ruralandalone

It is a Powermaster SI type, high amperage, single wire replacement. I believe the wire to the cluster is for the voltmeter. I suspect that the ignition wire can simply go directly to the battery...

86 and 2.5 l 4. Sorry - should have said.

I have a new alternator to put into my mj - as soon as the weather warms up a bit. But I need a bit of insight into how the alternator hooks up to the wiring. This could be a stupid question, but here goes: The wiring diagram shows three wires connecting to the alternator. Looks like they go to battery, ignition, and instrument cluster. My jeep only has two wires actually connected at the alternator, battery and (I assume) ignition (since it will start) There is a third wire, but it is not connected to anything at the moment. I have not yet begun to explore the intricacies of the electrical system on this project, so I'll leave that for now. So my question relates to the non-battery wires. My new alternator is internally regulated and has connections for "field" and "stator" (along with the main battery connection). Which one would the instruments hook into? Since there does not seem to be electrical connectivity, when at rest, between the battery terminal and either the stator or field connection, how does the ignition switch get power? Do I hook the switch wire directly to the battery connection?

Further research suggests that all I have to do is upgrade the battery charging wire to 6 AWG. Just in case anyone cared... Merry Christmas!

Firstly, thank you for that extensive post. You learn something every day. For example, I have never seen a battery that had BOTH top and side terminals, and I've never seen "military" terminal connections - not even on MY military vehicles. definitely gonna get some of those! My plan for the winch, as it stands now, is a bit different. My winch is mounted on a hitch plate, and is moveable. My plan is to add a new home-built bumper with hitch plate to the front (and rear), and permanently provide #2 welding cable leads, with anderson connectors, to front and back. #2 'cause it is a lot less expensive than #1, at least as far as I have been able to find around here. Given that I have a hydraulic dump box added to the truck, and have to run the electric pump occasionally as well, the largest fitable battery and an upgraded alternator make sense. The battery could, I suspect, be longer than standard, as there is some room between the mounting plate and the alternator, but not much wider or higher. ( It would be a BAD THING to have the top posts hit the hood....) I still wonder if any wiring associated with the change to the 100ish amp alternator has to be upgraded as well.

got a model number or website?

I thin something in the 100 amp range should do the trick, based on comments above. If I go to 100 (or so) amps, do I need to upgrade any wiring, or can I just swap it in?

I found one affordable alternator upgrade which I think should be plug and play: https://www.quadratec.com/products/55100_01.htm Any comments on this?

The winch is a Keeper brand, 8500 lb, with about a 320 amp draw. So - based on the conversation so far, direct cabling for both positive and negative, (2 ga) no ammeter, bigger alternator no second battery new battery, (likely sealed standard battery) maybe group 34, the largest CCA I can find. hand throttle if I can figure out a way to do it, if I can't reach the drivers seat with the remote..

It is a 2.5L inline 4 in a 1986 comanche. Thanks for the comments. Why not an optima? (I'll take your word for it, but just curious) DO you have a battery isolator installed, with 2 batteries? Any idea what current rating is appropriate for an ammeter, should I put one in?

In adding a decent winch to my beast, I'm looking for advice about my charging system. 1) is there any easy way to tell which alternator (I understand that there were different models with different outputs) is in my truck? 2) What is the largest battery anyone has shoehorned into the normal location? 3) Any recommended battery? 4) If a second battery is added, where does one put it? (Just trying to consider all my options) 5) in wiring the winch, is it preferable to runa ground direct to the battery, is is it ok to ground to the frame? Thanks in advance for any assistance

Since I am not restoring this to pristine OEM condition. I am making a custom work truck. I have no problem is substituting 9/16 for an M14 bolt. Given that the difference is about .01 of an inch.. I did not know about inspections failing it for having gr 5 bolts on suspension components. Thanks for that And is there any cure for "Obsessive Comanche Disorder"?

OK, so grade 8's are a better choice. But should I reuse the existing bolts? Always? Never? Only if they show signs of wear?

Yes, at this point I am referring to the 9/16 x 5 in bolts that are used at both ends of hte leaf spring and where the shackle fastens to the frame. I won't go to a junkyard. Any 1986 vehicle that has been exposed to Ontario winters is going to be in exactly the same shape as mine. And it was a pain to get some of these ones off.

As I work to replace my rear suspension on my 86 Comanche, I have to replace at least some of the spring mounting bolts. My obvious choices are "real" grade 8 or grade 5 bolts. My initial choice is grade 8. The salesman insisted that that is overkill, as the 8's are not as good in applications that have shear loads. My first thought is that he is wrong, and I should be using 8's for the spring bolts. My second thought is that this is going on a truck that has seen more than a few winters of Canadian salt, and the weakest link in the chain is likely the steel in the brackets, not the steel in the bolt. I recon the steel will distort and fail before the bolt will shear. Any thoughts from the group? A related question: Should I reuse ANY of the bolts? (and I apologize for the typo in the title...)

I set mine to sit pretty much vertical with no load (and no box) on my hoist. It leans slightly backwards when on the ground. I think that is close enough to correct to be ok.

No, he did not. But he has the equipment to make springs, so I figure he knows his stuff. (I'm a trusting soul) He did assure me that making the change would not affect performance. (I at least had the wit to ask that much)

Well, the dealer did his magic, and I now have a reasonable arc in them, and they should work. They certainly look better! The dealer said that having incorrect arcs in the springs is not common. I guess I'm just lucky. First one goes on tomorrow

You are correct, Pete. 57 inches is the distance along the length, but that is not the way it is shown on the diagram - at least not the way I was taught to do it. The actual distance required to have the the rear eye directly below the shackle bolt, with no load, is 54 - 1/4 inch (+-) Assuming that is where it should be with no load, that is what I am going to be looking for after they get straightened. (a pain in the @$$, but likely the simplest and easiest solution to my problem) Next install the new floors! Again my thanks to all who helped out. Seriously. Never would have got it otherwise. Should have, but likely would not have. Ain't this stuff fun?

They were made by stanley spring and sold by a local dealer. Thanks for the schematic. That gives me something to take to them. I must say that 57 inches overall length seems a bit long. Doesn't that put the rear eye 2 inches (roughly) behind the top shackle bolt, if the front bolt to shackle bolt distance is 55 inches?

Pete - that is above the call of duty! And thanks to you,, (and others) I think we have cracked it! I now know: 1) the spacing between the mounting bolts is roughly correct (give or take a mosquito) 2) the spring LENGTH is roughly correct. 3) this only leave the ARC of the spring, which, according to my supplier, is way off. I take them back tomorrow to get them corrected. I'll let you all know how I work out. I might have figured this out if any of the suppliers listed this dimension on their drawings....

Many thanks for posting these pics. 1st pic -old spring, no load, rear shackle and mount. Rear mounts are original and untouched as far as I can tell. Spring hangs correctly 2nd pic - old spring (NOT OEM) 3rd pic - front mount old spring, passenger side 4th pic - front mount drivers side 5th pic - new spring, rear, no load. Obviously not aceptable 6th pic - new spring under load. NOT GOOD. Without the correct distance measure from the front mount bolt to the rear shackle mount bolt I can't verify that the new spring pack is correct, but the pack does match the dimensions given earlier (thanks again for that). I'll check to see if that is a weld or a crack in the 3rd picture. (I think it is a joint in the reinforcement/patch) I understand that the new spring does not hang correctly. That is what started the discussion. IF the front mounts are original, were they moved to accommodate that ridiculous spring pack? At a gut level I'm not happy about the amount of metal left on the front mounts. There is a lot of rust, and I suspect that they are weaker than they should be. My inclination at the moment is to remove what is there, purchase a 3 in spring hanger from 4wd or ruffstuff and weld them in the correct position (after suitable reinforcement/repair). Of course I am happy to hear suggestions from those with more experience....

If someone can give me a measurement from the center of the bolt of the shackle hanger to the center of the bolt on the front of the leaf spring I'd appreciate it!

ok - set up photobucket and uploaded the pics, but they are cropped. If you send me a personal email with your email address I can send them directly. (what a pain)

I have the pictures, but I can't figure out how to upload the images, and I also need to know what the size limit is. The "image" button asks for a URL, and the "my media" button refers to a library that I don't have.... I really hate to sound stupid, bat could someone point me in the right direction?