In a message dated 1/10/98 3:52:02 PM Eastern Standard Time, gofastmg@juno.com
writes:
> DANMAS wrote:
> >1) It is considerably more expensive than the standard GM alternator,
To which Rick Morrison replied:
> The single wire alternators I put in both my Midget and my son's, cost a
> whoping $45 each.
Dan and Rick's comments alternate (pun intended) below:
OK, scratch the "considerably" part. I didn't think you could get one for $45,
but that's still $15 more than I paid for the same output.
> >2) The advantage of the one-wire - its simplicity of connections - is lost
on
> >an LBC. >>snip<<
> Nope. Simply make up a plug which connects the large brown wire to the
> Alternator connection. The smaller brown wire is blanked off. As for the
> alternator warning light, see below.
It doesn't seem to me to be any harder to connect the smaller brown wire to
the connector than it is to blank it off. It certainly doesn't take any less
understanding of the wiring involved.
> 3) You lose the function of the alternator warning light. The one-wire
> >unit does not have provisions for driving this lamp. Since it is on the
> >dash, and provides good information, it seems a waste not to use it.
>
> I did. On the plug made above, the warning light wire is connected into
> the left spade connector on the Delco alternator.
So you really have a two wire alternator? And a third wire just hanging there
doing nothing? Knowing how to connect the warning lamp, and connecting it,
sorta takes away from the simplicity advantage of the one-wire unit. Some of
the MGBs came from the factory with a two wire alternator. You also had to cut
a second wire off the plug you mentioned. It would have been just as easy to
connect these wires together, wouldn't it?
> As a caveat, I did not spend the big bucks to get one of the "Street Rod"
> alternators from the local parts house. Being a bit of a cheapskate, I
> went to a local starter/alternator shop and he, being very helpful when I
> explained what I wanted, took a basic off-the-shelf Delco alternator of
> 65 amps, removed the back and installed what he described as a "self
> energizing regulator". Took him all of 5 minutes. This alternator has the
> provision for a alternator warning light as stated above.
Be good to this guy, he cut you a deal. Normally, the conversion kit alone
costs in the neighborhood of $20 -$30. Plus installation, unless you know how
to do it yourself.
> Not all "single wire" alternators are created equal
True, but usually the options are plain or chrome.
Let's see if I understand this correctly: You bought a standard alternator,
paid to have extra parts added to convert it to a one-wire, connected it as a
two wire, cut the end off of a perfectly good wire, already in place and could
have been easily used for a three wire unit, and came out better than if you
had just used the standard alternator to begin with?
Hmmmm! Seems to me you paid $15 for parts you didn't need, extra parts just to
go wrong, and wound up with exactly the same thing I did using a standard
alternator. I don't see the benefits. A one wire unit will work, but I still
don't recommend it, even if the cost were the same. I think if you know enough
to make the modifications to use a one-wire, as you obviously do, then you
know enough to use the standard three wire unit. Other than simplicity of
wiring, I can think of no reason for using a one-wire.
Dan Masters,
Alcoa, TN
'71 TR6---------3000mile/year driver, fully restored
'71 TR6---------undergoing full restoration and Ford 5.0 V8 insertion - see:
http://www.sky.net/~boballen/mg/Masters/
'74 MGBGT---3000mile/year driver, original condition, slated for a V8 soon!
'68 MGBGT---organ donor for the '74
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