Corvair Forum

Lots to think about here, as its a single wire set up. I will be fitting new wiring harnesses throughout, but I'm thinking a lot of the original (new) wires will not be needed .To keep things neat, I may be able to use them for other things such as elec fuel pump, stop/turn signal conversion to uk spec etc, rather than route in new ,single wires for each application, trial and error seems to be the way here

bbodie52 wrote:....If you opt to upgrade to an alternator...you need an alternator oil filter adaptor...

Brad,

Your post (snipped and quoted) above is confusing. He has a 65. All 65's came with alternators from the factory. Did somewhere in the last 17 pages it say he had an early engine with a generator mount? Maybe I missed that.

I agree Dave, Brads post assumes I have an EM , and the wiring diagrams seem to point to an EM gen to alt conversion, whereas , I am upgrading from a stock alt to a high output , internally regulated unit with single wire, so Im a little confused as to what to do with the old wires that were connected to the external regulator

mart wrote:yep, that polished alternator you see in the other pic is a 80 amp job...

...did you not read my reply before posting Brad?, 80 amp alternator with internal regulator already fitted...I know how to suck eggs...

...I still need to figure out the wiring and switching for the unit, Im guessing running it through the ignition switch may cause problems without some sort of relay, but I dont want it permanently live direct from the battery or fuse box

bbodie52 wrote: Sorry, Martin, I failed to realize that you already had an alternator on your engine and did not see your comment about the 80 amp unit while I was busy drafting my reply. Looks like all bases are covered with your vehicle, but perhaps the info I posted will be useful to someone else.
Early morning, old age... I must have some excuse! I'M SO CONFUSED!!!

I look forward to seeing your project running and with you driving it on the road!

I already apologized for the first (confused) post. I was thinking of the Greenbrier van that belongs to TexasUK for some reason, and addressed putting the electric heater and updated charging system in an EM vehicle. When I realized my mistake I posted some information on using a one wire or three wire alternator in a Corvair (Late or Early). The three wire alternator should permit retaining the GEN/FAN warning light, but that feature is lost with a one-wire alternator. I was not sure which type Martin had in his LM Corvair, and could not tell from the picture. He later stated that he had a one-wire 80 Amp alternator.

mart wrote:, stop/turn signal conversion to uk spec etc,

That's your choice, right? Is this just for safety reasons?

mart wrote:I agree Dave, Brads post assumes I have an EM , and the wiring diagrams seem to point to an EM gen to alt conversion, whereas , I am upgrading from a stock alt to a high output , internally regulated unit with single wire, so Im a little confused as to what to do with the old wires that were connected to the external regulator

The wiring diagrams I have for internal reg. alternator conversion, connect the 2 outer 1 wires at the Old regulator plug together and also connect the 2 inner wires together.

Here is a diagram I scanned from my dog eared copy of the Corsa Tech Guide.

TexasUK wrote:

mart wrote:, stop/turn signal conversion to uk spec etc,

That's your choice, right? Is this just for safety reasons?[/

yes, too many middle aged blondes driving 4x4's around who wouldnt know what a flashing red light at the rear means.....I dont want to be rear ended

My alternator only appears to have one connection, whereas the diagrams show more wires coming from it. Is that black plastic piece to the left some sort of removable plug that hides some more connections like the ones in Brads picture? I dont want to pull it off and damage anything

Your alternator has been internally wired to eliminate all but the single battery charging output. The guidelines I showed in my earlier diagrams of a one-wire alternator apply to your configuration. The other 3-wire diagrams apply to new design GM alternators with three external terminals and an internal regulator (which you do not have). That alternator uses three wires (Battery, Field (1) and Sensor (2)). That type of 3-connector alternator is the type also shown in the CORSA diagrams in terribleted's post above, and permits retaining the GEN/FAN warning light circuit. The one-wire type does not allow the GEN/FAN warning light to function, and without the "1" alternator Field terminal the GEN/FAN light will stay on continuously, whenever the key is on. (You may want to remove the GEN/FAN bulb). The installation of a voltmeter will allow the driver to monitor the charging circuit voltage, but you will not have a warning light to tell you if the fan belt breaks or flips.

In that case, what do I do with the old regulator wires that are shown to be connected in Teds diagram?

None of the four wires that connected to the old voltage regulator have a function anymore. The wires that connected to regulator terminals 1 and 2 no longer connect to an alternator. The wires that originally connected to terminals 3 and 4 basically supported the GEN/FAN warning light circuit, which will not function properly with the single wire alternator. You can unplug and remove the old voltage regulator. The wiring changes in Ted's diagram applied to a 3-wire alternator with an internal regulator, which is not the type of alternator you have installed.

The single battery wire on your alternator should be wired to the positive junction connector near the battery, which is also connected to the thin wire coming from the positive battery terminal. This will provide the charging connection. All connections to the internal voltage regulator in your alternator are inside the alternator. The main drawbacks with this type of one-wire alternator are (1) No GEN/FAN warning light, and (2) the alternator will not initialize and begin producing an output until the engine has been started and the RPMs exceed about 1500 RPM. Once that happens the internal regulator is triggered and will begin producing a charging output (which can be monitored if you install a voltmeter in your car). You must rev the engine above the trigger RPM each time you start the car, to initialize the alternator output. If you don't do this and operate the engine at low RPMs only, you will be running off of the battery only with no active charging circuit.

I made the same mistake in buying a high output single-wire alternator for my Corvair, without understanding these drawbacks with this type of alternator. If I had it to do over I would look for a high output 3-wire alternator and not purchase a single wire alternator.

so if I remove them or cut them out to neaten things up at either end of the harness there will be no problems?

No. If you look at the old original wiring schematics in my previous post or in the shop manual and trace each of the four wires that connect to the voltage regulator, you will see that they have no function in conjunction with the one-wire alternator.

If you had purchased a 3-wire alternator (as shown in Ted's CORSA-provided diagrams) only the two wires that were originally connected to the voltage regulator pins 3 and 4 are used to tie to the warning light circuit and to tie the sensing wire to the power buss. The first two wires are utilized to connect to the 3-wire alternator terminals 1 and 2, in a manner similar to the original Corvair factory alternator instead of installing new wiring to perform the same function. Wires 1 and 2 are simply jumpered over to wires 3 and 4 at the connector.

I would connect the new alternator to the car and test its function to make sure that everything works properly. Then, if you are satisfied that it works properly, you can remove the segments of the old harness and the old regulator to clean things up.

mart wrote:so if I remove them or cut them out to neaten things up at either end of the harness there will be no problems?

That exactly correct these wires provided signal to the dash bulb nothing more. Since you have no signal to feed you can terminate them in the harness however you like.

Good, I dont like messy spare wires

before cutting/removeing any wires - maybe take off the black cap on the side of the alternator. if there are tabs under there - you can prob use 1 of them for your gen/fan warning light. this will get the alt chargeing @ idle also.

-Scott V.