Can anybody please explain how to wire an alternator in a hot rod with a S/B 350 and an internally regulated alternator with two male terminals on the top. The previous owner ripped the Studebaker V8 out and replaced it with a 350 with HEI and wired it in such a fashion that it needed an extra toggle switch to shut it off. I also have to kick it up to about 1800 rpms to energize the charging. There is no external regulator and he only used one of the two terminals on the alternator. I haven't completely tracked the path of that wire yet. He has the big charge wire running to a junction block with the other 12v + stuff. The charge wire makes sense, but I think both terminals of the alternator should be used. Any ideas??
thanks
Does the vehicle have a charge warning lamp, or just an ammeter or voltmeter? I'm not very familiar with Studebakers, except for the few I see at shows.
This is a typical GM charging system. You could try to emulate that:
Wow! That's some chart.
Actually all the gages have been replaced and it has a voltmeter. The big problem was that he had to put a separate toggle switch in place to kill the ignition. It wouldn't quit with just turning off the key. The wire he's missing is the 12v hot jumper from #2 to the charge wire. This may be the key.
I'm ripping out all of his attempt to wire up the new gages. There were a lot of loose crimps and add-ons and doubling up of circuits and all of that type of scary stuff. He used a remote Ford solenoid for the starter. This adds a little complication to the issue, I'm sure.
I've got more research to do to define where the #1 alt wire goes.
thanks
The Ford solenoid is actually a good thing. I ran them on my stock cars and never had a hot-start problem associated with those crappy GM solenoids.
I'm sure that it is monuted on the firewall, away from heat from headers. He probably has a jumper wire on the stock solenoid from the S to R terminals. Give it a go for a while, it makes wiring simpler in my opinion and more reliable.
Need help wiring alternator S/B Chevy
