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Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:23 pm

72 Westy- carburated (dual Weber 34 ICT's)...unhooked the wires from the back of the alternator while cleaning it and don't remember the way the two loose wires go....got the 3 prong connector (no brainer), but also have a red (larger) wire and a black (smaller) wire. inside the back of the alternator there is two posts, a longer one with 2 nuts on it and a short one that only has one nut (probably to secure the plate)...Just want to be sure where these wires go, cause that thing is a pain to get in with motor out of the bus, would hate to pull it in the bus... Please help...Been to the wiring section and its not real clear... Thanks

Sun Sep 25, 2011 9:29 pm

72westyguy wrote: 72 Westy- carburated (dual Weber 34 ICT's)...unhooked the wires from the back of the alternator while cleaning it and don't remember the way the two loose wires go....got the 3 prong connector (no brainer), but also have a red (larger) wire and a black (smaller) wire. inside the back of the alternator there is two posts, a longer one with 2 nuts on it and a short one that only has one nut (probably to secure the plate)...Just want to be sure where these wires go, cause that thing is a pain to get in with motor out of the bus, would hate to pull it in the bus... Please help...Been to the wiring section and its not real clear... Thanks

is the black wire seperate or is it part of the red wire?

Mon Sep 26, 2011 7:10 am

Its a completely separate wire...

Mon Sep 26, 2011 7:45 am

Without pulling something apart to look, I think the small black wire is just for the dealer diagnostic system and is therefore not needed. IIRC it goes under the same lug as the large red wire.

Mon Sep 26, 2011 8:39 am

I followed the wire back through the loom from the engine and tested if it went to ground, and it does not... I thinking it goes to the Alt light on the dash??? I hooked it to the same lug as the big red wire, lets hope it works!

Mon Sep 26, 2011 9:17 am

on mine the black wire ties to the red wire at the stud. It originally went to the dealer diagnostic system which is gone from the bus so I clipped the black wire and taped it so it could not short out against anything. I can't say if your black wire is the same or not.

Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:15 pm

I have found myself with the same question.

Does the large red wire and small black wire go onto the longer B+ post?

The second shorter B post is just left alone?

How does the tin orient? It has three possible locations, but none of them line the large hole in the tin with the female plug terminal on the alternator.

Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:23 pm

I don't recall the hole ever aligning with the plug, orient the tin so the cooling duct is pointing at the shroud when the alternator is in the installed position, there should be a grommet for the wires to pass through.
You are correct about only 1 B+ post being used, make sure it's not too long as some replacements touch the cover, ZZzzzzzzAAAaPP!!!. You can ditch the black wire as well, it's for the diagnostic plug and serves no purpose now.

Mon Jul 14, 2014 3:42 pm

From the angle shown, it doesn't look like your studs are very long, so you should be okay there. You can either clip the black wire at the alternator or zip tie it back on itself. I left mine connected in case I ever want to an a relay for all the ignition accessories like the choke coil, backup lights, etc in the engine compartment, but zip tied the free end out of the way for now.

Hook the wires up to the appropriate spots on the alternator and then make gentle bends in them to get the cover to align with the cooling air boot as per Busdaddy.

Tue Jul 15, 2014 11:10 am

Thanks for the help!

The stud was long, so I ground it down.

Here's the wiring installed with the modified stud. A little dielectric grease and I'd call it done.

Here's the tin installed.

Don't be like the hack that worked on the bus before me. WTF?

Tue Jul 15, 2014 1:29 pm

hercdriver wrote:

What was someone thinking when they did this? Makes no sense to just intentionally destroy and and every piece one touches, though a lot of people think that is what "maintenance" is all about.

Maybe you should send it to Bosch with a note that it is a new improved cover to work with their equally garbage long stud diode plate. :cry:

Tue Sep 30, 2014 4:43 pm

Hi, I'm hooking my alternator up and I just wanted to make sure the red wire goes to the post with two b+ marks on it like in the pic above. For some reason I thought it may have been on the other side with just one b+. I have read about the posts being to long so I will be addressing that on the rebuilt bosch alternator I have. Thanks for any advise I'm just want to make sure I don't hook it up wrong.

Tue Sep 30, 2014 4:59 pm

B+ is B+, if both posts say B+ pick the one that suits you best.

Tue Sep 30, 2014 5:04 pm

Great. Thanks for the speedy reply!