1 vs 3

Okay gentlemen time to educate Pete again, please.....

I have read several posts lately referencing the "infamous" one wire alternator versus the three wire alternator. Why is it so infamous? What are the differences (besides number of wires of course)? What makes one better than the other? I do realize that when this alternator is used on a passenger car all three wires are used.

As you might have guessed yes, my 52 8N has been converted to 12 volt and yes it's one wire.

thanks in advance for your enlightenment,

Pete

The one-wire units are AFTERMARKET bastardizations of the original 10SI Delcos that need more speed at startup to excite, SEEM to be more prone (others will argue this) to draining the battery during periods of non-use, and often cost MORE than an original as-GM-intended 3-wire alternator.

All to eliminate the need for a wire run to the ignition switch, and a resistor,OR "idiot lamp" OR diode to limit the current backfeeding to the ignition system.

I think the 1 wire was a marine application that found its way on to other engines,,,, My self I have no use for a 1 wire,,,, just me,,,, I spec they do werk OK

My one wire, 6v, posi ground, Chevy alternator, that I had an alternator shop build for my tractor, has served me wonderfully for close to 25 years.

Pete.......why I don't like 1-wire 12-volt conversions and I know 8-ways to convert and they all work.

You haffta spin yer COLD tractor engine to about 1800-rpms before the built-in exciter starts charging the 1-wire 12-volt alternator. This is almost MAXIMUM engine rpms (2200 is max) Would you go out and jamb yer cold Belchfire-V8 or rice-rocket-sewing-machine-precision-engine to 5000-rpms? just to kick yer alternator's built-in charge circuit? Me, neither.

1-wire converted 12-volt alternators are popular because of the "simplicity" of just 1-wire. Did I mention "I HATE 1-WIRE CONVERSIONS"???

The 3-wire 12-volt alternator starts charging at about 600-rpms which is about 1/4-throttle. Works for me .......Dell, a 12-volt advocate for the right reason. That said, I haven't found the right reason for my eazy starting 6-volt 52-8N

That is the alternator I want. Yesterday my battery was quite low, barely started. I hade the screw on the back of the genny turned to low charge and been doin lots of low rpm stuff. I set the screw to high and put the trickle charger on for a day..

Generator doesn't come close to alternator in performance. I had been worried about over charging with genny set hi, which is probably possible, but not likely with my small place.

If that's what you have your heart set on, ANY decent auto electric shop in your area should be able to get, or even "build up" a 6-Volt (+) ground alternator for you.

You CAN go 3-wire.

If you insist on the one-wire unit, don't forget to "goose" the engine a bit after every startup to get the unit excited and charging.

My tractor cranks best at about half throttle, no choke.

I never have to think about all of the "goosing" that gets discussed here, and never have to worry about the battery having a good charge.

I do work my tractor though, plowing, bush hogging, scrape blade.

Maybe mine is just easily excitable.... And gets excited about being able to go to work.

Just a stupid thought from a youngin - so please don't anyone get mad...

If someone was so inclined to wire up their N with a one wire alternator for whatever reason, why is it such a bad thing to have to rev the engine to 1800 rpms (4/5 throttle by my calculations)? Though I generally start my 8N at about half throttle, or maybe a tad less, once it's warm and we are both ready, I generally bump her up to almost full throttle to get wherever I'm going anyway. If I had a 1 wire alternator, I could just watch the amps while ramping up the throttle, and as soon as the alternator kicked in, I could reset the throttle wherever I needed.

I guess I don't see the problem? Not trying to start a fight. Trying to understand.

Personally - when I got my 8N, the three wire, 12V, neg ground alternator was physically mounted, but not electrically connected. A fully charged marine deep cycle/starting battery would see me through about 20 cold starts and maybe 15 hours of use before needing a recharge.
Having said that - If someone with a one wire alternator ran their tractor for even 30 minutes before reving their engine to excite the alternator, where is the harm?

Yes it's one more thing to do - but it's something I suspect most of us do anyway... I guess I don't understand why folks here seem to dislike them so much...

And yes, my 8N is now wired correctly

TooTall

Yep, considering that these old tractors will run all day off of the battery and revving a partially warmed engine to 1800 rpm isn't going to hurt anything I don't quite understand the big deal either. I've owned and used a few 12V conversions with the single wire alt. and it's never been anything to cause concern. I start them and let them warm up a bit, then after I'm under way I throttle up until it starts to charge and forget about it.

TooTall........yep, you ever seen a rod thrown thru the side of a BLOCK or broken crankshaft inside the block? I have, and they were all traceable to lack of lubrication in COLD engine. Don't take my word for it, ask yer Belchfire-V8 engineers iff'n its ok to go to MAX rpms with COLD ENGINE? Ever read yer new vehicle manual in the glove box???

Heres the deal, most people can't remember long enuff for a cold engine to warm up (just 'cuz you can don't mean everyone can) so that they can safely jazz their engine to make the 1-wire BASTARDADATION start charging.

Their abject lack of mechanical understanding from their repeatedly asked questions tell me this is true; 'cuz most of the answers are "in-the-book" and they don't know where or what the book is .........respectfully, Dell who doesn't know all the answers either

or.......... once in a while I excite it by showing it nude pics of a three wire...........LMAO!!

(quoted from post at 15:26:50 05/27/08) Don't take my word for it, ask yer Belchfire-V8 engineers iff'n its ok to go to MAX rpms with COLD ENGINE? Ever read yer new vehicle manual in the glove box???

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Apples to Oranges!!

1: "yer Belchfire-V8" doesn't have a governor, and NO I won't be running my N tractor without one.


2: These engines were ran in jeeps (war machines), I'm sure they always took plenty of time to warm the up properly while being shot at.

There ain't NOTHING WRONG with a one-wire alternator in virtually EVERY case of these tractors. None of us run them at 800 rpm all day, we ALL rev them up eventually to do real work.
And ONCE the alternator is revved up.... it will be excited .... and it will charge all day long at lower rpms, just like the 3-wire.

Dell is a purist. I am too. I have a Delco 10si with 3 wires. (and a diode too!)

But in a very practical sense, there's nothing wrong with a 1-wire set up for virtually all these tractors.

Ummm...what am I missing here. I put a 12V kit (with 1-wire alternator) on my 52 8n a few months ago and it always shows strong charging as soon as the engine starts, even at 600-800 rpm. Typically, it shows 20-30A charging at startup and slowly drops back to 0 within a couple of minutes at 600-800 rpm (depending on how much cranking was done). Is the (new) gauge lying, or are some 1-wire alternators better than others? Just want to understand the issue if it applies to my tractor.

(quoted from post at 17:59:51 05/27/08) Ummm...what am I missing here. I put a 12V kit (with 1-wire alternator) on my 52 8n a few months ago and it always shows strong charging as soon as the engine starts, even at 600-800 rpm. Typically, it shows 20-30A charging at startup and slowly drops back to 0 within a couple of minutes at 600-800 rpm (depending on how much cranking was done). Is the (new) gauge lying, or are some 1-wire alternators better than others? Just want to understand the issue if it applies to my tractor.

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I only have one (now 2, with yours) to compare to.

I don't see the issues with my one wire, that seem to be the popular consensus here.

This reminds me of an elderly lady that I worked with several decades ago. When leaving work one day I observed her get into her V8 sedan, start the engine and rev it to about 4000 rpm for about 60 seconds. I walked over to her and tapped on her window and asked why she was racing her engine. She stated that the repair shop that serviced her car had instructed her to do that to "warm it up quicker". I told her that could damage her engine to which she replied "Oh I doubt that...they have already replaced it once!". :shock:

A repeat customer I am sure!

My old tractor with a 6 volt system drilled post holes til I could hardly walk any more.It starts when I cant.

(quoted from post at 20:42:17 05/30/08) My old tractor with a 6 volt system drilled post holes til I could hardly walk any more.It starts when I cant.

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We are talking one wire, vs three wire, alternators here, my tractor is a 6 volt positive ground, with a [color=red:a30a38e317]6 volt, positive ground, one wire, Chevy alternator[/color:a30a38e317], that I had special built for it nearly 25 years ago.

My 6 volts will start anytime I am ready.

Here is the post hole topic. http://ytforums.ytmag.com/viewtopic.php?t=321799


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