Schwabber Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Hi Everyone- My name is Brian and I am just giving a brief intro to get started on the Bullnose Forum. I bought a 86 302 EFI about 4 years ago as a home improvement project truck and paid 1200 for it. The odo read 44k but looking through the glove box I found the original owners gas refuel log that went to late 2010 and the last entry was 144k. So I asked no more questions and paid the seller cash. Been pretty happy with that gut decision so far, but recently had to replace the water pump and while that went fine, it introduced me to the infamous 2G alternator problem. The truck has been sidelined for the past month by a fried alternator harness, which has delayed a number of projects that I need to get back on track asap. I expect you will be hearing lots more from me... Brian Schwabauer 86 302 EFI Truck Project backlog by my priority: replace and rewire alternator rear brake and master cylinder rebuilds driver side window motor repair wiper arm replacement side-panel dent repair Home Project backlog by my wife's priority remodel master bath remodel home office replace side fence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Welcome to the forum, Schwabber! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Brian - Welcome! For what you got the price was good. Trucks that can be driven immediately are worth far more than those which need something fixed as you almost always find more broken than they tell you. On the alternator, I think you said you are going with a 3G, which is certainly what I’d do. The conversion page lists donor vehicles and you can get part of their wiring, making it a simple task. Again, welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
844rd Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Welcome Brian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwabber Posted September 6, 2018 Author Share Posted September 6, 2018 Brian - Welcome! For what you got the price was good. Trucks that can be driven immediately are worth far more than those which need something fixed as you almost always find more broken than they tell you. On the alternator, I think you said you are going with a 3G, which is certainly what I’d do. The conversion page lists donor vehicles and you can get part of their wiring, making it a simple task. Again, welcome! Thanks, Gary. I do have a couple questions from reviewing the 3G upgrade page: 1). Is the recommendation to get both the alternator and the harness from donor, or just the harness? 2). The answer is probably obvious, but quick observation says the mount ear orientation on the 3g is parallel to the pulley, whereas it is perpendicular to the pulley on mine(2G). Maybe a picture would help me understand this better... 3). Finally, the original fusible link is replaced by the bussmann protector, right? I added a couple pics showing what’s left of the current setup Thanks, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Thanks, Gary. I do have a couple questions from reviewing the 3G upgrade page: 1). Is the recommendation to get both the alternator and the harness from donor, or just the harness? 2). The answer is probably obvious, but quick observation says the mount ear orientation on the 3g is parallel to the pulley, whereas it is perpendicular to the pulley on mine(2G). Maybe a picture would help me understand this better... 3). Finally, the original fusible link is replaced by the bussmann protector, right? I added a couple pics showing what’s left of the current setup Thanks, Brian Yes, get the alternator and at least the charge wire, which should include the fuse. And, you should also get the other wires to the alternator as well since you have some melted ones and will need to repair them. But I'm not sure what you mean about the mounting ear. The 3G's I've gotten have the same mounting ears as the 1G's and 2G's. As for the fusible link, you do have a burned one. But I can't tell which one it is, although it looks like it may be the big yellow one that connects to the ammeter shunt, as shown on Page 15 here: Electrical/1986 EVTM/Charge and Power Distribution - Gasoline Engines. If that's the case, then that is something you'll have to repair. The bussman fuse goes in the wire from the alternator to the solenoid. And, you have to bypass the shunt to the ammeter or it will burn up when the 3G start throwing its weight around. And, by the way, your images are too large to insert directly. But if you click the "Big Size" button they'll load just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwabber Posted September 7, 2018 Author Share Posted September 7, 2018 Yes, get the alternator and at least the charge wire, which should include the fuse. And, you should also get the other wires to the alternator as well since you have some melted ones and will need to repair them. But I'm not sure what you mean about the mounting ear. The 3G's I've gotten have the same mounting ears as the 1G's and 2G's. As for the fusible link, you do have a burned one. But I can't tell which one it is, although it looks like it may be the big yellow one that connects to the ammeter shunt, as shown on Page 15 here: Electrical/1986 EVTM/Charge and Power Distribution - Gasoline Engines. If that's the case, then that is something you'll have to repair. The bussman fuse goes in the wire from the alternator to the solenoid. And, you have to bypass the shunt to the ammeter or it will burn up when the 3G start throwing its weight around. And, by the way, your images are too large to insert directly. But if you click the "Big Size" button they'll load just fine. Sorry I screwed up the first upload, Gary. I think I have it figured out now. fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Sorry I screwed up the first upload, Gary. I think I have it figured out now. fingers crossed. You can click "More" and then "Edit Post" to fix the pics in the earlier post. And then I can edit mine to remove them. If you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwabber Posted September 8, 2018 Author Share Posted September 8, 2018 Sorry I screwed up the first upload, Gary. I think I have it figured out now. fingers crossed. All - I have been doing some searching and so far haven't turned up any suitable replacement parts in my local area. I do notice that there is a national used parts database that many of the junk yards have up on their websites. Quick search gives several hits for the alternator I am looking for, but I am wondering how accurate this option is. Also, trying to do this via mail makes it a bit harder to try to pull the harness also. So I guess the other question is maybe someone knows a place in my area that might have a better inventory of donor vehicles. (circa 1995-2000 fords) Brian Schwabauer '86 F150 302 EFI Northern California/SF Bay Area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schwabber Posted September 30, 2018 Author Share Posted September 30, 2018 All - I have been doing some searching and so far haven't turned up any suitable replacement parts in my local area. I do notice that there is a national used parts database that many of the junk yards have up on their websites. Quick search gives several hits for the alternator I am looking for, but I am wondering how accurate this option is. Also, trying to do this via mail makes it a bit harder to try to pull the harness also. So I guess the other question is maybe someone knows a place in my area that might have a better inventory of donor vehicles. (circa 1995-2000 fords) Brian Schwabauer '86 F150 302 EFI Northern California/SF Bay Area Hi Gary/All - So I have been going out to local junkyards and haven't been having any luck. More than that, it seems that pretty much universally most vehicles have already been stripped of their alternators and most other key electrical parts. Is there another way to go about this that might be more productive? I was wondering if the age of the truck and all the donor vehicles now makes this a unlikely proposition in 2018. And if that is the case, do I have any other options? I wonder if I did refer this to an electrical place would they even be able to fix it? I would appreciate any insights - Thanks, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts