Unknown wiring ?

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Way up North eh boy are you in trouble! Just kidding as you newbies will have to get used to my rather warped sense of humor. It's the only way I retain my sanity after 34 years of this. There are people up your way who would probably be willing to help you out. In a pinch I can offer very attractive towing prices from your "neck of the woods".

As to your last question the red & solid yellow wires don't belong there and are probably connected to either end of the solid brown 12V wire that is extranious on a one wire regulator setup. That yellow/black "trigger" wire is sitting there unused waiting to be hooked up to the regulator. Send us a better shot of the back of your ancient alternator and I'll tell you were to stick the B/Y wire. You'd probably be safer ordering a new alternator at this time but we can give it a go!

Of coarse... I live in Southern NH.

[DMCMW Dave]

As to your last question the red & solid yellow wires don't belong there and are probably connected to either end of the solid brown 12V wire that is extranious on a one wire regulator setup. That yellow/black "trigger" wire is sitting there unused waiting to be hooked up to the regulator. Send us a better shot of the back of your ancient alternator and I'll tell you were to stick the B/Y wire. You'd probably be safer ordering a new alternator at this time but we can give it a go!

I'd be more inclined, since it's reportedly working, to either leave it alone completely until it fails (i.e. the thing stops charging the battery) or tear it all out and properly install a new alternator. If you start hooking up loose wires you might cause something worse to happen than where you are now. If you happen to somehow bypass the regulator and the alternator takes off (high voltage) you can damage a lot of other expensive car parts.

[Shep]

I'd be more inclined, since it's reportedly working, to either leave it alone completely until it fails (i.e. the thing stops charging the battery) or tear it all out and properly install a new alternator. If you start hooking up loose wires you might cause something worse to happen than where you are now. If you happen to somehow bypass the regulator and the alternator takes off (high voltage) you can damage a lot of other expensive car parts.

Sorry Rob, I'm with Dave on this one. As the old adage goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" Unless of course your budget allows for it, but being "new to DeLoreans" has me thinking that budget would be better used for things that are actually broken.

On the other hand, I'm also curious about how long this alternator has been in service. If it was installed shortly before sale, I'd be hesitant to call it "reliable" and might want to swap it out for a proper setup before bad things happen. If it's seen quite some road use however, clearly it's working. Do you have any documentation (service records, etc.) that indicate when it was installed? Or are you able to contact the PO to ask?

[Bitsyncmaster]

You do want the "battery" light to function. Not so much to show you the alternator is bad but to give you a quicker indication of a broken fan belt. When the belt breaks, you will quickly overheat the engine.

So as long as your battery light comes on with the key on and engine not running, I would just make sure the existing wiring is solid.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Let me get this straight! You guys seem to be in agreement that he should just leave this mess alone until it fails? If it's working now it won't be long before it doesn't. The bat. light/regulator wire is dangling loose above the motor. There's a butched external regulator screwed to the frame. The yellow and black wires don't belong there and I'd assume the connections are as sloppy as the external wiring we can see. The alternator appears to be ancient and incorrect.

If the car was in my shop I would;
1) Rewire the alternator back to stock configuration. (15 to 30 minutes depending on variables with the crappy wiring)
2) Loadtest the electrical system and check for any draws.
3) Encourage the owner to upgrade the alternator to an updated unit even assuming the the thing actually pass's a loadtest (remote possability!).

To just ignore this and wait for an inevitable breakdown seems ridiculous to me!
I have a few questions for the owner.

1) Does the battery light come on when you turn the key to the on/run postion?
2) Is the car starting with no problems or jumping?
3) What does the voltage regulator read at idle with all the accessories on?

I know the next response will be that the voltmeter is not an accurate measure of charging system operation and I fully agree. I'm just trying to extract whatever information I can from a new/technically challenged owner. If he wants to leave it alone why did he ask for advice about the obviously poor wiring job which even he recognized to be suspect? Yes he can just leave it alone but I would stay close to home and make sure his AAA tow policy is up to date in that case. Why are we even disagreeing here? I've got work in the shop to do so you guys can take over from here.
Rob

[Shep]

If he wants to leave it alone why did he ask for advice about the obviously poor wiring job which even he recognized to be suspect?

He didn't. He saw extra wires and weren't sure if they should be connected or not. If it were my car, I'd swap the alternator entirely as you advised, hence my "unless of course your budget allows for it" verbage. My budget personally would, having just bought a new car and fully expecting some initial financial work into it.

My "bottom line" is that it drives now, and if it's been driving for a while, it can probably wait until funds allow for a more "proper" setup. However,f it's a relatively new addition, get rid of it before it does any damage period! Frankly, considering the alternator's hackish job from the PO, I'd be hesitant to say that it's the ONLY hack job on the entire car. I'm sure there's more, and until it's gone over by a vendor or an experienced owner, it's hard to prioritize this one single instance. PO only knows what's lying in wait, yet to be discovered. DPI Josh has shown me some crazy, crazy stuff going on with other cars, some far worse than this, that have led to very bad situations. Point is, it's definitely a priority, but may not be "top" priority.

I apologize for upsetting you Rob. Definitely wasn't my intent here.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

I'm not upset but slightly annoyed yes. If you read this thread from the start you will see that I already covered much of what you and the others said....twice!
That's why I had him send pictures of the rest of the car to make sure the rest of it wasn't as bad as the alternator wiring first. Did you even read the whole thread before commenting?

I'm a Delorean mechanic by trade and you aren't unless I'm mistaken? Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I think I've proceeded systematically in this case. Why I have three people jumping on this with contrary opinions mystifies me as I actually could be in the shop making a living. By all means take over as I'm done with this thread before I actually do get angry. It's not worth the hassle so by all means take the lead guys. As I already said this car should be gone through by a Delorean specialist if he really wants it sorted properly. Does anybody actually read entire threads before posting anymore?
Rob

He didn't. He saw extra wires and weren't sure if they should be connected or not. If it were my car, I'd swap the alternator entirely as you advised, hence my "unless of course your budget allows for it" verbage. My budget personally would, having just bought a new car and fully expecting some initial financial work into it.

My "bottom line" is that it drives now, and if it's been driving for a while, it can probably wait until funds allow for a more "proper" setup. However,f it's a relatively new addition, get rid of it before it does any damage period! Frankly, considering the alternator's hackish job from the PO, I'd be hesitant to say that it's the ONLY hack job on the entire car. I'm sure there's more, and until it's gone over by a vendor or an experienced owner, it's hard to prioritize this one single instance. PO only knows what's lying in wait, yet to be discovered. DPI Josh has shown me some crazy, crazy stuff going on with other cars, some far worse than this, that have led to very bad situations. Point is, it's definitely a priority, but may not be "top" priority.

I apologize for upsetting you Rob. Definitely wasn't my intent here.

[David T]

I'm not upset but slightly annoyed yes. If you read this thread from the start you will see that I already covered much of what you and the others said....twice!
That's why I had him send pictures of the rest of the car to make sure the rest of it wasn't as bad as the alternator wiring first. Did you even read the whole thread before commenting?

I'm a Delorean mechanic by trade and you aren't unless I'm mistaken? Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I think I've proceeded systematically in this case. Why I have three people jumping on this with contrary opinions mystifies me as I actually could be in the shop making a living. By all means take over as I'm done with this thread before I actually do get angry. It's not worth the hassle so by all means take the lead guys. As I already said this car should be gone through by a Delorean specialist if he really wants it sorted properly. Does anybody actually read entire threads before posting anymore?
Rob

Rob, with all due respect, if this car was in your shop you would strongly suggest this be fixed properly but in the end it is up to the owner because he would have to pay for it. This thread began BECAUSE the owner wanted it fixed but now, as long as it is kind of working, he might not want to. I agree it is a problem waiting to happen but there are usually so many others it is hard to pick which one will go bad first! When you see this kind of work on a car now you have to be suspicious of everything. I am sure, if this car was in your shop, you would find PLENTY to fix and with good reason. Fixing this is not just hooking up a couple of wires, the alternator is going to have to be replaced and who knows what it will take to get the alt light in the binnacle to work? Just to replace the alternator might take a lot of bracketry to get it right. To get the light to work could cost hundreds of dollars. My guess is there are other more urgent issues to be fixed on this car.

[Shep]

The hell Rob? I'm not fighting with you here, why you seem to be trying to start shit with me mystifies me too. I'm trying to be on your side here, and you go and post shit like that? Yes I read the whole thread, I've been following it since it was first posted. It's not your place to accuse me otherwise, nor is it to diss my mechanical abilities. That was just way too low. Back off already, Jesus H Christ.

[PJ Grady Inc.]

Now Shep who's being overly sensitive here? You said "Sorry Rob I'm with Dave on this one". I therefore am asking your credentials as to why your opinion, or even his, should override mine? I did not use swear words, I didn't flip out, I did not tell the guy he HAD to do anything! I was answering his questions while probing for more information. You are a young man Shep and it appears you get riled more easily than I do but at least I have the experience to back it up. You need to chill out! I wasn't singaling you out either as you seem to think.
It's threads like this, and I'm not referring only to you here Shep, that make me think my time would be more productive in the shop. I was doing fine and being systematic in my approach and then everyone went in other directions and that's fine but I'm not sure I want to be part of threads that go like this one did. In the future if someone questions my reasoning and approach I'll just drop the thread and go back to work where I belong. This place is a quagmire!!!
Rob

The hell Rob? I'm not fighting with you here, why you seem to be trying to start shit with me mystifies me too. I'm trying to be on your side here, and you go and post shit like that? Yes I read the whole thread, I've been following it since it was first posted. It's not your place to accuse me otherwise, nor is it to diss my mechanical abilities. That was just way too low. Back off already, Jesus H Christ.