Conversion from positive earth..

npca-eccook · Post by **npca-eccook** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 9:47 am

Subject : conversion from positive earth to negative ground Most components will be unaffected. Affected components include fan motor , wiper motor , instrument cluster , and generator. Electric motors will run with reverse rotation.. For wiper motor this may not matter It is possible to electricly isolate/insulate motor then switch wires. If temp gage reads hot when cold , make sure gage is electricly isolated , then switch wires. Alternator re-wiring should be straightforward. Follow manufactures destructions. Reconnect components one at a time. firextinguishershoulbehandy. goodlucked P.S. What is the year of yer patrol ?

npca-riverpatrol · Post by **npca-riverpatrol** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 10:05 am

Patrols went to a negative ground in mid/late '67, so typically only the earlier ones have this concern. Most of my early Patrols had already been converted by the time I got them. None really seemed to have any issues, so the PO's must have done something right.

npca-abuelo442 · Post by **npca-abuelo442** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:28 pm

A few comments: An alternator rewiring can't be done, unless complete isolation of the body is done. A generator on the other hand, is easily done, with only a momentarily jump between 2 terminals. No rewiring. Starter motor will run in the same direction. No change needed. Same for gauges, except Amp Meter that needs to be reversed to show current flowing in the right direction. Esteban

npca-eccook · Post by **npca-eccook** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:56 pm

Esteban , thank yew kindly for correcting me. Isolating alternator is problematic. I'm not quite convinced about starter rotation , which I forgot to address. thanks ed

npca-eccook · Post by **npca-eccook** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 5:06 pm

Having thot about alternator and starter wiring for a bit , I was wrong when i said i wuz wrong. Once you have disconnected every electrical gizmo and then switched battery cables , nothing should happen. But , now you have a buggy with negative ground. " Hot wires " that were previously connected to negative battery terminal are now connected to positive ternimal of batry. Electrons will flow backwards thru all gizmos including starter-motor. ( S&M ) It is my contention , Switching a few soldered wires inside S&M should provide correct rotation.( Do not attempt at home.Leave to good gizmo rebuild outfit. ) Some wear items could be looked at while it's apart. An alternator and regulator stolen from 1967 Jeep Commander , V-6 , ( Motorola ) , should drop into any negative ground buggy. goodlucked

npca-abuelo442 · Post by **npca-abuelo442** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 7:00 pm

Ed, I did convert my Patrol from positive to negative ground some years ago. At that time no one was able to help me, so I did some research and learned all about alternators. Regarding the Starter Motor, rest assured that it will rotate in the same direction. Only a direct current (DC) motor with permanent magnets (like all toy motors) will run in a reverse direction. In a Starter Motor, when you changed polarity of the battery, both the stator and rotor windings are reversed, so the rotation remains the same. Regards, Esteban

npca-riverpatrol · Post by **npca-riverpatrol** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 10:30 am

Just a silly thought here: if the starter motor rotated the opposite direction after reversing the vehicle polarity - wouldn't the starter then be attempting to turn the flywheel/engine in the opposite direction, too? I would think this would make for some horrible noises down in the starter area. Don't think I've ever heard of that problem... The only problems I know of when reversing the polarity are: reverse the wires to the amp gauge (I have one that burnt up because someone didn't do this), and change the black/white wire to the coil from the (-) terminal to the (+) terminal.

npca-abuelo442 · Post by **npca-abuelo442** » Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:20 pm

On a normal situation the pinion is locked to its shaft by the clutch that unlocks if the engine starts up and the flywheel begins turning the pinion faster than its normal speed. By allowing the pinion to spin freely for a moment, the clutch protects the motor from damage until the drive is retracted. If for any reason the starter motor tries to turn in the opposite direction, this clutch mechanism on the pinion will prevent it to turn the engine. Esteban