Voltage regulator question

[malder]

I am rewiring with the Painless Wiring 12 circuit 'pro-street' wiring kit (www.painlesswiring.com). In the painless kit, the way I am reading it, there isn't any voltage regulator. Is this correct? I am pretty shaky on electrical, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by malder

I am rewiring with the Painless Wiring 12 circuit 'pro-street' wiring kit (www.painlesswiring.com). In the painless kit, the way I am reading it, there isn't any voltage regulator. Is this correct? I am pretty shaky on electrical, so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

It is probable that the kit is designed for cars that have an internally regulated alternator, unlike the 240 and 260Z's which have an external voltage regulator. You may need to switch to an internally regulated Alt when using this kit. Check with Painles's customer support.

[malder]

Thanks for the quik reply - any suggestions on where to get an alternator like this? Have you made a swap like this?

Thanks!

Matt

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by malder

Thanks for the quik reply - any suggestions on where to get an alternator like this? Have you made a swap like this?

Thanks!

Matt

Should be available from most any source of Z parts. I'm not sure exactly what year they switched to the internally regulated, but there is a technical artical that I copied from another site in our Technical Article section that describes the upgrade to this type of alternator. It requires only a minor modification to the existing wiring (adding a diode between two wires).

Good Luck!

[SuDZ]

I have seen that people have done this but was not sure of one thing - why?

What I mean is what are the benefits/difference and why is this a better method? I am trying to figure this out but can't find the right info.

SuDZ

[Bambikiller240]

One thing is that you can get alternators with a higher output rating in the "internally regulated" catagory. I don't believe that the "externally regulated" alternators for Z cars ever came in ratings of more than 50 Amps.

Less complicated wiring in the car would seem to be another possible benefit. And when you replace the alternator with another, you start out with a voltage regulator that is, if not new (in the case of a rebuilt alternator), at least has been tested to ensure that it is functioning properly.

I am not aware of any car manufactured in the last 15 years that did not have an internally regulated alternator as standard equipment.

[SuDZ]

Originally posted by Bambikiller240

One thing is that you can get alternators with a higher output rating in the "internally regulated" catagory. I don't believe that the "externally rgulated" alternators for Z cars ever cam in ratings of more tha 50 Amps.

Less complicated wiring in the car would seem to be another possible benefit. And when you replace the alternator with another, you start out with a voltage regulator that is, if not new (in the case of a rebuilt alternator), at least has been tested to ensure that it is functioning properly.

I am not aware of any car manufactured in the last 15 years that did not have an internally regulated alternator as standard equipment.

Oh cool. I did not realize that you could bump up your amps a bit this way. I can see wanting to clean out the engine bay with things a little too.

Thanks for the answers.

SuDZ

[TomoHawk]

Gm cars come with the 'single wire alternators.' If I remember right, you just hook up the wire to the (+) post of the battery. No exciter wires or stuff. It's in the JTR book.

the conversion article is at:

http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/delcoalt.htm

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by TomoHawk

Gm cars come with the 'single wire alternators.' If I remember right, you just hook up the wire to the (+) post of the battery. No exciter wires or stuff. It's in the JTR book.

the conversion article is at:

http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/delcoalt.htm

I don't know how well they work in GM cars, or Z cars, but I have a friend who did this conversion on a Toyota 4X4 and he ends up replacing the alternator every 6 mos. to 10 mos. for the past 4 years. He gets a new Alt from the retailer under warranty, but I wouldn't want to keep getting stuck all over the state with a dead battery and have to keep doing the swap out, so I won't waste any of my time doing this. Maybe other folks don't have this problem, but this example has sure turned me off to even considering it for my car.

[TomoHawk]

the Painless Wiring people recommend the GM alternator, and the wiring assembly is set up for it, if you get the right one.

All the Hotrod & custom builders I know use the GM alternators- even on Ford Engines.

It's not just the one wire. I think you gotta connect 2 wires together, and then the 1 wire goes to the battery.

But it was very simple, and I've never heard of one failing.

\

Here's a link to the prodecure i'm talking about:

http://mightymo.org/Proj_OneWire.html