1 wire alternator upgrade!!

what is the difference from the two harnesses? does it really got to do with the tach?

i'm going to installe tuffstuff alternator from summit to de-clutter my engine bay and to support my stereo system i'm going to install in the car. (100amp for 74 dollars)

now if i remove the external regulator and all the harnesses and install the alternator and the 1 hot wire, am i going to run into trouble with the tach? (from my other post, i only have a loose ground to the tach adapter, on why it wasn't temporarily working)

thanks for any help!!!!

what is the difference from the two harnesses? does it really got to do with the tach?

i'm going to installe tuffstuff alternator from summit to de-clutter my engine bay and to support my stereo system i'm going to install in the car. (100amp for 74 dollars)

now if i remove the external regulator and all the harnesses and install the alternator and the 1 hot wire, am i going to run into trouble with the tach? (from my other post, i only have a loose ground to the tach adapter, on why it wasn't temporarily working)

thanks for any help!!!!

Click to expand...

I put a one wire alternator on my car and it didnt affect the tach at all.

Here's a site http://www.bcbroncos.com/3g1wire%20with%20water%20mark.pdf it works for broncos I would think it would be close for our cars. If you go to their catalog they of course sell parts to do it too. Hope this helps some.

what is the difference from the two harnesses? does it really got to do with the tach?

i'm going to installe tuffstuff alternator from summit to de-clutter my engine bay and to support my stereo system i'm going to install in the car. (100amp for 74 dollars)

now if i remove the external regulator and all the harnesses and install the alternator and the 1 hot wire, am i going to run into trouble with the tach? (from my other post, i only have a loose ground to the tach adapter, on why it wasn't temporarily working)

thanks for any help!!!!

Click to expand...

I put a one wire alternator on my car and it didnt affect the tach at all.

Click to expand...

i remember about 7 years ago it was a 150 dollar upgrade and now its 1/2 that price to do. i believe a 8 guage wire or so is used. correct me if i'm wrong!

what is the difference from the two harnesses? does it really got to do with the tach?

i'm going to installe tuffstuff alternator from summit to de-clutter my engine bay and to support my stereo system i'm going to install in the car. (100amp for 74 dollars)

now if i remove the external regulator and all the harnesses and install the alternator and the 1 hot wire, am i going to run into trouble with the tach? (from my other post, i only have a loose ground to the tach adapter, on why it wasn't temporarily working)

thanks for any help!!!!

Click to expand...

I put a one wire alternator on my car and it didnt affect the tach at all.

Click to expand...

i remember about 7 years ago it was a 150 dollar upgrade and now its 1/2 that price to do. i believe a 8 guage wire or so is used. correct me if i'm wrong!

Click to expand...

yes i used a pretty thick wire I believe it was 8 guage. My alternator cost around $190, but it was an expensive chrome 100 amp.

i originally posted this thinking there was a difference was the tach as it turns out its really with the center guages.

when i switch over to the 1-wire alt, is there some kind of wire i need to jump over to make them work or does it even really matter?

i'm assuming when i swap over to 1 wire alt, that that entire harness can just be pulled from the car and the connecting ends can be just tapped off. eliminating a bunch of wiring mess!

the amp meter will not work, the rest should still work.

The best thing to do is to avoid any weird GM or Summit crap and stick with a Ford alternator. The original on the car is 1G, as in 1st generation. The 2G, found on late model Mustangs up to 1993 is prone to catching on fire. The 3G however, cranks out anywhere from 90 to 200A in stock trim, eliminates the external voltage regulator and wires up in no time.

Check out fordfuelinjection.com to see how to wire up a 3G on an older Ford. My old '79 Bronco, '71 Mustang, and my late model 5.0 are all running a 3G reliably for years.

http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/?p=75

http://www.fordfuelinjection.com/?p=63

Mustang Monthly had an article several months back on 'Weekend Upgrades' and mentioned 1-wire alternator swaps. The thing I keyed on was what they essentially said: Your ampmeter will get fried if you don't disconnect it.

I'm thinking about just replacing the ampmeter with a similar size/style gauge that will work with the one-wire solution when I get to that point (I'm planning on going with a one-wire since my car came sans alternator anyway). My Jeep (1980 CJ-7) has an amp-meter that survived the swap to a one-wire alternator which looks very similar to the one in the center gauge pod.

I don't know about the 2G alternators catching on fire, but my '82 Mustang used to routinely (like every 6 months) fry the internal stator - so I would have to go to Auto Zone (then called 'Auto Shack') to cash in on my 'Lifetime Free Replacement.' Once I heard the whine through the radio, I knew it was time.