55.2-59 59 Apache one wire alternator. - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Steel_valley · 03-22-2019, 04:23 PM

I got a little mess going on. I did a search and there are tons of threads for the one wire conversion. It seems what the previous owner did was ran the red wire from the alternator to the battery, then the 2 small wires, the red goes over to the horn relay, and the white goes to the other side of the truck and they literally stripped the end and stripped a section of the purple wire that goes from the key switch to the starter and wrapped the 2 together and taped them.

So, my question, I'm going to buy a one wire harness and tear this mess out, which wiring schematic should I follow? I found one that uses some diode in the wiring, I found another schematic for a tri 5 Chevy. I wanna make sure this is right and of course keep my amp gauge for now if possible.

**mr48chev** · 03-22-2019, 09:39 PM

Well in an essence that is hooked up correctly but a bit crudly. This diagram shows how it should be wired

I've wired probably a dozen rigs this way. They actually sell the connector/pigtail to to it that way at most parts houses. No problem with any I have done that way.
The exciter wire either needs the diode or an idiot light or the alternator will feed back to the ignition when you turn the key off keeping power to the ignition.

Why not just spend ten minutes and fix what you have.

I'm not a fan of one wire alternators and don't see the need or expense or trouble and expense if you have one go bad on the road and have to replace it. Every parts house in the country has a replacement 10 or 12 SI alternator on the shelf for a reasonable price but may not have a one wire outside of those who deal with farmers as they were originally designed to put on tractors that had magnito ignition long before hot rodders decided they were cool.

Steel_valley · 03-22-2019, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Well in an essence that is hooked up correctly but a bit crudly. This diagram shows how it should be wired

I've wired probably a dozen rigs this way. They actually sell the connector/pigtail to to it that way at most parts houses. No problem with any I have done that way.
The exciter wire either needs the diode or an idiot light or the alternator will feed back to the ignition when you turn the key off keeping power to the ignition.

Why not just spend ten minutes and fix what you have.

I'm not a fan of one wire alternators and don't see the need or expense or trouble and expense if you have one go bad on the road and have to replace it. Every parts house in the country has a replacement 10 or 12 SI alternator on the shelf for a reasonable price but may not have a one wire outside of those who deal with farmers as they were originally designed to put on tractors that had magnito ignition long before hot rodders decided they were cool.

I don't know if I have an idiot light yet, I just got the dash apart tonight. But adding a light isn't difficult if I wanted one. Can I hook my amp meter back up without it getting harmed?

I have one that resembles that 10si, I just assumed everyone considered that a 1 wire, even though it has 3 wires.

I'm a wiring finatic, so it's going to take me more then 10 minutes to repair what's there, I'd be further ahead to rebuild or replace what I'm working with.

**mr48chev** · 03-22-2019, 10:54 PM

No a 1 wire only has the wire to the battery and a black plug at the spot where the T1 and T 2 plug go.

If you have a Massy Ferguson dealer close by that 1N5408 Diode is a Massy Ferguson item. You just have to make sure you put it in the line aimed in the correct direction as it is a one way valve for electricity.

I'm not sure on the ammeter hook up There are some diagrams that show connecting the alternator leads to the old generator voltage reglulator leads that get it all to work but I haven't seen one in a while. I'll have to dig the archives on that one. That was the way we did it in the early 70's.

**mr48chev** · 03-22-2019, 11:01 PM

Here is an old thread we did in 2011 and the second diagram that I posted in post 2 shows how we did it and had it all work including the amp gauge
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=469558

That was two computers ago and I don't have those images on this one or the old one over on the desk.

**mr48chev** · 03-22-2019, 11:08 PM

This is a 1 wire alternator with the black plug. They got popular at the height of the billet craze when guys didn't want extra wires cluttering up the engine compartment and actually that is the only reason to use one rather than a regular 10 or 12 Si.

Steel_valley · 03-22-2019, 11:47 PM

I definitely have a 10SI. Those are good reads. One guy on that link said if you keep it under 40 amp alternator then the amp gauge should work good. Thanks for the input, this will be. Clean job when I'm finished.

What's your thoughts on putting t2 wire to the battery terminal on the alternator? I know you said it's worked for you, but it seems it saves a ton of time and effort, why isn't that just the way it's done?

And also, why is the T2 wire tied into the horn relay?

_Ogre · 03-24-2019, 01:10 PM

finding a 40 amp or under alternator may be a problem. ogre is a big fan of 1 wire alternator, i have used them for 30 years without a problem. we use to convert them to 1 wire by hooking T2 to Batt and eliminate T1 wire completely. hooked up this way it won't charge until you rev the motor a bit to self-excite it. then it charges fine at all rpm's

now i buy them 1 wire or convert them with a 1 wire regulator. you can buy the regulator on ebay or amazon for $10 and convert it yourself. you can also buy the complete rebuild kit with regulator, brushes and bearings for $29

my preference is to run the batt wire straight to the battery or starter to bypass the ammeter and the old wiring. look in my build on how i converted the ammeter to a volt gauge using $15 volt gauge from autozone. it was easy to do. no oem has used the ammeter since the early 60s

**mr48chev** · 03-25-2019, 12:47 AM

Low amp output just means plain Jane 73 or So Chevys without AC or power anything. The low amp unit is 42 amps and those were pretty common. Think Plain stick shift 73 C-10 with a 250 six. No ac no power anything.

Still no mater what the output of the alternator can be it is only going to pruduce the amps that the truck's electrical system demands and if you don't have anything on the truck that draws extra amps it isn't going to put out more than what the system needs.

I've seen one rig in person that the generator (not alternator) didn't put out enough power to keep up with the demands and that was on a buddie's rig about 25 years ago that still had a generator and he up and decided to stick a 100 Watt amp and sterio system in it complete with dual subs in the trunk and who knows how many speakers. We were out on a cruise night not long after and he was rocking down the street with the sound system kicking butt and his car died in the middle of the street. I was a couple of cars behind him and we threw my tow strap on it and got him to a parking lot where we jumped it off my car and after he finally turned everyhing off it charged the battery back up to where he could drive it. He changed over to a high output alternator a couple of days later but normally you don't see rigs that draw that many amps.

Still outside of things like the internals of the engine and trans and maybe rear axle that would put the rig on a trailer for the trip home for major repairs I want most of the pieces on my rig to be available at most parts houses anywhere in the US.

One wire alternators are reasonably common in shops that cater to hot rodders but may not be availble at the Advance Auto parts in some side of US 84 town a hundred miles east of Boise. Same with igition pieces of fuel system pieces for the most part, If it fails are we stuck in a flea bag motel for the weekend missing the show we were headed to because we are waiting for the brown truck to bring a red lable package or can we get a suitable part and go with minimal down time?

mikebte · 03-25-2019, 11:50 AM

I did this video when I installed my alternator because I knew I would forget what or how I did it. Not sure if it will help, but have a look see. May have to skip forward to the wiring.

I also took the wires on the external regulator and just piled them together. This allowed for everything to be in place in case I opted to use them again later. I never did.

http://youtu.be/II-WP6sBCXU

Steel_valley · 09-04-2019, 05:01 PM

So I need to revive this thread. I'm working on this 10si alternator finally.

the 2 red wires from the old regulator, they are currently taped together and there is a wire going from that wiring cluster to the T2 terminal on the alternator. Why is that?

The T1 wire is going to the activator wire for the starter, is that right?

So, my plan was as suggested above, run the T2 wire to the battery post on the back of the alternator. And then the T1 wire I'm not sure where to connect it. What would be considered the load side of the ignition switch?

_Ogre · 09-05-2019, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steel_valley

The T1 wire is going to the activator wire for the starter, is that right?

waa? no.
T1 is warning light that we do not have, just cut it off or remove it from the harness
T2 is the voltage sense wire, that wire should be connected to the batt terminal on back of the alt

**mr48chev** · 09-05-2019, 03:08 PM

The problem with that is that you have to gun the engine to get the alternator to charge most of the time when you start the car and for what? Nothing wrong with hooking it up correctly and it doesn't have to have a light if you have the diode.

Steel_valley · 09-06-2019, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr48chev

The problem with that is that you have to gun the engine to get the alternator to charge most of the time when you start the car and for what? Nothing wrong with hooking it up correctly and it doesn't have to have a light if you have the diode.

The diode goes in the wire and then where does the wire connect? Do I utilize the 2 wires on the driver's side firewall? That's where it was hooked before.

_Ogre · 09-06-2019, 01:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr48chev

The problem with that is that you have to gun the engine to get the alternator to charge most of the time when you start the car and for what?

mine must be special, i never need to gun it

Russell Ashley · 09-11-2019, 06:21 PM

When I bought my 10SI at the parts store I told them it was for a Camaro with a/c. I think it is a 68 amp model. I also only have a wire to T2 terminal and I don't have to rev my engine to start it charging even after my truck sits for a month. It's been like this since I wired the truck about six years ago and so far it has been fine. Sometimes I think about putting a "Battery" light some where on my dash and wiring it like these alternators were designed to be wired but so far it hasn't been a priority. I am using my original amp gauge with no problem, but I added a jumper across two of the extra tabs on the back of it. The jumper divides the current going through the gauge and has worked fine for the six years or so that I've had it like that.

03-22-2019, 04:23 PM	#1
Steel_valley Registered User Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: New Springfield Posts: 19	59 Apache one wire alternator. I got a little mess going on. I did a search and there are tons of threads for the one wire conversion. It seems what the previous owner did was ran the red wire from the alternator to the battery, then the 2 small wires, the red goes over to the horn relay, and the white goes to the other side of the truck and they literally stripped the end and stripped a section of the purple wire that goes from the key switch to the starter and wrapped the 2 together and taped them. So, my question, I'm going to buy a one wire harness and tear this mess out, which wiring schematic should I follow? I found one that uses some diode in the wiring, I found another schematic for a tri 5 Chevy. I wanna make sure this is right and of course keep my amp gauge for now if possible.

03-22-2019, 09:39 PM	#2
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. Well in an essence that is hooked up correctly but a bit crudly. This diagram shows how it should be wired I've wired probably a dozen rigs this way. They actually sell the connector/pigtail to to it that way at most parts houses. No problem with any I have done that way. The exciter wire either needs the diode or an idiot light or the alternator will feed back to the ignition when you turn the key off keeping power to the ignition. Why not just spend ten minutes and fix what you have. I'm not a fan of one wire alternators and don't see the need or expense or trouble and expense if you have one go bad on the road and have to replace it. Every parts house in the country has a replacement 10 or 12 SI alternator on the shelf for a reasonable price but may not have a one wire outside of those who deal with farmers as they were originally designed to put on tractors that had magnito ignition long before hot rodders decided they were cool. __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

03-22-2019, 10:54 PM	#4
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. No a 1 wire only has the wire to the battery and a black plug at the spot where the T1 and T 2 plug go. If you have a Massy Ferguson dealer close by that 1N5408 Diode is a Massy Ferguson item. You just have to make sure you put it in the line aimed in the correct direction as it is a one way valve for electricity. I'm not sure on the ammeter hook up There are some diagrams that show connecting the alternator leads to the old generator voltage reglulator leads that get it all to work but I haven't seen one in a while. I'll have to dig the archives on that one. That was the way we did it in the early 70's. __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

03-22-2019, 11:01 PM	#5
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. Here is an old thread we did in 2011 and the second diagram that I posted in post 2 shows how we did it and had it all work including the amp gauge http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=469558 That was two computers ago and I don't have those images on this one or the old one over on the desk. __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

03-22-2019, 11:08 PM	#6
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. This is a 1 wire alternator with the black plug. They got popular at the height of the billet craze when guys didn't want extra wires cluttering up the engine compartment and actually that is the only reason to use one rather than a regular 10 or 12 Si. __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

03-22-2019, 11:47 PM	#7
Steel_valley Registered User Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: New Springfield Posts: 19	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. I definitely have a 10SI. Those are good reads. One guy on that link said if you keep it under 40 amp alternator then the amp gauge should work good. Thanks for the input, this will be. Clean job when I'm finished. What's your thoughts on putting t2 wire to the battery terminal on the alternator? I know you said it's worked for you, but it seems it saves a ton of time and effort, why isn't that just the way it's done? And also, why is the T2 wire tied into the horn relay?

03-24-2019, 01:10 PM	#8
_Ogre Registered User Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Motown Posts: 7,680	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. finding a 40 amp or under alternator may be a problem. ogre is a big fan of 1 wire alternator, i have used them for 30 years without a problem. we use to convert them to 1 wire by hooking T2 to Batt and eliminate T1 wire completely. hooked up this way it won't charge until you rev the motor a bit to self-excite it. then it charges fine at all rpm's now i buy them 1 wire or convert them with a 1 wire regulator. you can buy the regulator on ebay or amazon for $10 and convert it yourself. you can also buy the complete rebuild kit with regulator, brushes and bearings for $29 my preference is to run the batt wire straight to the battery or starter to bypass the ammeter and the old wiring. look in my build on how i converted the ammeter to a volt gauge using $15 volt gauge from autozone. it was easy to do. no oem has used the ammeter since the early 60s __________________ cool, an ogre smiley Ogre's 58 Truk build how to put your truck year and build thread into your signature shop air compressor timer

03-25-2019, 12:47 AM	#9
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. Low amp output just means plain Jane 73 or So Chevys without AC or power anything. The low amp unit is 42 amps and those were pretty common. Think Plain stick shift 73 C-10 with a 250 six. No ac no power anything. Still no mater what the output of the alternator can be it is only going to pruduce the amps that the truck's electrical system demands and if you don't have anything on the truck that draws extra amps it isn't going to put out more than what the system needs. I've seen one rig in person that the generator (not alternator) didn't put out enough power to keep up with the demands and that was on a buddie's rig about 25 years ago that still had a generator and he up and decided to stick a 100 Watt amp and sterio system in it complete with dual subs in the trunk and who knows how many speakers. We were out on a cruise night not long after and he was rocking down the street with the sound system kicking butt and his car died in the middle of the street. I was a couple of cars behind him and we threw my tow strap on it and got him to a parking lot where we jumped it off my car and after he finally turned everyhing off it charged the battery back up to where he could drive it. He changed over to a high output alternator a couple of days later but normally you don't see rigs that draw that many amps. Still outside of things like the internals of the engine and trans and maybe rear axle that would put the rig on a trailer for the trip home for major repairs I want most of the pieces on my rig to be available at most parts houses anywhere in the US. One wire alternators are reasonably common in shops that cater to hot rodders but may not be availble at the Advance Auto parts in some side of US 84 town a hundred miles east of Boise. Same with igition pieces of fuel system pieces for the most part, If it fails are we stuck in a flea bag motel for the weekend missing the show we were headed to because we are waiting for the brown truck to bring a red lable package or can we get a suitable part and go with minimal down time? __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

03-25-2019, 11:50 AM	#10
mikebte Registered User Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 639	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. I did this video when I installed my alternator because I knew I would forget what or how I did it. Not sure if it will help, but have a look see. May have to skip forward to the wiring. I also took the wires on the external regulator and just piled them together. This allowed for everything to be in place in case I opted to use them again later. I never did. http://youtu.be/II-WP6sBCXU Attached Images

09-04-2019, 05:01 PM	#11
Steel_valley Registered User Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: New Springfield Posts: 19	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. So I need to revive this thread. I'm working on this 10si alternator finally. the 2 red wires from the old regulator, they are currently taped together and there is a wire going from that wiring cluster to the T2 terminal on the alternator. Why is that? The T1 wire is going to the activator wire for the starter, is that right? So, my plan was as suggested above, run the T2 wire to the battery post on the back of the alternator. And then the T1 wire I'm not sure where to connect it. What would be considered the load side of the ignition switch?

09-05-2019, 03:08 PM	#13
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,711	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. The problem with that is that you have to gun the engine to get the alternator to charge most of the time when you start the car and for what? Nothing wrong with hooking it up correctly and it doesn't have to have a light if you have the diode. __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

09-11-2019, 06:21 PM	#16
Russell Ashley Registered User Join Date: May 2010 Location: Lawrenceville, Ga Posts: 2,648	Re: 59 Apache one wire alternator. When I bought my 10SI at the parts store I told them it was for a Camaro with a/c. I think it is a 68 amp model. I also only have a wire to T2 terminal and I don't have to rev my engine to start it charging even after my truck sits for a month. It's been like this since I wired the truck about six years ago and so far it has been fine. Sometimes I think about putting a "Battery" light some where on my dash and wiring it like these alternators were designed to be wired but so far it hasn't been a priority. I am using my original amp gauge with no problem, but I added a jumper across two of the extra tabs on the back of it. The jumper divides the current going through the gauge and has worked fine for the six years or so that I've had it like that.



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