Re: Generator to Alternator Conversion Wiring Question - 41 Packard 110

Posted by HH56 On 2015/6/7 10:55:02

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What is the "armature" wire you mention? Would a 10 gauge wire be sufficient for the alternator connection or should I use something thicker?

I would go with the size wire your alternator supplier recommends since it is a fairly long run. The Packard wire gauge between the generator ARM terminal and regulator ARM or GEN terminal was 10ga but depending on how much more current your alternator puts out that may be marginal with the higher current. The gauge from the regulator BAT terminal to the ammeter is also 10ga but that will not be easy to change and it is a short run so consider it as a given. The saving factor is the alternator is extremely unlikely to ever be putting out its maximum current to need the larger wire and will for the most part be running at around the same output as the generator. It will only have short bursts of the higher current while the battery is regaining its charge after starting the car.


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A heavy red wire going to the "GEN" terminal and a thinner brown wire going to the terminal labeled "F" (field?). What is the "Arm" terminal you mention?

The labels depend on the regulator manufacturer. The ARM or armature terminal is the same as another mfg calls the GEN or generator terminal. The others are for the Field and Battery and are fairly standard. Some regulators also have a GND for ground and on senior cars another terminal S for starter or solenoid to provide the ground thru the generator for the starter safety circuit.

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Also, if I disconnect and cap off all the wires going to the voltage regulator and then run my single alternator wire to the "BAT" terminal of the voltage regulator, where would the power come out of the regulator from and flow through the rest of the electrical system?

If you elect to run a new wire to connect to the BAT wire you would leave that wire on the regulator terminal as a convenient connection point and just disconnect the other two wires. If you wanted you could remove the regulator entirely but then you would have to provide a splice or some means of connecting to the wire from the alternator.

The way the system works is the battery provides all the power. Connection point is the solenoid. The black wire that goes to one side of ammeter is the feed from the battery to the rest of the car. Out the other side of ammeter power is distributed to headlight and ign switches as well as going back to the regulator. If you did the connection from the alternator at the solenoid the ammeter would never see any output from the alternator and would always read discharge. By connecting to the BAT wire then as the alternator puts out voltage it goes back thru the ammeter and ultimately reaches the battery. You can then see the alternator output as well as the discharge if the alternator or generator is not keeping up with demand.