alternator repairs

Iconverted a 10SI to one wire and installed it on a 12V negative ground Ford tractor. The second I conected the wire to the + side of the battery it fried the wire instantly!
With my ohmmeter I had checked to see if the post on the alt was not grounded.
The alt has been disasembled and all I can see is a loose terminal on the rectifer where the stator windings and diode trio attach.
HELP!

So DID you find the output terminal grounded?

WHY is there a loose terminal?

Were there any instructions with the kit?

Not to be a smart butt, but problems like this sure make leaving the alternator "as-original" and simply using an "excite" circuit with a diode or "idiot light" to prevent backfeeding the ignition system seem like a good plan!.

I thought the 10si was a one wire hook up out of the box. The one on my J D 40 was.

yeah...6 extra feet of wire and a 50 cent diode just cornfuzzles some folks

10SI alternators are GM standard equipment (OEM) and are 3 wire units. All one wire conversions are just that. Usually connecting the internal regulator with a resistor to output voltage at the Bat terminal. Thus they are on all the time. Some are a little more sophisticated than that, and draw less current. Some are real drains, and will run down the battery in a week or less. It is just not worth the difficulties I have heard of and encountered to mess with what seems to be simple. I go with the 3 wire and light or diode. Jim

Yep!

<img src = "http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u125/27Grainfield/424IH/Alternator%20Stuff/AlternatorHarness41.jpg?t=1290278581">

A 10SI Delco alternator that is a one wire is not a factory set up but one that some other company has bastardized at some point in time and they do not work well and can even cause a battery drain over time

The tractor is wired for neg ground right ?
A neg ground alternator connected to a pos ground system will produce exactly the damage you describe.

If battery is connected neg ground, it sounds like you had a dead short to the rectifier assy.
Either a misplaced / broken / missing insulator
on the BAT stud or a defective rectifier.
The loose stator connection stud would indicate a bad rectifier assy.

The One wire conversion should have nothing to do with this, the problem was a shorted or improperly assembled rectifier and BAT stud, the exact same setup that is in a stock 3 wire system.

I have several farm rigs including a Steiger tractor and 1480 IH combine with one wire Delco 10SI conversions, none of them discharge a battery. Those machines are parked for 6 months without starting and battery discharge is not a problem.

I use a Self exciting regulator avalible from many companies for $7-10. They do not use any sort of resistor that would discharge the battery, only regulator circuitry that excites easily on the tiny bit of voltage induced by the residual magnetism in the rotor.

No need to use any goofy resistor or jury rig wiring when these regulators are avalible for so little cost.

Delco SI series alternators in the 10 series and several larger models have ALWAYS been avalible as 1-2 or 3 wire units from the factory.
There are a great many factory Delco 1 wire alternators in use in construction, AG , marine and truck applications. They work well when correctly set up for the application and are no more apt discharge a battery than the 3 wire units.
I have the application and service manuals for the STOCK Delco 1-2 and 3 wire versions of the SI series alternator.

To claim that the 1 wire alternator is somehow an inferior "basterdized" version of the 3 wire is not correct. They are avalible over the counter of any Delco dealer, from and with with the factories blessing.

Funny not what I have been told by the parts guys or the Chev dealer but hey you can have you opinion.

Well, 30 years of installing , rebuilding and troubleshooting those FACTORY 1-2 and 3 wire Delco alternators has helped me form an opinion alright.
Me thinks my opinion might be a little more factual than yours in this case. LOL

Didnt think you were ever wrong. lol