cracked, brittle alternator wires

emzdogz

Aunty Em
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wondering if any of you all have found that the wires coming out of the alternator and also those that have the neutral switch wire - that the sheathing has gotten really hard and cracked and brittle?

The outer sheathing on the bundles on mine have cracked places and then I'm thinking the wires themselves might be that way too, tho I can't see any cracks or bare wire on the wires themselves.

Any of you all replace this somehow? or is supple new wiring only happening via buying a new alternator? I'd like to keep the stock plug....

Was wondering how others of you might have dealt with this?

the alternative, I guess is just to hook it up - and if its functional, just be satisfied with it.

thx!
 
is any of it worn through?

It's inevitable that it becomes brittle. it's regularly oil soaked, and heat cycled.

The loom comes with the alt ring, so expensive. Re-wiring it is not difficult. Just slice it off with about 4" from the ring, lay it all out and replace one wire at a time. It's nice if you can get the same colour wire, but it's not mandatory.
 
one more question about this... are the two wire bundles: the big one which splits off to include neutral switch and then the smaller one from pickup coil - are they supposed to be positioned/jammed/crammed behind the chain guide? is that chain guide intended to hold BOTH of those harnesses tight to the engine casting? my worry is these wires coming too close to comfort to the chain.

If this is so, that the wires go in that space behind chain guide (tight!) is there some place where they are specifically supposed to attach, to keep them away from chain links? Or at that point is it just up to the builder to zip-tie or otherwise attach them safely away from the chain?

One thing about that stiff, brittle outward sheathing...sure makes it hard to bend the bundles to go where you want them! Good news in my case is that except for the neutral wire, which has a bare spot, the rest of the wires are cloth covered and seem in good shape, besides the outer plastic sheathing.

Have been searching all over for a photo someone may have posted which shows under the left side cover and just happens to show where those wires go.
:)

There's lots of places to zip tie them to...if they weren't so inflexible.

thx again!

took my chain guide off today and cleaned it...whew was that thing caked! Got it back at the right angle though..it was slightly bent.

fun fun fun!!!!
"D
 
yep, that's where it's supposed to go. From the factory, they had a clip near the end of the casing. I don't have any pics, but someone else might.
 
- could do something like this too

P5190002.jpg
 
You can see in inxs's pic of where the stock metal clip hooked to the case. Just above the rear motor mount. A small oval projection built into the case. The metal clip slid over the projection and was staked in place. 30+ years of rust and the metal clip comes off.
The adle clamps on the cover bolts looks to be a very good way to do it.
If you want you can remove the outer casing off the wires and wrap with black tape or heat shrink tubing.
 
Hi Leo, thanks for your response. Yes I see now where you mean, just above the rear engine mount. I think I can make a nice curved piece of thin metal to make a guide out of.

Not sure what you meant by "adle clamps"?

I'm wondering if a real big fat piece of shrink wrap - big enough to slide over the connector, would shrink down enough.

I was really happy to discover those wires (except the neutral switch wire) are protected by that cloth covering.

thx again.
 
Adle, might be adel, It's what I have always called those rubber covered clamps.
It's not hard to remove the wires from the connector. If you look into the connector you will see the rectangular slot for the metal part of the connector, on one side is a small rectangular spot centered on one side of the slot.
A paper clip works good to slide down the small spot on the side. A jewelers screwdriver works too. When pushed in far enough it will diengage the lock and the wire can be pulled out.
The lock is just a small prong that sticks out of the flat side of the metal connector.
When you get all the wires unhooked you can slide them through the heat shrink tubing. After heat shrinking you can put the wires back in place.
It's easy to put the wires back in the right places by just matching the wires in the other half of the connector.
 
Hey, Emmer. If it is just the outer sheathing that you are concerned about, you may want to google Vintage Connections. I wish I could provide you with a link, but that is not yet included in my skills set.
 
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Thanks again, XSLeo, and also Danno. Appreciate the info. Good to learn "adle" or "adel"... never knew that before. Now I won't have to call it a "thingy".
:)
 
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