Elect tricky stuff

Am changing my Dodge from 6 volt pos earth to 12 volt neg earth and got a couple of questions for someone who knows this new fangled modern stuff.
The pulley on the 12 volt generator ( off an International truck) is much smaller than the one on the 6 volt generator. www.flickr.com/photos/46046969@N03/7837490112/in/photostream
Does it have to run faster to do 12 volt or should I transfer the pulley of the old generator.?
On my new Lucas ( stop laughing Swishy, it was free) control box, the screw terminals are close together and the regular ring terminals have very little clearance.
see www.flickr.com/photos/46046969@N03/7837490540/in/photostream

Was there a different type of terminal for these.?

Do these style of terminal fit?

Atki,

Think you will find that those terminals are meant for plain wire not crimp on terminals.

would need to see a front on shot of the terminals. But I think you will find that if you strip the wire and insert them into the holes and squeze down using the screws it should work!

As for your question about the generators. I could be wrong.

But I would think it should be fine. Remember that for 12V it only has to work half as hard as 6V. By that I mean that for creating light at a certain brightness in 6V you might need say 1 amp. But to create the same amount of light with 12 Volt you would only need .5 amp.

Again these are only examples!

The question is what is the amp's that each put out? I think you should be ok because in the end the rev range of the Dodge and the International engine should be very similar and that is what counts!

ATKIPETE
As JB said there is no terminal used on that type of Lucas regulator,
you strip about 3/16 to 1/4 inch of insulation and push the wire under the screw ( I twist it first) and tighten the screw.If you look at reply 113 on the Fargo restoration there is fairly good photo there.
Cheers Max

Thanks for the advice fellas will go with no terminals and the pulley as fitted.

you are correct the pully size determins the speed to slow not enough power to fast may be over charging ;; and that depends on the voltage regulator ;; the pully v looks diferent that will alter the belt section ; personally i would fit terminals to the regulator box ; try jaycar , ashdown ingram , j.a.s.ociana , or any decent auto electrician ,good connections are a must ;; a bad connection can build up resistance causing heat and poof you end up like swishys mate the prince of darkness . cheers don

Don,

I have had more troubles with crimped fittings than I have ever had with screw terminals. Remember screw terminals are used in many places such as trailer lights etc. On one of my trucks I used lots of screw terminal boards for power distribution and never had an issue. But I have also done one with crimps and after a while some have played up due to incorrect crimping (Have learned that lesson now)

I find that quite often the crimp isn't made uniform enough to ensure a mechanically sound connection. Add to the fact it is easy to get caught in an engine bay on the wires and it is easy for the crimp to let go.

If you were to use crimp bits and want them to last would recommend you get a quality tool to do the crimp not one of the cheap crimp tools that you can get.

I still prefer screw down connectors as much less likely to have connection issues or high resistance (which is very easy to occur with old crimp connections). Next on my list of preference is correctly soldered connection but very easy not to get the iron hot enough and get a dry joint in which case you have wasted the time! Then the quick and (in my mind) nasty crimp. Again the crimp is ok but make sure it is done correctly. In the end most of the crimps will then be screwed in anyway so what do you gain anyway! In all cases make sure that the wire after stripping is clean and neat as possible.

You are correct the size of the pulley has to be matched to optimize the generator performance as a Genny has to run at a certain speed to work best. So if you want to get all technical and you don't know what the rpm that the 12volt genny needs. You would really need to know the size of the crankshaft pulley off the donner vehicle and the average RPM's of the vehicle also. Then knowing the size of the pulley on the generator you can then work out the RPM's that the genney is running at. Then work out the size of the pulley you would need on the genney for it to work with the RPM's of your engine and crankshaft pulley. However this is a lot of work!

I think knowing your needs you should be able to get away with any difference anyway. Besides it isn't a big deal to get the generator out if needed and modify it down the track. Just don't throw anything away!

As for the profile of the belt. Yes they could be different. I have found that some of the pulleys on Genny that they are pretty crude in their profiles. And your 6 volt one appears to be a classic built up pulley. As long as what ever belt profile you use make sure that the sides of the belt make good contact with the sides of all the pulleys and doesn't bottom out in the pulley and again for your needs should be fine!

Best way to use those crimp terminal with a hole in them is to pull the plastic thing off and solder them on. Crimps are one step up from Scotchlocks, which are a long way down the ladder, so it's not saying much.

I still prefer screw down connectors as much less likely to have connection issues or high resistance (which is very easy to occur with old crimp connections). Next on my list of preference is correctly soldered connection but very easy not to get the iron hot enough and get a dry joint in which case you have wasted the time!

With screw-down connectors, I strip the insulation to the correct length, give the wire strands a twist to hold them together, then solder the bared wires. As BP said, the heat has to be correct or the solder won't run ... and if the heat is held there too long the insulation will be affected. But the solder gives a good electrical connection, and helps the screwed terminal with the mechanical connection, as the screw can bite into the soldered end. This way, there's less chance that the stripped wire can pull out of the screwed terminal. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]