6 volt alternator question...

[socalkevin07]

ok any of you install a 6 volt alt to replace the gen?

well i'm trying to install mine but the directions do not mention anything about the coil...

First it says to reverse the bat. cables as to make it neg ground instead of pos ground..which i did..then to hook up the bat wire to back of alt..and then the yellow wire on alt to the ignition side of coil

my question..Do i leave the coil connected as is..or do I need to switch the wires on it?

Presently the coil is wired with the positive side goig to the dist. and the negative side going to the ignition switch (hot).

thank you

[grey beard]

When the polarity of a charging system is reversed, as you are doing, it is also necessary to reverse the coil's polarity as well. Just to make sure you have it right, the original positive ground six-volt coil should have been connected with the negative side towards the ignition switch and the positive side towards the ground - which in this case is the ignition points. With your new alternator, you will want to reverse these two connections so that the negative coil terminal is connected to the ignition points in the distributor., Hope this helps.

The reason for this is that you always want to have negative DC current going to your spark plugs. If the coil's polarity is reversed, the engine will still run fine but an additional 20 persent or so of the coil's effort will be needed to jump the gap at the spark plug. Electrical gaps are jumped much easier when the spark must jump from the hotter surface to the cooler side and not backwards, as it must do when coil polarity is reversed.

Also, if you switch to 12 volts, a ballast resistor will be needed between the ignition switch and your coil.

Hope this helps.

[socalkevin07]

much appreciated information grey beard!

I ordered the alt from fifth ave. garage..they seem to be very good...and it came with lots of directions..it just didn't mention anything about the coil.

Now I can hook it up and hope for the best....