If you have alternator problems with a one wire or an internal regulated one, you replace it and you automatically get a new regulator at the same time.

With a separate regulator, you have to determine which is wrong. The alt or the reg.

Otherwise, its pretty much personal preference.
 
Hmm. looks like im leaning towards the internal regulator.

one last question. If i get the harness for later gm alternator, why does it run through the voltage regulator if its internal?
 
You will have to wait for one of the other guys to chip in for sure, I'm primarily a Ford guy, but I suspect that it does not actually use the old regulator, it just uses it for a handy way to tie into the truck.
The regulator is already wired into the harness correctly, so you just use it like a connection point.
 
Fordum said:
You will have to wait for one of the other guys to chip in for sure, I'm primarily a Ford guy, but I suspect that it does not actually use the old regulator, it just uses it for a handy way to tie into the truck.
The regulator is already wired into the harness correctly, so you just use it like a connection point.
Click to expand...


alright thanks for your help. just looks like i will keep searching and waiting.


PS:IM TELLING ALL YOUR FORD BUDDIES YOUR ON CK5! :haha: :D
 
It actually doesn't plug into the regulator, just the wiring connector for the regulator. At least all the conversions I have seen work that way, and it maintains a clean underhood appearance. In this way it keeps the in dash stuff working just like normal, but uses the much easier to find and easier to diagnose internally regulated alternator.
 
Your '72 should have an integral regulator made into the altenator,I think '71 was when they stopped using externally regulared altenators...

The newer integral regulated altenators put out more amps,most of the older ones with external regulators were less than 63 amps...

The installation of a later altenator is pretty easy--the wiring mentioned at the external regulator you need to add ,is merely a way to use existing wires to energize the feild wire on the new one,rather than have to run a new wire..if you wish you could just run the feild wire to a switched hot wire with the key "on" and put a #194 bulb in line with the wire in order to get the proper amount of resistance..you dont want a full 12V ,because that will cause it to charge too much--the more feild current, it gets the higher the amperage output goes...the other small red wire on the new altenator''s 2 prong plug can be jumped right to the large red wire on the stud at the rear of it to get 12V to it...some vehicles with externally regulated altenators wont shut off after a later altenator is installed--they need a diode installed in the feild wire so current can only flow into it and not backfeed,and give the ignition coil 12V....
 
is their a harness? what amp of alternator should i get and what year? im going to put a stereo with subs but nothing big, maybe a 10" sub. and the rest is stock wiring.
 
kylerj133 said:
is their a harness? what amp of alternator should i get and what year? im going to put a stereo with subs but nothing big, maybe a 10" sub. and the rest is stock wiring.
Click to expand...

I tend to overdesign electrical systems, but then I hate being stuck with a low battery.

I'd say a good compromise would be the largest stock alternator for any of the 70's/early 80's, which could be 85-105A, depending on where you get it. The cost differential between a stock 60-70A and the 80-100A shouldn't be much.

To go more than that you have to go to the newer case style, which is fine but may or may not physically fit, and I've no idea on the bracketry on your first-gen truck. The bigger style (CS10? CS12? I forget what it's called) dropped right onto my '74 350, but did NOT fit on my '74 454, had to weld up a custom bracket.

Also, if you're gonna run the stereo with the engine off, get a big battery, maybe a nice deep cycle / marine unit.

That's the short version, as it were, of electricals. You can go bigger, but i gets costly and more complicated quickly.

-- A
 
No, have been putting it off for 2 years. Don't think you can use the Amp gauge. I have got plans for all new gauges, including a voltmeter, in the near future.

Other than the gauge, no problems to date with the setup.
 
My '72 K5 had an integral altenator ,that at first I thought was simply on the 350 someone transplanted into it,but when I looked for the external regulator it wasn't there,and the harness looked original...I have seen both 1971 and 72's come either way in pickups too around here..(we saw trucks up to around '82 with points still,from Canada quite frequently!)..

My '72 K5 had a dead ammeter for years,till one day when I was working under the hood I saw a lumpy looking black thing on the wiring harness,and one was on both sides of the truck right behind the headlamps,I never really noticed them before --turned out to be factory glass fuse holders that look like the plug on your licence plate wires at the rear bumper--I replaced both fuses (they were blown and all gangrene),after I cleaned out the sockets with a dremel tool and a small brass wire brush....ammeter came to life after that!...(too bad I had already installed a 3 gauge cluster under the dash for amps,oil pressure & water temp! :rolleyes:
 
PS:IM TELLING ALL YOUR FORD BUDDIES YOUR ON CK5! :haha: :D
Click to expand...
Oh, they already know. I've got everything fixed over there, not hard when you're dealing with Fords ya know.

So now I hang out here and help my more equipmentally challenged friends......:whistle:
 
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