Esteban wrote:There should be a wire connected there.
I thought that might be the case...
I will just take one of the wires off the right terminal and put it on the left.
Almost all the current goes through the meter, except the starter.
Makes sense...
Please note that an alternator supplies a fixed voltage but variable current output. With a partially depleted battery the alternator will try to give as much amperage as possible and you could max out the meter (30 amps or 50 amps depending on years)
I guess mine will be pegged at 50 a lot.
The hot wire that ran from the old alternator I took off was / is heavy. I think about 10 ga. I have not taken it out yet. I have only disconnected it at each end. I called the manufacturer for the new 120 amp alternator and they said it needs to be at least 6 ga, which I have now. They said the 6 ga wire needs to run from the alternator directly to the hot battery which I am in the process of doing. But the old 10 ga wire ran from the old alternator into the firewall to (I think) the ammeter and back out the firewall to the hot battery lead at the starter. "I think" because I have not deliberately traced it behind the firewall yet. It seems the wires on that single terminal on the ammeter are of heavier gauge.
That said; a few questions: Does the alternator wire need to run through the ammeter for the ammeter to work?
The new 6 ga wire is way too big to run to the ammeter; can I keep both the 6 ga and the original 10 ga wires connected and run in parallel (10 ga through the ammeter) to enable the ammeter to function?
I probably should start by reviewing how an ammeter is wired-which wires run to and from it....
I knew there would be unintended consequences of a heavier alternator......
It is very kind to help this old country boy from Georgia
Tom
Edit to add that the new alternator is Voltage Regulator Type: Internal (but not 1 wire capable)
Series: 17SI
I asked if it was 1 wire capable on the product Q and A on the O'Reilly website. In the specs it says its internally regulated. They initially said it was but then corrected themselves with this:
"
Hello and thanks for the question. We have received an update from the manufacturer and they state this part number is not one wire capable. The exciter for this alternator is triggered by the ignition and thus needs to be connected to work which means more than one wire is connected to it. We apologize for the mix up."