1986 Ranger 2.9 Alternator Wiring

[kxri318]

Just bought an alternator off rock auto to replace my current one and saw the new alternator has 3 wires (two black and one smaller white) while my current wiring harness only has the 2 black w/ orange stripe wires. The actual connector on the harness has 3 slots, but doesn't seem to use the third. I've seen some pictures of other people's trucks where it does have a third white wire coming from the connector, but mine doesn't seem to. The only info the alternator came with that says anything about wiring is a piece of paper that mentions "The heavier wires (black w/orange stripe) both return current to the battery. Therefore, they can be interchanged" I also saw that in the diagram, the white wire apparently goes to the voltage regulator but there's no white wire on the regulator connector on my harness. What does the white wire do and do I need it?

 

[franklin2]

You have the famous 2G alternator. That connector you have in the original harness with the two orange/black wires was famous for melting and catching fire. So the aftermarket got rid of the connector, you have to hardwire the two orange/black wires to the two new black wires on the alternator. They where the fire starters.

The white wire is the stator wire. Some setups used it, some didn't. Engines with carbs used it to to run the electric assist chokes. Some of the later alternators had 3 wires on the regulator, the third wire you do not have on the regulator is where the white wire goes.

I would leave the white wire disconnected, just tape it so it's not touching anything. If you have problems and this aftermarket alternator does not charge correctly, you can get new wiring plug/pigtails for the regulator that do have the third wire on them. And then you can hook the white wire to that.

 

[kxri318]

You have the famous 2G alternator. That connector you have in the original harness with the two orange/black wires was famous for melting and catching fire. So the aftermarket got rid of the connector, you have to hardwire the two orange/black wires to the two new black wires on the alternator. They where the fire starters.

The white wire is the stator wire. Some setups used it, some didn't. Engines with carbs used it to to run the electric assist chokes. Some of the later alternators had 3 wires on the regulator, the third wire you do not have on the regulator is where the white wire goes.

I would leave the white wire disconnected, just tape it so it's not touching anything. If you have problems and this aftermarket alternator does not charge correctly, you can get new wiring plug/pigtails for the regulator that do have the third wire on them. And then you can hook the white wire to that.

Alright, thank you