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Gents,

I am preparing to install a 6 Volt, positive ground alternator in my 1941 110 (the Delco SI type) and have a question about what to do with the existing voltage regulator and how to get my Ammeter to work.

The alternator is a one-wire type and I am told this one wire should be hooked up to the starter solenoid where the negative wire connects.

What, then, would cause the ammeter to function?

The wiring pattern is all stock and I have replaced the harness with a new cloth-type one from Rhode Island Wiring. The schematic shows the ammeter connects to the lighting switch, ignition switch, and magnetic starter switch (at the starter motor). There is also a heavy red wire going to the voltage regulator "Batt" terminal

Can I just remove this red wire and all others going to the original voltage regulator and get rid of the regulator? Or, do I need to tie things together in some way?

I have attached the wiring diagram for reference. Many thanks for your help!!

When I went to a one wire alt I just put the output of the alt to the voltage reg where the gen would hook up to and I put a jumper inside the reg from the input of the reg to the output. I was told later that this wasn't needed I could have just left the reg alone.

Thanks for your quick response!

The man who builds these alternators told me not to attach to the existing voltage regulator because doing so would somehow override the internal regulator built into the alternator and fry something.

I'm curious if there is another way to bypass the original regulator yet still have the ammeter function?

I had heard that also that's why I jumped the two reg terminals together and cut the other internal connections. Been working for the last 7 years. And yes my ammeter works

OK, so exactly which regulator wires do I cut and which ones do I jump?

I would do as Phils38 did and connect at the regulator -- not at the solenoid. Were you adding a new heavier wire to connect the alternator to the system or using the original armature wire for the connection? If new, you could individually tape and isolate the existing wires at the old generator location and then tuck them away out of sight just in case someone decides to revert back. If you are using the armature wire, as long as you add a heavy jumper -- at least as heavy as the existing red BAT wire -- between the ARM and BAT terminals at the regulator there is no need to cut anything in the regulator.

If you added new wire then if wanted you could disconnect the ARM and FLD wires at the regulator, eliminate the jumper and just use the BAT wire and terminal for your connection point but there is no need to disconnect as long as the wires are insulated at the unused end. You can usually add the jumper using some wire terminals and then bend those and the jumper back so the jumper sort of hides under the regulator edge out of sight.

The jumper will bypass the internal regulator contacts and shunt the alternator voltage around the regulator. In effect the regulator does nothing except sit there and look original. By leaving the wires and regulator intact, removing the jumper and then reconnecting a generator would make everything original again.

Connecting the alternator so the BAT wire is still in the circuit will let the ammeter see the same output as if the generator was doing the work. If the alternator was going on a senior car with the starting safety circuit which provides the solenoid ground thru the generator then there would be a need for an additional change but don't believe your car has that setup.

One thing I would monitor is how the ammeter does with the alternator. Since it wasn't mentioned assume there is no issue but since the alternator has a fairly healthy current output compared to the generator I would wonder if the ammeter will peg when alternator is putting out a lot of current over what the generator could provide.

Thanks, Howard!

I haven't received the alternator yet so I can connect it with any kind of wire.

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 misread my wiring diagram: The wire connecting the Ammeter to the Voltage Regulator is a heavy black wire. The generator has two connections to the Voltage Regulator: 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?

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?

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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.


Quote:
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.

Quote:
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.

If I may jump in and ask some additional questions to this thread as I am looking into doing this conversion myself.

after doing the bypass on the original firewall regulator is there a fuse box that needs to be incorperated to seperate the different amperage supplies need through out the car?

The other components in the car will still be protected by their individual fuses just as they were with the generator. Packard really didn't use a fuseblock as we know it today until the V8 models came along and even then there were still several inline fuses located thruout the car.

Modern cars use a fuse or fusible link between the alternator output and the feed or tiepoint to the rest of electrical system in case there is a problem in the alternator. That prevents any backcurrent or damage to the wire connecting the alternator in case a shorted diode or such should happen. Most conversions don't add anything but you might check with your alternator supplier and see if they recommend a fuse and the value.

If your car has an idiot light and not an ammeter, you might be aware that a typical one wire alternator doesn't work with idiot lights and you will most likely need a 3 wire alternator and some other changes in the original generator idiot light circuit. You might check with your alternator supplier and get their recommendations for the type alternator and suggested wiring schematics.