jasondrobbins
New Member
I am curious about what everyone’s opinion is about converting to a 1 wire internally regulated alternator vs an oem setup. Starting a build. I need help.
1 wire internal or external oem alternator
- Thread starter jasondrobbins
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You can not go wrong with OEM parts.
Middle of nowhere and you need an alternator. Good luck finding a non OEM part.
Middle of nowhere and you need an alternator. Good luck finding a non OEM part.
Scody21
Just send it
For a one wire, it Depends on where the battery and sense/charge wire is. One wires with a trunk battery are not the best when the charge / sense wire are tied in the system in the engine bay…
I run a 1 wire alternator on my Duster after installing an American Autowire harness. If you’re not planning on running a stock harness you probably want to run whatever style alternator the new harness is designed around. I personally wouldn’t put a stock style harness in anything other than a numbers matching restoration, pretty much anything other than that and you’ll want more circuits than was stock on these cars. And depending on the build you may want a higher amperage output than you’ll find easily with the OE style alternators.
My battery and cut off switch are also in my trunk, 1 wire works fine if you set it up right.
As for finding a 1 wire alternator “in the middle of nowhere” it may be easier than finding a 70’s Mopar alternator. 1 wire alternators are OE for a lot of makes and models. The number of 70’s OE mopar parts you can find in stock and on the shelf gets shorter all the time.
My battery and cut off switch are also in my trunk, 1 wire works fine if you set it up right.
As for finding a 1 wire alternator “in the middle of nowhere” it may be easier than finding a 70’s Mopar alternator. 1 wire alternators are OE for a lot of makes and models. The number of 70’s OE mopar parts you can find in stock and on the shelf gets shorter all the time.
EBOT
Active Member
I run a one wire powermaster alternator from summit racing. It’s rated I believe for 130 amps. My stock alternator could not handle the extra power required for the Holley sniper I installed. It works great!
Also note: you can make a single wire alternator with an adjustable voltage regulator mounted on the alternator. It senses the engine running and when the car is on high idle starts the charge. It stops when either the voltage demands are met or you shut off the engine. They are pretty good but typically made in Chyna.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i think it would be easier to find the toyota 4 runner denso alt. i'm running on our dart then the stock style one.
i'm all for the internally regulated alt. the little denso puts out 14 at idle.. no more dimming headlights at idle..
It seems like you haven’t tried to buy OEM parts from ANY local parts store from ANYWHERE since February 2020. Good luck finding a round or square back that is in stock. I honestly don’t remember the last time I got an OE part in a day. Consumables and universal parts is all parts houses seem to have on hand these days.
The whole argument is dead, “Keep it stock so you can get parts in Anytown, USA if you break down on a long road trip.”
Exempli Gratia:
Not available:
OE replacement
In Stock:
Toyota unit for AR Engineering or modified stock brackets.
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I have no trouble getting stock parts locally in northern Colorado
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Lucky! I just plan ahead now and I can get most things through Amazon in a day. If I order in the am I can get Summit items from the TX warehouse.
My experience with my local parts houses is that usually they can’t get the OE parts any faster than I can get them shipped to me from Summit. That’s not ALWAYS the case, but it’s often enough that you certainly couldn’t bet that a local parts house would have an OE part in stock for a ‘70’s Mopar.
I know for a fact around here you’d have an easier time finding a replacement pertronix unit than an OE Mopar ignition box.
Regardless it’s not at all a given that keeping OE 70’s Mopar parts on your can means you’re more likely to be able to find the replacement part on the shelf where to broke down. That’s not a given at all.
Yeah exactly. Most of the OE 70’s Mopar parts aren’t on the shelf here. You can get them next day usually, but I can get most stuff Summit carries next day too.
mopowers
Well-Known Member
OE mopar alternators suck at idle. I've had much better luck with Denso units.
Wvbuzzmaster
Well-Known Member
Keep the alternator OE style. Here is my argument. I needed an alternator for my 1972 Duster. It was Saturday at 6 pm. I live in a rural town and my local Advance Auto is open on Sunday. I called them that Saturday night and they had the regulator in stock local for like $25 and could get me the $88 OE style 2 groove Car Quest alternator by 9 am the next morning from one of their nearby stores, on a Sunday… Last I checked I can’t get one faster than that ordered on a Saturday to have on Sunday before noon in a rural town in WV. All in including just eating the $10 core charge I was less than $130 for new alternator (60 amp) and regulator, and they bolted right in, no adapting. Every other alternator requires adapting and is generally more expensive initially.
I do agree with Summit and Amazon usually have parts in 24-48 hours and have gone that route too, and Rock Auto is usually about 2 to 3 days to get here but still a great choice. However all require shipping, which is a cost, and if it’s wrong you can’t just refuse it on the spot. So all of these are excellent options, but the key is you have to have OE style part for something to get it that quick, so why fight Ma Mopar on this one? Do you really want to stand there and try to remember what other car your alternator is from because it’s not a failure that comes up very often once you install it and you can’t buy any auto part without “what is this for?” because there are few parts guys any more, just enter make and model and hope it’s there, and not all cross references are in the computer…
I do agree with Summit and Amazon usually have parts in 24-48 hours and have gone that route too, and Rock Auto is usually about 2 to 3 days to get here but still a great choice. However all require shipping, which is a cost, and if it’s wrong you can’t just refuse it on the spot. So all of these are excellent options, but the key is you have to have OE style part for something to get it that quick, so why fight Ma Mopar on this one? Do you really want to stand there and try to remember what other car your alternator is from because it’s not a failure that comes up very often once you install it and you can’t buy any auto part without “what is this for?” because there are few parts guys any more, just enter make and model and hope it’s there, and not all cross references are in the computer…
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abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i gotta wonder if they would stock a 1994 i think it was toyota 4 runner alt. places by me have those on the shelf....
Wvbuzzmaster
Well-Known Member
It’s very possible. The whole issue is just that thought process though… No one can outthink what will or wont be stocked. About 5 years ago I was helping a friend with his 2000 Wrangler 4 cylinder and we wanted to replace injectors that evening… I had to hit up auto parts stores in 3 counties to find 4 injectors that afternoon/evening. I was literally chasing these by asking each store if any other branches had them in stock and going there. But each store only stocked 1 injector… if at all, and a 2000 Wrangler to me is common. So you just never know what will be commonly stocked for what at any time….
Like my local branch of Advance Auto having a Mopar voltage regulator on the shelf…
So how old is that story? Because if it’s more than a couple years old it’s meaningless.
Wvbuzzmaster
Well-Known Member
May 2022
Ok. So right now, today, there isn’t a local parts house within an hour of my house that has an OE Mopar alternator on the shelf. You’d be waiting a day, or spending most of your day driving. And if you’re stranded somewhere with a dead alternator you can’t do that anyway. If you’re not you can wait a day.
Are there places that have them? Sure. Could I find the 1 wire powermaster with a serpentine pulley I run in stock on the shelf somewhere? Probably not. Would a denso that’s more likely to be on the shelf fit in a pinch? Maybe. But not every town you might break down in will have an OE Mopar alternator on the shelf anymore.
I also haven’t had a new powermaster alternator die on me (yet). But I have had the woefully underpowered stock Mopar alternators crap out. And a couple voltage regulators too. Got those on the shelf local too?
For me it’s moot, even the largest OE alternator at 65 amps probably wouldn’t run my electric fans and the rest of my car at the same time.
Which to get back to the OP, is a consideration for a build. Because if you’re going to run a more modern set up - fuel injection, electric fuel pump, electric fans, stereo, AC, etc etc, you may not be able to run an OE alternator just on amperage demands. And I’d rather have my car built the way I want it than to hamstring my build with an OE part that might not be on the shelf when/where I need it anyway.
Really, the time when having OE parts on a 70’s Mopar meant you’d be able to walk into a random local parts shop and walk out into the parking lot and fix your car has passed. Sometimes it might work. Sometimes it definitely wouldn’t.
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Wvbuzzmaster
Well-Known Member
72blunblu,
You make a good point on amperage demands vs alternator capability. With my Duster I run mechanical fan, mechanical fuel pump, no AC, no radio, and a points distributor (after frying a Pertronix module while trouble shooting wiring with the key on). So my electrical demand is minimal. The reason I went to points after frying a Pertronix was simply the fact I fried the Pertronix. Yes Pertronix makes newer units that are fry protected unlike what was on the car, and yes I now know I should have disconnected that module. But I can’t fix that on the side of the road to get home and point can be fixed and are cheap to stock in glovebox if I ever do it lol.
But anyway, I forget some have fallen in love with electronically controlled cars and accessories. I am going backwards because it’s too complex in many ways, especially a road side repair.
You make a good point on amperage demands vs alternator capability. With my Duster I run mechanical fan, mechanical fuel pump, no AC, no radio, and a points distributor (after frying a Pertronix module while trouble shooting wiring with the key on). So my electrical demand is minimal. The reason I went to points after frying a Pertronix was simply the fact I fried the Pertronix. Yes Pertronix makes newer units that are fry protected unlike what was on the car, and yes I now know I should have disconnected that module. But I can’t fix that on the side of the road to get home and point can be fixed and are cheap to stock in glovebox if I ever do it lol.
But anyway, I forget some have fallen in love with electronically controlled cars and accessories. I am going backwards because it’s too complex in many ways, especially a road side repair.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
i run the 60amp denso. nothing special in our dart either.
Your not going backwards...
The parts you don't add don't cause you no trouble!
Modern cars are VERY reliable in spite of their electronics, now let's check back in 50 years and see if you can take a 2024 car with 320,000 miles, that sat in a garage for 4 years without being started and and was only started occasionally for 15 years prior and have it start and keep running.
mopowers
Well-Known Member
How often are you guys replacing your alternators? I'd rather go with one that actually works better. Denso hands down.
Wvbuzzmaster
Well-Known Member
Mine may have been a regulator only issue with a perfectly fine alternator. I say that because the regulator failed allowing 17 volts to show on my volt gauge. The alternator and regulator were both too hot to touch. I opted to replace both due to the fact surrounding the reason I came to acquire my Duster. It had an electrical fire… under the dash… After hooking up the old alternator and regulator to my $1000 of new harnesses throughout the car with all new interior I was more than happy to change the alternator too after my over voltage discovery. In fact the best upgrade you can make is ammeter bypass and a volt gauge in the car. Had I not done that I would not have caught the issue because first run of 5 minutes it was spot on at 14 volts, shut down and restarted only to notice the volt gauge to be at 17 volts! If checking with a meter on battery I would not have done that test twice in 10 minutes when the mission was setting proper base timing.
I ate the core cost of $10 for the alternator because I shelved mine believing it was good but not knowing its amperage output peak I didn’t trust it. You can get higher amperage output OE alternators for $20 more but the harnesses aren’t rated for it!
I ate the core cost of $10 for the alternator because I shelved mine believing it was good but not knowing its amperage output peak I didn’t trust it. You can get higher amperage output OE alternators for $20 more but the harnesses aren’t rated for it!
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