All Small Six Smoked Alternator

[bkrdave36]

I really screwed the pooch on this one.

I hadn't run the Rancherito in awhile (due to recuperating from a not my fault car wreck), and the battery went dead.

Thought I would jump it.

WRONG!

Ended up smoking the alternator before I tried the key to start it.

Besides obviously replacing the battery, what else should I probably replace?

My potential parts list is 1) battery, 2) alternator, 3) starter solenoid, and 4) possibly cables.

Anything else I should check?

1966 Ranchero 200cid inline six with C4 auto trans.

Thanks.

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, what do you think went wrong? I would not change the solenoid, I would see if it works. We used to change the alternator and regulator together, especially if you have the original mechanical style regulator. The newer electronic regulators seem to last a long time. Good luck

 

[DON]

. What was the problem? I don’t ever remember jump starting a car causing an alternator failure.
Maybe a good time to upgrade to a one wire alternator??

 

[awasson]

Never seen an alternator done in by jumping a car. I have seen bad things from the cables put on backwards and a friend of mine blew up his regulator (Javelin) by starting his car with someone else’s battery, removed it and drove around without a battery connected to it but I’ve never seen it from connecting jumpers correctly to the battery.

Good excuse (like @DON says) to replace with a modern alternator and get rid of the two piece alternator/regulator.

 

[alwill923]

I installed a 10si three wire alternator on my 60 falcon and 65 F100. I know GM on a ford; shame on me. They work great, are available at any flaps and are relatively inexpensive.

I do not recommend one wire alternators due to voltage drop.

 

[DON]

I do not recommend one wire alternators due to voltage drop.

Voltage drop where?

 

[drag-200stang]

X2

 

[awasson]

Voltage drop where?

One wire alternators don’t charge initially until they are rotating faster than about 1000 RPM - 1,200 RPM because they don’t have an exciter circuit like the 3 wire versions. One they hit that limit they will charge regardless of rpm.

I look at that as a bit of a feature though because it won’t load the engine until it’s started and running. Being a manual transmission car, mine gets a little blip on the throttle from time to time anyway and my cold start high idle is around 1800 RPM. I will be putting in a one wire when I upgrade mine probably.

 

[frozenrabbit]

reversed jumper cables?

 

[DON]

One wire alternators don’t charge initially until they are rotating faster than about 1000 RPM - 1,200 RPM because they don’t have an exciter circuit like the 3 wire versions. One they hit that limit they will charge regardless of rpm.

I look at that as a bit of a feature though because it won’t load the engine until it’s started and running. Being a manual transmission car, mine gets a little blip on the throttle from time to time anyway and my cold start high idle is around 1800 RPM. I will be putting in a one wire when I upgrade mine probably.

I did some reading in the off time, came across this:
Bud Riser, Technical/Marketing Rep for Tuff Stuff, said, “All Tuff Stuff alternators charge at very low engine RPMs.” Riser stated that it doesn’t take revving the engine to get the alternator to start charging, and that the alternator will put out sufficient amperage at idle.

He said, “There is no need to worry about using an underdrive pulley, or an ignition regulator turn-on with Tuff Stuff units.”

While some of the concerns were valid many years ago, they aren’t a concern with the alternators that both of these companies produce, all of those concerns were taken into consideration to produce one-wire alternators that would perform at idle/low RPM, and not cause concern for modern one-wire alternators.

I can verify, with my Powermaster one wire, it stayed pegged at 14v at idle. Turning on headlights, fan on high, flashers, the needle didn’t flicker. You can read the entire article:

One-Wire Alternators: Are They Better Or Just Easier To Hook up?

Hooking up a one-wire alternator is easy, but there are still some things to consider. We check with the experts for advice.

www.streetmusclemag.com

IMO With the simplicity of hook up and superior function, modern one wire alternators are a good upgrade

 

[Otto]

I don't want to ignite the whole "one wire vs. three wire" argument as it doesn't help the OP, but when I was curious about the differences I found this site:

Catalog

There is almost too much information here, but I found it informative.

 

[Frank]

Tuff Stuff 100A on both my trucks. Will hold 2 electric cooling fans, AC and lights @ 750rpm. Several years, perfect so far.
Stupid name, but good product.

 

[alwill923]

A one wire alternator regulates voltage at the alternator. A 3 wire alternator regulates the voltage at the point of use or at least closer to the point of use. For example, lets say a one wire alt is maintaining 14 volts. Due to wire size, distance, connection resistances, load on the system, etc. the voltage at the headlights may only be 12 volts; thus dimmer lights. This would mean if you want 14 volts at the headlights the alternator must produce 16 volts.

My 60 falcon and 65 truck run a #10 wire to a engine compartment fuse and relay panel on the drivers side. The relays then connect the voltage to the headlight, blower motor and on the truck fuel pump. I do not run the headlight power through the head light switch; just the relay power. There is a separate relay for the high and low beams. Total of 3 relays on the falcon and 4 on the truck. Some might think this is way more complicated, but is the way I did it.

No one is saying the one wire alt's are not good or do not work well. If they work for you great. The difference is knowing the difference so you can make an informed decision.

 

[DON]

Interesting reading, I find it interesting that it was written 23 yrs ago. I do believe it would be good stuff to use if re- wiring the entire electrical system. It is intimidating even for me to think about splicing in there stuff to an existing system- I like to think I have a better than average grip on electrical systems. If they had a diagram to add it to a mustang I would feel more confident. Getting TO the existing wires to tap into them is intimidating. I think some of their voltage drop numbers are a little high for a good operating system. I do think that these parts are good for adding high draw accessories to an existing system. But if wired properly, would work as good with a one wire alternator. I think we all know oem wires are not enough for newer, high amp accessories.
Even though I have no issues with the 3 wire alternator ( I might even say it’s better overall) I still maintain that for most enthusiasts, a one wire alternator is a practical upgrade that brings our old systems a modern benefit in function as well as diagnosing and durability