Delco Alt. 1 wire to 3 wire

Would something have to be done to the Alternator other to make it work other than what I have mentioned?

Plus I saw in a post where you could use a diode in place of the warning light. Can someone tell me a little more about that please.

Link

Any alternator shop will have 3-wire regulators in stock. Price is about $10. Regulator installation is easy - can be done in about 15 minutes without removing the alternator from the tractor.

1 - Disconnect the ground cable from the battery (safety first!). Also loosen the alternator drive belt - this makes reassembly easier later on.

2 - Pull the aux wiring connector (2-terminal plug) from the back of the alternator. You can leave the heavy alternator output (BAT) cable connected.

3 - Remove 4 screws holding the alternator halves together.

4 - Gently separate and remove the rear cover from the alternator. The stator winding will come off with the rear cover.

5 - The regulator and brush holder assembly is screwed to the inside of the rear cover - and is now easily removed/replaced. Be sure to replace insulating washers, etc. in their original locations!

Reverse the above steps to reassemble.

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Tip: Before sliding the rear cover back onto the alternator push both brushes fully into the brush holder. Now take a piece of stiff wire (a straightened paper clip will work) and insert it thru the hole provided in the back cover, then thru the 2 rentention holes in the brush holder. This will hold the brushes out of the way while you reinstall the rear cover. Then after the rear cover is back in place, simply pull the wire out from the rear and the brushes will drop onto the slip rings.

Thanks, Bob and Bob M

SOME so-called "one-wire" alternators will act like standard "3-wire" alternators if you add the extra wires that plug into the internal voltage regulator (who's pins MAY be covered by a rubber plug).

With other "one-wire" alternators, this will not work. I know of NO way to determine this, looking at the alternor from the outside, as it has to do with the electronics inside the internal voltage regulator.

You can always "swap out" the "one-wire" internal regulator for a (standard) 3-wire unit.

Some "one-wire" units have an "oddball" diode setup, instead of the standard "diode trio" in a "3-wire" unit. This can be swapped, too.

The 1N5408 diode shown in my photos works equally as well as the "idiot light" that can also be used. It's a matter of choice which way you want to go. A 10 Ohm 10Watt wirewound ceramic-case power resistor is another direct alternative to the light ot the diode.

The 1N5408 diode is very robust, and yet is CHEAP.

Some of the other guys around here seem to get by OK with lesser-rated diodes.

I just installed a one wire alternator I had on the shelf on a project where we needed a working charge light, With the wiring connected as in Bob's drawing, it works exactly like a standard"three wire" alternator. It excites at idle and the charge light works as intended.
The instruction sheet that came with my last box of "one wire" regulators said that if the alternators excite speed was too high or if the project needed a charge light, that it was OK to install the wiring as in a stock 3 wire system.

One other thing is when I couldnt get it to excite before I had the pulley changed I took it to a car garage down the street and the guy there added a wire from either the #1 or #2 pin to the BAT and it excited the Alt but it would run the battery down when the tractor wasnt running showing a dis-charge of about 4 amps. After it did that I decided to take that wire off he had added and took it to an alternator shop and had the smaller pulley put on.

Is that warning light or diode what keeps the battery from dis-charging?

It isnt something that HAS to be fixed but just someting I was thinking about I might change if it was a simple as adding the two wires and the diode. Maybe I should just leave well enough alone but with this cold weather there isnt much to do.

The "idiot light", resistor or diode helps to protect the alternator, and stops current from the #1 terminal from backfeeding into the igntion system (distributor ignition) which would prevent the engine from shutting down when the switch is turned to "OFF".

Read up on it on the link below. Has three pages to it but the second page told me the most. Someone else might find it of use so below is the url and a clickable link if it works.

Link