410 Alternator charging fault

[Chippy]

Hi, I'm new to the club, and was hoping some one could help me with a problem.

My 410 is not charging the battery, I've already fitted a voltage regulator, and have now bought a new alternator, I've tested the wiring, but I'm now starting to think I may have the wrong alternator, the Alternator has 3 connections, the main battery lead and two field wire connections. The old alternator only has one.

After scouring the internet, the only wiring diagram i can find is for a dodge, which has the same engine, in that diagram one field wire connection on the back of the alternator goes to the field wire connection on the voltage regulator, the other connection on the back off the alt' goes to the ignition side of the regulator, which is very easy to do, just add an extra wire, my concern is, in the dodge wiring diagram, it does not show a battery warning light.

I have spoken with the supplier of the alternator and they are not being helpful. A 410 alternator wiring diagram would be very helpful, or any advise if some one has had the same issue

[PEU186F]

I'm away from home at present but will endeavour to copy the relevant bit of the wiring diagram to you on Tuesday, if nobody else obliges first. In the meantime be aware that it is essential for the sake of any alternator that the main connection between it and the battery is absolutely A1. If it is less than excellent the alternator and its control, whether that is separate or built into it, attempt to compensate by raising the output voltage, but this can get out of hand causing the insulation on the alternator windings to fail, which wrecks the alternator and then, in its turn, the controller.

One possible weak point in this circuit between alternator and battery is the ammeter, the connections through which have to be tight. There are other connections between the two in the battery bay

The original alternator has only one field wire connection, the wiring diagram will not help with two, but perhaps one (which?) should be earthed.

[PEU186F]

Herewith, I hope, are two pdf files of a 410 wiring diagram. Two files as my scanner wont cope with the whole thing at once.

This is the most reproduceable diagram I have but it is a a copy that I was given by another 410 owner and it carries a number of annotations that he had made in respect of modifications he had made to his particular car. It is pretty clear what was original and what was not, just ignore the annotations.

I have however, in the past, found it far from easy to track what goes where in terms of the circuits between Alternator, Battery, Starter Solenoid and Ignition switch and I'd recommend starting with a large sheet of clean paper and drawing out these particular circuits, with their colours and their paths through the connecting blocks, for yourself.

You will note - there is NO ignition warning light, there are certain loads on the battery that do NOT go through the Ammeter, and the ignition switch itself is heavily overloaded.

Good luck



Roger

[Sam410]

Is it an internally-regulated alternator? Most are I think these days. When I replaced the alternator in my 410 (probably 13/14 years ago) it was harder to find an alternator without a built-in regulator. The correct one was found in the end, I don't recall from where I'm afraid.

[PEU186F]

Originally Posted by Sam410

Is it an internally-regulated alternator? Most are I think these days. When I replaced the alternator in my 410 (probably 13/14 years ago) it was harder to find an alternator without a built-in regulator. The correct one was found in the end, I don't recall from where I'm afraid.

Sam

It won't be internally regulated if it has one, let alone two, field coil connections.

I do just happen to have a correct pattern, rewound, alternator if anybody really needs one, as my car now carries a high output self regulated alternator.

Roger