Technical Now What Did I Break?

I found this video(s). Explains it very simply.
I just ordered the 2nd kit Mr48chev suggested. Should have it by Friday. With a little luck I will report back this weekend with triumphant results.

 

Good luck, I guess the worst that could happen is you let the Magic Smoke out, then you have to order a Magic Smoke reinstallation kit LOL. Actually I’m amazed that your little incident harmed the alternator, I’ve witnessed a drunk redneck hook up jumper cables backwards with no I’ll effects except battery post and cable end a little melted or actually vaporized.
Good luck
Dan

 

Well, it is possible my mistake only melted a little bit of wire and didn't harm the alternator. Maybe it was already faulty, and I just paid very close attention to the voltmeter after I fixed the wire causing me to notice the noncharging situation.

 

No I’m sure the short toasted the diodes, but who knows, sh.t happens. A while back while breaking in a cam on my little Austin Healey Sprite engine which has exposed metal clips on the spark plugs I layed my hand on plug while adjusting the timing oouuuch My brothers who were helping me thought that was pretty funny, so I had to do it again to prove the comedic value. Really funny for everyone except me! LOL
Dan

 

@Country Joe , I did some more internet/forum digging, and the resistor that is not in your current alternator is used to speed up the charge process, for high demand loads. Helps it get to full rate faster(simplified version). Also found, that it is to be removed from self-exciting alternators.
It wasn't used on all alternators from the factory, but when used it helped get the charge going faster.

 

Thanks for digging. Between all the helpful replies here and a little digging myself I feel confident in the kit I ordered and replacing everything.
I really learned a lot about alternators today. Before all this trouble started, I thought self-exciting was just something done in private

 

Ok, new internals installed and she's charging like a champ! Thanks for all the helpful replies. The job was very easy especially since I was able to take the business end off the alternator without removing the main part off the engine, leaving pulleys and belts intact.

 

Sharp looking, glad everything turned out good!
Dan

 

Never, ever, seen it done like that! Cool!

 

Thanks, I guess it can't always be done like that if there is no room behind the alternator. But, it sure does make short work of it.

 

FYI, if you really want a one-wire Delco 10SI alternator there's no need to spend extra money to buy one, since you can just put a jumper from the S2 terminal to the BAT terminal. BINGO, one wire.

The downside of this is twofold.
1. It normally requires you to rev the engine a bit at startup in order to initiate charging, since the "bootstrap" voltage provided through the indicator lamp is what normally provides the initial voltage to wake up the alternator.
2. It isn't how Delco designed it to work. It eliminates the charging indicator, so you'll need to keep an eye on your ammeter or volt meter in order to monitor the operation.

Here's a diagram of the normal wiring on the left, and one-wire on the right. Everything within the dotted line is internal to the alternator.