The Ford Barn - View Single Post - Gen to Alt Conversion

miker98038 · 04-14-2023, 01:21 PM

If it’s a 12 volt car already it’s pretty straight forward. But which alternator you choose will affect that. If it’s an internal regulator (3 or 1 wire) you’ll need to deal with that. If it’s a separate regulator, same thing. If you’re going way up in amperage output to run heavy electrical loads, the output wire all the way to the battery terminal will need to be appropriately sized. And you need to figure out how to get the “red light” to work too.

I’m not a big fan of 1 wires adapted to a different vehicle. I’ve seen lower voltage at the battery then I like on some. Depends on the wire length and gauge between the alternator and the battery.

But in most cases you don’t get into all of those items. Just something to be aware off.

04-14-2023, 01:21 PM	#2
miker98038 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Kent, WA. Tucson, AZ Posts: 1,766	Re: Gen to Alt Conversion - Easy? If it’s a 12 volt car already it’s pretty straight forward. But which alternator you choose will affect that. If it’s an internal regulator (3 or 1 wire) you’ll need to deal with that. If it’s a separate regulator, same thing. If you’re going way up in amperage output to run heavy electrical loads, the output wire all the way to the battery terminal will need to be appropriately sized. And you need to figure out how to get the “red light” to work too. I’m not a big fan of 1 wires adapted to a different vehicle. I’ve seen lower voltage at the battery then I like on some. Depends on the wire length and gauge between the alternator and the battery. But in most cases you don’t get into all of those items. Just something to be aware off.