Schwabber

Throw a meter across them and I bet you'll find continuity. Then put one lead on bare metal or ground, *nothing Then the one lead on +, *nothing Look at the schematic. You'll see the ammeter is isolated (of course) Set those wires to the side so later if you get the voltmeter 'upgrade' you have them available. ha ha - you know I had reached the same conclusion on my own. I have a brain, but it seems it has a very small processor. Sometimes I wish I could upgrade the CPU.... The suggestion about snipping this thread up makes sense. I will post a fresh thread about the window motor and also the radiator shroud and Gary you can re-distribute the elements of this discussion as makes sense to you. Brian

Started the truck earlier this evening and all systems appear to be in order. It is just a simple beater I use for hauling remodeling materials and garden supplies (and friends furniture) but I was super stoked when it cranked right over on the first attempt and ran smooth. I just need to fix the fan shroud(the plastic mounting flange is ripped off) and get it back on. Then I have some interior repairs in the queue. First up will be to repair the drivers-side window motor assembly. Again, my deep appreciation for all the assistance you guys have provided. Cheers, Brian

Jim, the alternator is bottom mounted on this particular truck. I have it in and it looks pretty good so far. I did note that that mounting ear that connects to the adjustment arm hits that arm flush such that I have to push the arm back an eight of an inch to get the arm in place. I wonder would that pressure cause any deflection in the belt and should I take that arm off and bang some of the bend out if it before I proceed any further. I am pretty verbose and over-explain stuff too, or at least am conscience of the feeling other people think that. SO, no worries on that score. I am a bit worried about the 2 remaining yellow and red wires... The truck is pretty much all back together. I plan to turn the switch when I get home from work later today. I plan to have my neighbor and his fire extinguisher close at hand... Brian

One Clarification about the comment that "everything else goes in the trash." Currently there are 4 wires going into that connector: Yellow power that came from the output wire in the old alt. This is retained. Green wire. This is connected to the green coming from the regulator Red. This came from fuse link coming from the "A" terminal on the reg plug. Do I just cut it down cap it at harness? Small yellow 16 gauge wire. Cut down and Cap this off, correct?

I misspoke earlier from misreading my own diagram. It is the "A" wire that goes to the connection with the orange/black shunt wire. Coming off that connection is a red wire going over to the harness plug. The green "S" wire currently goes directly to the harness plug. This wire position on the new alt is yellow stator wire going back onto alternator. :nabble_anim_confused:

Yes, the new alternator does have the "I" wire - it is the old 2g alt that does not. You say I will need to find the "I" and you have hit the nail on the head. Clearly something in this old set up is serving as the wire going over to the ignition, but what? Could it be the small yellow wire coming off the splice point from the B terminal? It has to be either that or the red wire coming off the connector that splices the "A" wire from the regulator and the orange/black coming from the B terminal. Your second response says the the harness now goes to the batt post on the solenoid. I think that is the same thing I was saying about splicing the existing 12 ga yellow wire from that connector over to the batt post on the solenoid. Brian

Gary - So you too are familiar with the different reference points for a place depending on where are you now. I have a vague recollection of you being somewhere on the east coast, maybe something you said about Newport(?) Brian

Jim and Gary - looks like both of you are monitoring this thread. Hopefully the both of you ganging up on me will finally get me over the hump. Every time I think I have it, I go back to the truck and lose my confidence. I believe the key to understanding everything is making a diagram of the current situation, so I sat down and drew up a diagram of the wiring of the 2g as I found it. Perhaps it will help you understand some of my confusion. And yes, it is accurate. And, no, there is no "I" wire coming directly off the regulator. Brian

Jim - ok, as stated in the off-topic response, no worries about the delayed response from you. And no, the only lost data from the BSOD event last night was my thoughtfully composed and nearly complete response to your last note from the 3rd. Let me see if I can do it justice: 1. You mentioned the yellow wire coming from the old 2g plug and the instruction sheet. That instruction says "if small wire exists, splice it into the yellow "S" wire. You had referenced it being a "B" wire, perhaps because the image quality is not that great(?) Not sure how that would impact your advise but thought it should be clarified. 2. This truck is 302 5.0 EFI. Looking at the wiring diagram you shared for the 86 it explains for me why the white wire coming off the b terminal plug wasn't connected to anything(aftermarket misrepair, perhaps?) Ok, that's not everything I had in last nights aborted response, but it's all I can muster with a slight hang-over. Thanks, Brian

Just coming back to this after being preempted by other matters for the day. Will get back to you on the more important stuff tomorrow, but the off-topic is easy and about all I want to tackle right now, after having my pc go all BSOD on me while putting finishing touches on a well-crafted response on the weightier matters :( I am originally from Ventura, which is just down from Santa Barbara as you travel 101 from north to south. When I lived there, we always considered ourselves to be in So Cal, and SF to be part of Nor Cal. Now that I am further north, I find that folks here consider this Central Cal, and like you said, Eureka, Fr Bragg, Mendocino to be Nor Cal. But my old notions die hard, I suppose. Brian

Jim - I picked up the harness together with the alternator from a place called Quality Power. The harness was presented as a "2g to 3g" upgrade harness. The regulator is standard as seen below Thanks much for the assist.

Maybe I can help? The 'A' wire is 'alternator' and senses system voltage at the alternator. It could be at the actual output post, or the alternator side of the 175A fuse. If for some reason that fuse were to blow, break or corrode the alternator would go 'full field' and meltdown in just a few minutes. This is why it should be attached before the fuse. The existing B/O wire between the two circles is deliberately undersized for the 60?A alternator you have. This forces some current to flow through the a meter, and this is what the meter reads. The 3G can put out twice as much amperage, and the existing shunt is far too small to handle that. If you had a high current draw it would try to find the path of least resistance, and as the shunt heated up more current would try and find its way through the meter, probably melting it or (in an extreme case) causing a fire. So you replace the shunt with a 10Ga. wire that can handle all the cab loads. Thanks, Jim - that helps a lot. I still do have some uncertainty around the physical location of those nodes that are circled in maroon on the schematic. I suppose this is my relative inexperience with automotive schematics here, but I think it could also be somewhat related to work done on the vehicle prior to my getting it. Is what is depicted as the first node coming from the B terminal the splice that includes that small yellow(perhaps 16 gauge), the orange/black wire(the shunt?), and the 12 gauge yellow wire?("Node1" photo) And is the other node the splice with the approx 16 gauge red and yellow wire that go to and that goes over to the connector, with the black/orange fuse link that is seen fried in the background of the "Node2" pic. If that is correct understanding, then I am not sure how to work this into my new set up. I am running a 4 gauge wire off the B terminal of the alt to the mega fuse. I cant see how I would want to splice into this charge wire. So, are these the nodes being referenced, or am I barking up the wrong tree? Also, I had been thinking was that with this new approach I had been contemplating, I would need to bring a 10 or 12 gauge yellow wire from the battery post of the solenoid to a splice point on the existing 10/12 gauge wire seen in the "Node2" pic so that what all that wire is powering under the dash continues getting it's power source. Node 2 Node 1

Gary, it occurs to me that another possible source of confusion here is that I have not fully described how I am going about my solution. I am not using the existing original harness at all - the one on the truck was fried and I could not find a donor vehicle. So, I am using a 4 ga charging wire going direct from the Alt B terminal to the 175 a fuse to the battery side of the solenoid. From my understanding of prior discussion, it seems to me that this should prevent frying the shunt, but at the same time the ammeter will be always showing a draw condition even if/when the alternator is charging. If this is correct, then I think I am ok with that. I do plan to convert the ammeter to a voltmeter as discussed elsewhere, but it sounds to me as though that change is not a precondition to getting the alternator installed and the truck running again. The other question unresolved with this approach, is what to do with the yellow charge wire discussed previously. I gather that I will need to connect a 12 ga wire to the battery side of the solenoid on top of the 4 ga wire coming from the alt, and splice that into the existing 12 ga yellow wire that goes into the connector and off to the dash with the ignition wire. I've attached the full diagram from the provider of the harness, and a photo of the connector described above Thanks for sticking with me on this. I imagine this must me a real pain for you too. ;)

Forgot to attach pic of the competing diagrams

Gary - I have noted 2 different configurations for how to wire the A yellow wire coming from the regulator. In your schematic, it shows it going straight to the battery side terminal of the solenoid, bypassing the fuse. In the schematic that came with the alternator/harness, it shows that wire going to the B terminal of the alternator and thru the fuse. Is there is case for bypassing the fuse that would justify undoing how the harness came from the supplier and splicing it connect it at the solenoid as depicted in the physical depiction your provided previously. Also, I am still not certain what to do about the ammeter. In your last note, you said to run a 10 wire splice between the 2 maroon circles on the schematic in order to bypass the shunt, , but that looks like the same thing as the shunt to me? Thanks, Brian