Alternator wiring connections........

[boyt911sc]

I have removed and installed numerous alternators and I could put them back together with no problem. However, this morning when I was installing the newly purchased engine harness from Dennis Powell, I was caught by surprised. Suddenly got confused when I could not remember or recall which is which.



There are three (3) terminals at the back of the '83 SC alternator with integrated voltage regulator and there are no markings. The red big wire goes to the upper left ( I am sure of this). There are two (2) more terminals:
a). Upper right.
b). Bottom.

If my recollection is correct, the bunch of brown wires and engine cable go to 'upper right' terminal (?). And finally, the blue wire goes to the bottom (?). Are these correct?

Lastly, is there a particular orientation of the alternator when mounting it to the alternator fan housing? Should the vented slots be up or down? When you reach a certain age (over 70) your memory is not as good as when you were younger. I took this for granted because I could recall them before. Now no more. Thanks.

Tony

[pampadori]

Here is a simple way to remember it.

1. The big red goes to the larger stud secured with the m10 bolt.
2. The one blue (mine was black) wire is for the charge light on in the dash. So it will need to go to the stud that has a cork insulating washer preventing it from touching other metal components. I can't 100% tell for sure but does one of the smaller studs have a non-conductive washer under the m8 nut?
3. The group of ground wires go to the other un-insulated stud with the m8 nut.

I took the alt out of my 1983 targa because I wasn't getting anything higher than 13.0 - 13.1 volts when revving to 3k rpm. hitting the brakes would cause the idle to drop. Using headlights for more than 2 or 3 minutes meant I would have to jump the car the next time i started it.
Took the alt to a rebuilder and he said it's in good shape. WTH?
Put it all back together and now i'm getting 13.4 volts at idle....at least most of the time. Its intermittent. Not sure where to go next but i learned the trick about looking for the cork washer and thought that might help you out.

P.s. Someone mentioned to me that the starter wiring might be to blame for my charging issues. I don't understand this but will look there next time i'm able.

Shaun

[RSTarga]

voltage regulator should be at the bottom.

[timmy2]

Here you go.

[gordner]

Originally Posted by pampadori

Here is a simple way to remember it.

1. The big red goes to the larger stud secured with the m10 bolt.
2. The one blue (mine was black) wire is for the charge light on in the dash. So it will need to go to the stud that has a cork insulating washer preventing it from touching other metal components. I can't 100% tell for sure but does one of the smaller studs have a non-conductive washer under the m8 nut?
3. The group of ground wires go to the other un-insulated stud with the m8 nut.

I took the alt out of my 1983 targa because I wasn't getting anything higher than 13.0 - 13.1 volts when revving to 3k rpm. hitting the brakes would cause the idle to drop. Using headlights for more than 2 or 3 minutes meant I would have to jump the car the next time i started it.
Took the alt to a rebuilder and he said it's in good shape. WTH?
Put it all back together and now i'm getting 13.4 volts at idle....at least most of the time. Its intermittent. Not sure where to go next but i learned the trick about looking for the cork washer and thought that might help you out.

P.s. Someone mentioned to me that the starter wiring might be to blame for my charging issues. I don't understand this but will look there next time i'm able.

Shaun

You almost certainly have a bad ground somewhere. I would clean up your battery posts to start with.

[patkeefe]

Getting old has it's share of problems, Tony