Re: Alternator draws current

Posted by Bill on Sep. 22, 1998 at 19:16:41

In Reply to: Alternator draws current
posted by Jim Miller on Sep. 22, 1998 at 09:48:20

: I installed a positive ground 6 volt one wire hook up alternator in my 29 cc pickup and now have a 1.25 amp drain on the battery.Even with the ignition key turned off.If I remove the single wire hook up to the alt. the battery drain goes away.Everything else works great.Good lights, and plenty of charging to bring the battery back up.Any suggestions other than sending the alt. to an elect. shop, which seems to be my next step.
: As always thanks in advance.
: JIM


Hi Jim,

I just installed a 6 volt alternator on my car too.The guy I bought it from said that it had a small draw on the battery when the engine was not running, which would kill the battery in about 2 weeks.Since the 6 volt alternators have an external box on the side that I suspect is a polarity reverser and regulator, I would suspect that is the cause.I overcame this by installing a switch on the inside of the firewall that I can shut off and open the circuit to the starter terminal.I made a bracket that attaches to 2 of the terminal box screws, and puts the switch in a reachable place, to the left of the terminal box, inside the firewall.I ran a short jumper wire from the yellow terminal (wire from the starter) to the switch, and attached the other yellow wire (goes to the ammeter) to the other terminal of the switch.The switch also has a built in 30 amp fuse, so I got the whole system fused, and the fuse is not in sight, like the ones they sell to go on the starter.When I park the car in the barn, I turn off the switch, and the battery stays up.I really like the alternator, as my lights are better, the horn blows nicely, and no third brush to adjust.Some day I am going to devise a way to install a small alternator inside the housing of a model A generator, so it won't be so ugly. (it sure is ugly).




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