Alternator Wiring for 1 wire Alt.

[Art'74]

OK, I have read about an hour in my search and do not believe I have the definitive answer to the above concern.

I have a 1 wire alternator on a '99 454 (7.4) that is going in an older model K5 w/ a volt gauge (not idiot light).

Question - do I need a resistor for the brown wire? If so, what resistance?

Or, do I just hook the brown wire to a keyed power (hot) source? No resistor, no light bulb, just wire it in.

I'm electrically challenged so be easy with me.

Thanks!

 

[dremu]

OK, I have read about an hour in my search and do not believe I have the definitive answer to the above concern.

I have a 1 wire alternator on a '99 454 (7.4) that is going in an older model K5 w/ a volt gauge (not idiot light).

Question - do I need a resistor for the brown wire? If so, what resistance?

Or, do I just hook the brown wire to a keyed power (hot) source? No resistor, no light bulb, just wire it in.

I'm electrically challenged so be easy with me.

Thanks!

Umm, if it's a one wire alternator, there is no brown wire. You just hook the output stud to the battery. That's the whole point of one-wire alternators

-- A

 

[Art'74]

Oops! Wrong terminology. I told you all that searching did me no good.

OK, 1 brown wire. To resistor or not to resistor, that is the question and all the other stuff I asked above.

Thanks for straightening me out.

 

[dremu]

Oops! Wrong terminology. I told you all that searching did me no good.

OK, 1 brown wire. To resistor or not to resistor, that is the question and all the other stuff I asked above.

Thanks for straightening me out.

No worries; just making sure we're on the same page.

I've not had first-hand experience doing it, but my gut says that most any kind of current flow should excite the alternator. And we all know that there's nothing like an excited alternator.

Given the variety of lamp options (i.e. varying resistance), I'm very tempted to tell you to just run the brown wire off an ignition hot and call it good. If your alternator is a big fancy expensive one and you're worried about killing it, read that thread where I went through Ohm's Law and gave out some resistance values and Radio Shack part numbers.

Ohm's Law: A circuit's voltage drop is equal to the product of its current and its resistance.

Cole's Law: Thinly sliced cabbage.



-- A

 

[Art'74]

I will try to find you post and learn something - I hope.

Also, thanks for the info and laughs. Learning can be fun.

 

[dremu]

I will try to find you post and learn something - I hope.

Also, thanks for the info and laughs. Learning can be fun.

Ah, well, I was slated to become an electrical engineer, you see, but got sidetracked and never made it, so I have theory from school AND real-world experience from the hobby ... enough that I more often make stuff work than blow it up in a fiery shower of sparks.

Well, except welding, when the sparks are good ... and face it, there's nothing more appealing in a deep-rooted primeval way, than molten metal and flying sparks!

-- A