Re: One Wire 6 volt positive ground alternator

Posted by DavidPackard On 2016/1/7 14:11:37

The generator/alternator fits the lower attachment bracket (that's the one that bolts to the engine block) quite well. No fore/aft shimming was required to achieve proper belt alignment. The upper generator adjusting strap (PN 395585) needed a spacer. In the photo you can see the required thickness of spacer. Your '54 Patrician is likely equipped with a Delco electrical system, so the PowerMaster long case 'Delco' unit should be a direct replacement as far as bracketry is concerned. Dimensional information for all of the product line is available at the Quality Power or PowerMaster web sites. I believe all of the GM generator adjusting straps had a slight offset, and all of the Packard units were flat, so I suspect you will either need to come-up with a spacer (preferred), or bend the Packard part (not so much). I did try to bury the spacer at the engine end of the strap but on the '48 I was fighting a space issue and couldn't get the longer bolt into place. I tried but failed on that one, perhaps the '54 has a bit more room with the different motor mounts.
The 'up' side of these generator 'look alike' units is the optics, that is, you need to get real close before you can tell that it is not a stock generator. The 'down' sides are both cost and loss of the 'GEN' idiot light, which was not an issue on the '48 (ammeter not light). If you really want to retain the 'light' then installing a Delco 10SI with a 3-wire hook-up is the way to go, but you will lose the optic battle in a big way. I have had good success with a 1 ampere current flow to excite a 10SI alternator (lowers the cut-in speed).
On all of my 'older hobby' cars I use a voltmeter to let me know if all is well with the charging system. On the cars so equipped I've wired-up a digital voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette lighter, which is easily removed when the car is 'on display'. I currently use the small digital meters available on the internet for about $2 each (plus the cost of a plug). Just watch your P&Qs on the polarity. These units will work with a voltage input of 5 - 30 volts, so they work quite well on our 6 volt systems. I did have to clean the center contact of my lighter socket before it would work correctly.
If you go with the PowerMaster and you want to get even closer to the look of an original generator then you will need to add a Delco ID tag (available on the internet), 'dummy' field pole attachment stud, and a threaded hole for the condenser (if so equipped on your car). If you look at the photo posted earlier, the alternator is completely mounted in the forward end of the case (away from the wire connections). The aft portion of the case is nothing more than an aluminum spacer cylinder. It is this aft cylinder that is the difference between the 'long case' and 'short case' Delco units. The aft case is sandwiched between the alternator and the end cap. Two screws hold the whole mess together. If you feel up to it, the end cap comes off by removing the two screws (bolts), and watch your step here, there's a buss bar attached to the actual output of the alternator to the external post. You will need to keep the spacer cylinder quite close to the alternator while you remove the end cap. You then remove the electrical buss bar and remove the spacer cylinder. Once 'in-hand' you can modify the spacer as you see fit. Remember all of the 'dummy' electrical connections do not need to be insulated . . . . UNLESS you intend on hooking up the original field wire at both the generator and regulator ends. I did not try to add fore and aft oil cups, or change the Allen screw that holds the alternator 'guts' into the forward outer case, but I suspect that would not be difficult.
This is a single wire electrical hook-up alternator. A wire is run from the alternator output to the 'battery' side of the voltage regulator. An alternate hook-up would be to leave the regulator alone and connect the alternator output to the battery or the battery side of the starter solenoid. Insulate the original 'armature' and 'field' wires at the generator end. I left all of the wires connected to the '48 voltage regulator, ran a wire (red in the photo) from the alternator to the 'BAT' side of the regulator, and included a short 'dummy' field wire (light gray with single black tracer). All of the leads at the generator side of the original harness were insulated individually and wrapped to appear to be part of the harness that loops around the oil fill tube.
All is well so far.