12v conversion for 440ic

[Tim_in_IA]

Starter does not care about the polarity. However the alternator NEEDS to be negative ground in order to work.

Is this the case even with the delco automotive alternator? Wouldn't this want a positive ground?

[joeturner1977]

I believe any alternator would need negative ground. At least I have never seen an alternator setup as a postive ground. Look at your car/truck. The + terminal goes to starter, the - terminal goes to the frame.

[Tim_in_IA]

I believe any alternator would need negative ground. At least I have never seen an alternator setup as a postive ground. Look at your car/truck. The + terminal goes to starter, the - terminal goes to the frame.

Sorry I misposted. I wanted a negative ground. I just typed the opposite . Thanks!

[Eric.MacLeod]

hello.. i can save you guys a lot of time and money on a one wire altenator.all you have to do is get a chevy alt, take the two small wires with the white plastic end on it and hook them to the post marked batt on it, than run a good sized wire from there to you ignition switch,then just go from your switch to the battery.. its that simple,it will cost you nothing but you have to go thru you switch you cant go striaght to the battery because it will keep the alt charged and drain the battery,, i own several street rods and have been doing this for years, also chevy makes some very high amp altenators,the amps are stamped on them, head to a salvage yard there dirt cheap,you can check the amps and get all the brackets pretty cheap,my guy charges about five bucks if i pull it off.. hope this helps.Eric

[Lu47Dan]

If you are wanting to use the winch extensively , I would suggest you upgrade the Alternator to a 100 amp one wire , as a stock alternator 35 -50 amp one won't run the winch as well and you can do the up grade in your own shop with a conversion kit available from Jegs for around $35 .
http://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS/750754/10002/-1/10685
I have used these kits for my own equipment and several other tractors since I have found them . Dan

Sorry to poach the post, but I had a question as well. Does this upgrade kit convert a Delco 10-S, 35-50 amp 1 wire alternator to 100 amps, or is it only to rebuild an existing Delco 10-SI, 100 amp alternator? The information wasn't clear on that.

Tigerhaze , the regulator that is supplied in the kit is supposed to be a 100 amp regulator . I called and asked them about it . I is supposed to be able to go to 100 amps , I have not physical checked the amperage yet on the one that is on my Super-H but it really works well for jump starting other equipment around here when needed . I do happen to have a 105 amp stator for these alternators . If I was going to do a bunch of winching with an electric winch I would put it into a alternator for the crawler .
Eric , I will agree with you that you can jumper a 10SI alternator and get the same results to a point . I have three alternators out in the shop that were purchased out of junk yards , two of the three were DOA . The third was from a 6.2Liter diesel truck that had been junked , it according to the markings is a high output alternator , it was off a state road department truck and I have yet to test it . I bought it so I would have a spare one for my 6.2 Liter GMC diesel truck . I also have four of them that are awaiting clean up and the up front for the kits so they can be built for a few off roaders .
The one reason I suggested this kit was once you do the rebuild you have a fresh alternator with new internal parts and new bearings . Nothing more frustrating then having a bearing freeze up out in the woods with a foot of snow on the ground . JMTC .
Dan

[jdemaris]

I have a nice 9000# winch that would be very handy on my 440 gas but it is 12v. I have an alternator and every thing to convert it over. don't mind fabricating a bracket but if one is available would be easier to buy one. Any body making one to install delco one wire alternator on?

I don't mean to be redundant here since I saw the other posts. Just adding my two cents - and that's probably what my comments are worth.

You don't want to rely on an alternator to power a winch, regardless of what size you use. The battery is the buffer and supplies the high-surge electric demands, not the alternator. Even a 150 amp alternator, when turning low revs can barely put out 30 amps. The main reason why big alternators are commonly installed on cars and trucks is so they can make 30-40 amps at low engine idle speeds, not the high amps they are rated for. That because a car with the sound sytem on, GPS, air conditioning, etc. needs an alternator that can keep charging at engine idle speed when you come to a stop sign or red light. The nice thing about any alternator is that is used most of the power it makes, whereas a generator throws away half of what it makes.

When alternators get installed on tractors, they often get larger than auto-type drive pulleys and also are on slower running engines. Thus, even less power available.

Your choice depends on what features you want. A 10SI or 12SI Delco is the cheapest, and also one of the least reliable. When Deere changed over to them for awhile, we had many problems. The Delco 10SIs and 12SIs don't have dust-protection and don't have sealed ball bearings in the rear. So, in normal farm environments, they burn up pretty easy. Deere tried installing filter-screens on them to prolong life. Also, the Delcos don't handle voltage spikes that can come from electric welding or booster-starting. That because of the flimsy OEM diode-trios used. But, as I said, Delcos are common and cheap, so they are the most popular. A Hitachi off an older Dastun/Nissan or Subaru is a much more rugged alternator with sealed and full ball bearing support and is also more compact than the cheaper Delcos. The next generation of Delco CS type alternators are built more like the Hitachis, Nippos, Bosches, etc.
That all being said, for a collector tractor not being used around dust, it doesn't matter much. Delcos work fine in clean environments. I still tend to use the Hitachis, especially due to the smaller physical size. Also because there are so many junked Subarus around my area. You can also custom build for postive ground - but I can't imagine why you'd want to. There never was any advantage between either polarity. Just so happened a standard had to be picked after transistors got popular. It is also easy to make any of these alternators 6 volt instead of 12 volt.
In regard to other components. Many (but not all) ignition coils will put out 20-30% less max spark if polarity is switched. Also, some six volt coils run on 12 volts all the time will result in points buring out prematurely. The OEM coil on a 440 Deere (6 volt system) is the same coil used on 1010s and 2010s with 12 volt systems, but the latter use resistors that cut down system voltage a little (but not much).
One more comment about using Petronix. Just my personal opinion. I've seen electronic change-over kits come and go for 50 years. You install one, then 10 years later if it craps out - you can't find parts. I've had to convert many "breakerless conversions" back to good old fashioned breaker-point ignition. With the OEM point setup, you'll always be able to get it running and never be stuck for parts - even if you have to scrape the points with a jackknife to get it going. I don't see any big advantage buying a breakerless conversion on a collector-type machine that is not used all day, every day. I've got many tractors here that have had the same points in them for 20 years or more. Obviously, there ARE some advantages to breakerless - especially with cars and trucks that get many miles put on them. But, those parts have a lot of support OEM and aftermarket. So, when one stops working, you can get parts anywhere -quick. Try this test right now. Call any of your local equipment dealers and ask about what repair parts they have in stock for the Petronix electronic ignition systems. I doubt you're going to find much.
One anecdotal story. An old friend of mine got in a fight with his wife a few years back. He called me from 200 miles away and offered to give me his 1972 MGB if I came and got it right away. The money he'd been spending on it was causing marital problems. So, my wife and I drove right down. I then drove the MG while my wife followed. Half-way home it died - right in the middle of the NYS Thruway. I discovered it had NO spark and - had an electronic conversion kit installed. Dead on the road, and no repair parts available. When I started rumaging through the many boxes of extra parts that came with it - I found the old coil and ignition breaker plate. I scraped the points with a knife, installed them with the coils - starting the thing up and drove the remaining 100 miles just fine. I will NEVER install a breakerless kit back into it - unless I had something OEM with good parts support everywhere.