Traveler Posted May 12 Posted May 12 During my repowering(yes I see the joke) I went to a 1 wire alternator. One of the unforeseen results is that it needs 1200-1300 rpm to begin charging: my Holley sniper cry’s low voltage at idle such as when I was driving down the boards last week in Ocean City Md. My question is does a 3 wire alternator generate power at 800 rpm or am I better off staying with the 1 wire? Quote
72 Monte Carlo Posted May 12 Posted May 12 Did you remove the external regulator on the core support? If you did, then did you wire the two inside wires together with a jumper wire, and do the same with the two outer wires? Quote
Robnhood Posted May 12 Posted May 12 My first thought would be what size is your alternator, and can you upgrade to a larger alternator? Quote
cbolt Posted May 12 Posted May 12 The do make 1 wire alternators that excite at a lower rpm. I have one such unit in my car after suffering through the lifespan of an alternator that didn't start charging until it hit 2500 rpm. Sitting in traffic was nerve-wracking to say the least. 2 Quote
jft69z Posted May 13 Posted May 13 I've used a number of Powermaster 1-wire alternators. No problem putting out 14.3 volts at 6-700 rpm idle. 2 of my cars with a Powermaster also have EFI, no issues there either. 2 Quote
cbolt Posted May 13 Posted May 13 I think mine is a Powermaster as well, but didn't want to name the brand without looking at it first. (No, I still haven't looked at it) 1 Quote
Traveler Posted May 17 Author Posted May 17 On 5/12/2025 at 11:35 AM, 72 Monte Carlo said: Did you remove the external regulator on the core support? If you did, then did you wire the two inside wires together with a jumper wire, and do the same with the two outer wires? I left the voltage regulator wired and just unplugged the two wire plug, recently I pulled the VR/horn relay, power terminal block behind the battery and cleaned the connection points, at 1200-1300 rpm 13.7V+ Quote
Traveler Posted July 6 Author Posted July 6 Took Joseph advice and got a power master 140 amp alternator 13 1/2 V at idle 14 1/2 while cruising thanks Joe. 2 1 Quote
Traveler Posted September 9 Author Posted September 9 2 month update, voltage issue is a thing of the past seldomly less than 13.5v, I did install a #6 wire between the alt/bat with soldered on connectors 3 1 Quote
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