Alternator wiring

[ashman40]

[rickygtattoo13]

will check that one tomorrow. thanks for the pic that would clear things up !!

[andrewwebb58]

Ash man, question for you. The wiring on my 74 super beetle looks exactly like this. Luckily it looks like none of these wires have ever been touched by any of the previous owners. I currently am running the externally regulated alternator. I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to wire an internally regulated alternator up here in the near future. Would i not be able to leave the red wires connected in that large connector just as they are? Then on the new alternator connect the large solid red wire to B+ and the green wire to the other terminal for the gen light. Then be able to go back under the back seat and splice together the blue wire coming from the light with the green wire coming from the alternator after disconnecting the existing voltage regulator. And cap off the small red wire in the engine bay as well as under the rear seat.

To me it looks like if i dismantle the current junction where all the red wires are currently connected, ill be disconnecting the diagnostic port (not a big deal im sure) and the feed to the rear window fogged relay. Any insight would be great.
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1974 Super beetle Lime Green 1600 DP (originally my Grandpa's before he passed)
1995 GMC 1500 4x4
2015 Silverado 4x4

[ashman40]

The white connector under the rear seat where the three heavy gauge wires come together is the same whether VW pushed an externally or internally regulated alternator out of the factory line. No need to touch this B+/#30 junction.

Your description of connecting the blue #61 wire from the Gen lamp to the green DF wire and using this blue+green wire to connect the Gen lamp to the D+ terminal on the internally regulated alternator is exactly correct.

As far as the remaining red and brown wires that ran from the VR under the seat to the alternator... leave them there. Just tape them up and/or tuck them away. They could be useful as spares in the future. If you ever plan to install a tach in your dash, you could run the tach wire that runs to the ignition coil #1 (-) terminal and route that wire so it reaches the rear seat. Splice it into one of these spares and you can avoid having to run it through the C-pilllar (a big pain in the butt).
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AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}

[andrewwebb58]

Thank you so much! Glad to know my idea wasn't crazy
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1974 Super beetle Lime Green 1600 DP (originally my Grandpa's before he passed)
1995 GMC 1500 4x4
2015 Silverado 4x4

[GLHTurbo]

I'm converting my bus to an internally regulated alternator. I have the red/black stripe 10ga wire, that's spliced into a connector at the starter, with another 10ga wire leading towards the fuse panel up front (I assume, looking at the factory diagram). Can I just connect this to the B+ and be done? Assuming the power will make it's way to the battery via the starter? Or do i need a dedicated 10ga from B+ straight to the positive battery terminal, not passing through the starter lug? Hope this makes sense, thanks!
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1957 Beetle
1966 Bus

[wet_bread]

[GLHTurbo]

[ashman40]

[GLHTurbo]

I'm referring to the red/black wire shown in this diagram for my bus, and I think what you said below applies:


"If you are asking if the B+ output wire from the alternator can be connected to the large stud on the starter solenoid where the positive battery cable (4AWG) connects, the answer is yes. If you do this then you don't need the alternator B+ wire at the 4-wire junction under the rear seat. This is commonly done with dune buggies and sand rails."

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1957 Beetle
1966 Bus

[MSBenko]

I have a 75 Standard Beetle. I know that in 75 they came fuel injected. Somewhere along the way a PO converted to carb. I don't know if they had to replace the wiring to do this or what year they used, but I know in 74 an external regulator was used. When I bought the car it had a regulator for a generator installed, but the engine he gave me already had an alternator mounted that required an external regulator. I know the preferred way to go is internal regulated, but I am on a very tight budget and I was able to get my hands on an external regulator for real cheap. I tried to connect it and I don't think my battery is charging.

I remember reading somewhere that the alt\gen light is critical for your vehicle to charge so I guess I need to add the light. Maybe why the battery (new) is not charging?

I want to make sure I have everything wired correctly. I have the external regulator shown below.

The plug on the regulator has 4 terminals as seen below. The red and blue are already crimped the the same terminal. Is the fourth terminal not supposed to have a wire?

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Mike

75 Standard Beetle
72 Standard Beetle (first car) sold in '96

[Gipeto]

Hi,
Thought this might be a good time to jump in on this conversation as I'm having some confusion of my own. My 67 is also running this same setup with this vr. I'm not getting why the po has it wired this way. The B+ red and the other two reds are connected to each other, I get that. Then at the vr, there is no female plug, he has spades on the wires. The red from the vr is connected with the red from the alt, but it is also spliced to the green here??? I thought the green went directly to the speedometer light?? Do I splice the blue wire that comes from the speedo light to the blue from the vr?? Or to the green?
I have another internally regulated alt which I know will simplify things but it's going to be a while until I can get to changing it out. Just trying to get it to charge for now.

[ashman40]

[Gipeto]

The vr on this car is like the one pictured earlier. It's a black slim box that has a short group of wires coming into a plug end. There are no markings or numbers or even a brand on the box . Colors match your list. Red blue green and brown. What I don't understand is why the red D+ and green Df are spaded together and plugged into the red vr connection. I've tried connecting the blue alt light to the blue vr but no good, doesn't work. And if I were to spice the light wire to the red D+ then I'd also be connecting to Df! The car runs like this, but doesn't charge. I've never seen one set up like this and don't know why it is. I don't know enough about the functions of the regulator. If I join all the wires to matching colors on the vr, i.e.; red to red, brown to brown, green to green, should this theoretically work? Will the blue wire then work the light as it should? Or should I just park this until I can swap the alt out for the internally regulated Bosch?

[MSBenko]

Gipeto, if your wires are like the wiring diagram about, you are wired correctly. The green should not be spliced with the red. It should be the blue. Without seeing a picture, I can only guess that it is a dirty blue wire or the green wire is not factory spliced if it is green. Either way, trace the wire to make sure it is connected correctly. It may be wired with mismatched colors. If that is the case, ignore the colors as long as the connection are going to the correct terminals. I would still recommend fixing the colors so that you avoid confusion later.

Make sure you test the alternator. D+ terminal will provide the alternator light with a ground connection and light up when the ignition is on. Ignition power to the build on the common terminal for the alt\gen, oil pressure, and turn indicators. When the engine is running. The alternator should be producing power positive current at the D+ terminal cause the alt light to go out because it no longer has ground. If you do not have power to that terminal, you probably have a bad alternator. I have read that you can clean the brushes and the parts that the rub against with a pencil eraser. I haven't tried it though. I'm also not sure how to test the external voltage regulator.

I have decided to finally replace my alternator with one that has an internal regulator. I just need to get that nut off the fan that was aperently tightened by Hercules.
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Mike

75 Standard Beetle
72 Standard Beetle (first car) sold in '96

[ashman40]

So what is connected to the green DF wire running from the vr plug to the alternator plug? If nothing is connected to DF to give it current for the field circuit your alternator will never charge.

FYI, some vrs have a 4-wire plug. The vr may have a blue wire running to this 4th connection. I believe it is for a dedicated charging lamp. This wire is not used. Even if VW installed a 4-wire plug this 4th wire was left unconnected. The blue wire from the Gen light MUST connect to the red D+ wire.

Give the Pelican Parts link above a thorough read. It has a set of tests that force the alternator to charge. It may help you isolate if the problem is your vr or alternator. All you need is a length of wire to jumper between wires.
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AshMan40
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'67 Beetle #1 {project car that never made it to the road }
'75 Beetle 1200LS (RHD Japan model) {junked due to frame rot}
'67 Beetle #2 {2019 project car - Wish me luck!}