Elan S4 now with alternator (Federal)

[dpchamp87]

Having now spent many hours comparing my new British Wiring (alternator ready) loom with the factory manual wiring diagram enlarged by Kinkos I believe I have most of it understood. However, one thing is not apparent from either the S4 or the +2S wiring diagrams; how to wire up the solenoid. I believe it should be as follows using the push button Mini type solenoid from Ray at RD:

1) Battery cable in, large brown from alternator, white/red to ign. warning light and large brown/blue (feed) all go to the battery cable in threaded post.

2) The offset smaller diameter threaded post is the earth

3) Battery cable out to starter has no other wires attached.

This apprears consistent with
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16638375@N ... 202952079/

but I do not want to get this wrong and fry the loom or the alternator!

Input gratefully received. Picture attached below.

David

[fatboyoz]

David,
Your wiring is incorrect.

The white/red is the solenoid activation feed, from the spring loaded start position on your ignition switch, and powers the solenoid winding inside. This is connected to a spade connection on the small terminal post.

The black wire is the earth for the solenoid winding and is fitted under one of the mounting bolts (fibreglass firewall = no earth).

One of the large terminals carries the starter power and, as you stated, is on its lonesome.

The other large terminal has the battery cable, brown/blue (main feed to car's power circuits) and the large, brown feed cable from the alternator. (note: the large, alternator brown cable should be twinned with a smaller brown cable. This small cable goes to the alternator's inbuilt voltage regulator to sense and control voltage in the charging system).

The alternator warning light/field excitation power has a feed from the ignition switch to the alternator and is the brown/yellow wire.

This is how my "68 S4's new wiring loom is fitted. Everything works.
Regards,
Colin.

Having now spent many hours comparing my new British Wiring (alternator ready) loom with the factory manual wiring diagram enlarged by Kinkos I believe I have most of it understood. However, one thing is not apparent from either the S4 or the +2S wiring diagrams; how to wire up the solenoid. I believe it should be as follows using the push button Mini type solenoid from Ray at RD:

1) Battery cable in, large brown from alternator, white/red to ign. warning light and large brown/blue (feed) all go to the battery cable in threaded post.

2) The offset smaller diameter threaded post is the earth

3) Battery cable out to starter has no other wires attached.

This apprears consistent with
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16638375@N ... 202952079/

but I do not want to get this wrong and fry the loom or the alternator!

Input gratefully received. Picture attached below.

David

[dpchamp87]

Thanks a lot Colin; duly changed.

One further question if I may; the brown/yellow and brown wires (both thin) that connect to the alternator; which of the 3 alternator terminals do they connect to? My car previously had the brown/yellow wire in picture 2 below which ran to the ignition switch tach feed. (Disclaimer - the old loom in my car was an absolute disaster). Picture 1 is my alternator.

David

[fatboyoz]

David,
I can't totally answer your question as my alternator is a Lucas LRA100 and the Lucas connector, fitted to the wiring harness, is a direct fit into the back of the alternator.
Your new alternator is, I think, a Nippondenso unit. From the photo it has a large "B" post and three spade connectors. The thick brown cable attaches to the B post and is the power supply out of the alternator.
You should then be left with a thin brown wire and a thin brown/yellow wire.
The thin brown wire is a sense to the voltage regulator inside the alternator. This senses system voltage and the regulator then varies the output of the alternator to maintain a preset voltage. From here, I am not sure how you would do the connections. I suspect that this thin brown wire would be connected to the S terminal on the ND alternator.
The thin brown/yellow is the power from the ignition switch through the charging lamp. On the Lucas alternator it supplies the field for excitation and lights the charging lamp. When the voltage, as sensed within the alternator, reaches a preset value, it turns the charging light out. The ND alternator, I think, has separate spade connectors for IGN and for turning off the charging light. This is where I get stuck. Someone else will have to chime in to fill in the gaps.
Here are some helpful sites:
http://www.teamhealeytexas.com/Technica ... ng%201.htm
http://www.bigblockdart.com/forum/showt ... or-install
http://www.teglerizer.com/alternator/wiring.htm
http://www.alternatorparts.com/understa ... nators.htm
http://westfield-world.com/daihatsu_alternator.html
Regards Colin.

Thanks a lot Colin; duly changed.

One further question if I may; the brown/yellow and brown wires (both thin) that connect to the alternator; which of the 3 alternator terminals do they connect to? My car previously had the brown/yellow wire in picture 2 below which ran to the ignition switch tach feed. (Disclaimer - the old loom in my car was an absolute disaster). Picture 1 is my alternator.

David