alternator field wire size
#1395363
03/01/13 12:20 AM
03/01/13 12:20 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,271
central IL reg Nov 18, 1999
Stroker
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OP
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,271
central IL reg Nov 18, 1999
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What ga. wire is used on 72 era B bodies for the field wires?
Would it be beneficial to use a slightly bigger wire on a 75 amp alt, or are they just for sensing?
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: Stroker]
#1395365
03/01/13 01:33 AM
03/01/13 01:33 AM
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Today? Who Knows?
1_WILD_RT
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Sensing is done by the voltage regulator which is not internal on vintage Mopars.. But the field wire is a low current circuit & 16 ga is what was originally used... The Battery wire however carries the load & should be larger...
"The Armies of our ancestors were lucky, in that they were not trailed by a second army of pencil pushers."
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: Stroker]
#1395367
03/01/13 04:09 PM
03/01/13 04:09 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,271
central IL reg Nov 18, 1999
Stroker
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central IL reg Nov 18, 1999
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So what's the consensus?
14? 16?
If I didn't have MSD ignition, etc, etc, I'd just have an Evans harness made.
But-I'd have to hack it all up to get my other stuff wired.
I wonder if they could do a bulkhead to regulator plug with field wires...
I just want to drive the car this year.
It's been off the road too long.
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: Stroker]
#1395368
03/01/13 04:42 PM
03/01/13 04:42 PM
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Rio Linda, CA
John_Kunkel
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18 ga is all you need. Even newer vehicles with 140 amp alternators only use 18 ga for the field wires.
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: Stroker]
#1395374
03/03/13 11:04 AM
03/03/13 11:04 AM
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 6,095
Valencia, España
NachoRT74
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Valencia, España
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is not a SENSING wires, its a FIELD SOURCE wire
these wires feed both poles to the rotor coil and when spining creates the magnetic field what outer stator captures.
With a Charger born in Chrysler assembly plant in Valencia, Venezuela
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: NachoRT74]
#1395375
03/28/13 10:54 AM
03/28/13 10:54 AM
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Joined: Jan 2003
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central IL reg Nov 18, 1999
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"The sense is sensin' that the juice keeps pumpin' and I know why..." -Keith Richards, 1981. Really, isn't it all just semantics? Is the large wire on the alternator for charging? NO! The alternator charges. Etc, ad nauseum. 
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: Stroker]
#1395376
03/28/13 04:48 PM
03/28/13 04:48 PM
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Posts: 6,095
Valencia, España
NachoRT74
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not really semantic. The GM speelling is what give us the "SENSING" therm, where actually switches on the regulator and gives the signal to cluster light. Beside the "sensing" wire on GM, they get the SOURCE wire for reg/rotor in a diff wire
the field wires on Mopars actually FEED the alt rotor to be able to produce the output power. No sensing at all
Is not just semantics, is a diff way to work.
With a Charger born in Chrysler assembly plant in Valencia, Venezuela
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: NachoRT74]
#1395377
03/28/13 05:12 PM
03/28/13 05:12 PM
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Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 1,822
Colorado
denfireguy
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Quote:
not really semantic. The GM speelling is what give us the "SENSING" therm, where actually switches on the regulator and gives the signal to cluster light. Beside the "sensing" wire on GM, they get the SOURCE wire for reg/rotor in a diff wire
the field wires on Mopars actually FEED the alt rotor to be able to produce the output power. No sensing at all
Is not just semantics, is a diff way to work.
 The sense wire on the GM was an output to let the idiot light know when to turn on. The field wires on Mopars regulate the output on the big wire by varying the voltage on the field. That was done internally on the GM alternators and because of the heat were a frequent source of failure.
2014 Ram 1500 Laramie, 73 Cuda
Previous mopars: 62 Valiant, 65 Fury III, 68 Fury III, 72 Satellite, 74 Satellite, 89 Acclaim, 98 Caravan, 2003 Durango
Only previous Non-Mopar: Schwinn Tornado
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#1395378
03/28/13 05:24 PM
03/28/13 05:24 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,421
Balt. Md
383man
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There is current flowing through the field wires, the "sensing" is done by the regulator via the blue IGN1 wire.
This is correct. All voltage reg need to know battery voltage and it dont matter if its internal or an external reg. They all need a 12 volt sense wire so the reg can control the alt output by the field circuit. And as was said the blue ign1 wire at the voltage reg is where the Mopar electronic reg picks up battery voltage. The other wire on the reg is the field ground wire as it uses that to control alt output. The ign1 wire also feeds the battery side of the ballast res and the factory ign module. Ron
Last edited by 383man; 03/28/13 05:25 PM.
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Re: alternator field wire size
[Re: John_Kunkel]
#1395379
03/28/13 05:37 PM
03/28/13 05:37 PM
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Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 6,095
Valencia, España
NachoRT74
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Valencia, España
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Quote:
Quote:
Thanks, guys.
And by "sensing," isn't this what they basically do?
Sense voltage to tell the alt what to do?
Electricity=voodoo
;-)
There is current flowing through the field wires, the "sensing" is done by the regulator via the blue IGN1 wire.
DEPENDING on year setup
on electronic systems that's it. the blue wire section going to reg is the sensing one to make work the regulator and FEED NEGATIVE, sourced by chassis, but not the blue one going to fields... both shares same source but for diff purpouses
on mechanical systems, this blue wire senses ( allong with chassis ground ) AND feeds at the same time to get same kind of positive signal on reg output
With a Charger born in Chrysler assembly plant in Valencia, Venezuela
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I don't know what you call a sense wire, the early mechanical alternators fed the feild side of the alternators off of the distributor ballast resitor, the later cars with electronic voltage regulators use one wire from the ignition switch and the other one from the ignition circiut off of the ignition ballat resitor 
