Swap the Generator to run electric fan?

Hello friends!

Hope all is well, just trying to get my van traffic ready should I get stuck in SoCal summer traffic hahaha.

I have a 62 w/the 170 engine & it does fine with the temp until i come to a stop & then i watch the temp climb & continue to do so until i get moving again.

I saw some suggestions about various electric fan set-ups (but i still need to do some more research, as the options are boggling).

But before I begin shopping for fan setups, do I need to swap out the generator? Is that a pain? If i do gotta do the swap, any recommendations?

Thanks!

J0sh

All my ad(vice) is A-van specific, but I added a Godspeed 14" electric fan and circuit without changing my alternator, which is a stock 37amp. never have issues. It's on a full time powered rocker switch so I can leave it on when doing errands and stuff. Pics of my install buried in my build thread. The new radiator came with a bigger Champion fan, so I need to check the amp draw, and whatever is bigger, gets re-installed with the rad.

A generator doesn't put out much at idle so an alternator would be a very good choice to upgrade the charging system in your van. Alternatively, a shroud can do wonders for the factory fan and if you have the little four blade fan I have seen on some 170's, upgrading to more aggressive fan blade can sure help a lot too.

Well,,,,,,,in my book,,,,,the best deal is to get rid of that old worn out wiring and equipment and put one of these 3rd Gen  Chevy, 1 wire, internal regulator type alternators,,,,,,

That's the exact alternator we put in our Econoline. No issues, great charging and cheap too...

,,,,,,,so Ford guys,,,,,,what bracket did you use to mount it,,,,,,did you replace  the generator or the alternator with it,,,,,,,did you have to make one or are all the engines the same,,,,,,,,

We used to old one as a pattern, it was pretty close to begin with. Went to Home Depot for the material along with a drill, big vise and a bigger hammer, it was easy. The hardest part was getting the proper belt.

What are y'all thoughts about this? Get the reg, alt and bracket. I don't have access to a machine shop to fabricate my own stuff

So you are thinking of getting a newer Ford Alternator, bracket, voltage regulator and wiring instead of just putting a 1 wire GM alternator on it? How hard do you Ford guys think it is to mount an alternator to his generator bracket?

Good timing, I'm having the same issue with my new van (heating up when stopped) and I still have the original generator... Following this

I just did this conversion to the GM alternator. All I had to do was e-longate the mounting holes in the generator mount bracket(so I could slide it forward and backwards a bit)----use a spacer on the long bolt that holds the alternator----and wah-la---done!

I forgot to attach this link
http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1960-1970-ONE-WIRE-VOLTAGE-REGULATORS-FOR-ALTERNATOR-23p1013.htm

Anywho, can I just go to the auto parts store and ask for a "1 wire gm alternator" are there many models of this or just one? It'll be internally regulated? Is there a suggested part # for the alternator and a part# for the fan.

The guy at the parts store is being difficult and is confused when I'm asking for gm alternator for my ford ect

,,,,probably all GM vehicles from 75-85 use this same type alternator,,,,,and there is the Autozone part # and 78 Chevy van that it fits for a sample,,,,,probably 62 amps,,,,,,and how to make it work,,,,,it has the regulator built in,,,,,,,there are real 1 wire hot rod alternators out there for BIG money,,,,,,this is just a simple cheap way to add an alternator to almost anything,,,,,,,and fans are just laying on the ground at Pick a Part for like $15 on their 1/2 price sales,,,,,,,,there aint no such thing as a 62 Ford Alternator and fan so we invent them using parts off of other newer vehicles that we find,,,,,,,Like I got this Honda fan with one of those ceiling fan twist timers on it so I can set it and forget it and not worry about it running until it kills my battery,,,,,,,,

I worked at an Island called San Clemente,,,,,,,,how about put down a better location that we all understand,,,,,,,,,,

A Gm alternator needs a 2" wide bracket to mount,,,,,,the stock bracket is 6 1/4" long and the holes are on 3 3/8" centers,,,,,so you make something work,,,,,,

Awesome! Thanks for the input! I love my van so much but i'm a total cook book mechanic (just follow the Chilton's or Haynes manuals) so sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed hahaha. Thanks for bearing with me

REPOST,,,   lol

SHORT MEMORY????????????????? 

Years ago I found and posted many times to many people and many forums as to the FORD 3G alternator?????????????????????????????????  Whats up?>?

  DOES IT MAKE ANY SENSE to try and use more electricity than you are putting in????????? 

  A SINGLE WIRE ALTERNATOR:  simply ties the signal wire from the regulator directly to the load circuit and was designed TO BYPASS THE ENTIRE wire loom and get a BETTER LOAD reading directly to the load sending source,,,, IE:  the large black wire in an Econoline from the battery side of the starter solenoid to the dash board.  The single wire load shifted about 24"'s,,,,,,  and not the other side of the wire loom,,,, LOL   
  To make a single wire alternator out of any alternator you simply tie the signal wire on the alternator directly to the wire that goes to the battery side of the solenoid so that it can read the load requirement without being dragged down by going through the wire loom.  On ours it reads it by the black wire in the 1st place,,,, LOL
   Our trucks were NEVER INTENDED to deal with the power requirements that we now put on them let alone all of the late model things that we add.  Our trucks with a heat generator inside an oven!!!!  and then we insulate it to keep the heat inside of for a longer time,,,  NOVEL THINKING???
   Think about it,,, NO FAN SHROUD to force the air to come through a radiator,,,  an alternator that has to run at over 1,000 rpm to put out is FULL output of 40 amps!!!!!!!  add insulation to the doghouse to help KEEP the heat in there so that it can boil the fuel in the carb,,,  add to that a belly pan to TRY and force additional air through the radiator but it only works when going down the highway,,,,,and use your heater (additional alternator load, LOL) to try and keep the heat down and so now you have to keep the RPM up and it still wont keep up,,,,  NOVEL THINKING,,,,,,
   Years ago I came up with an alternator that put out more juice at an idle than the stock one puts out at 1500 rpm!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  can u imagine that,,,  LOL..... 90 amps at 600 rpm and up to 200 amps at full tilt boogey. hmpmmmmmmmmm,,,,,,
The FORD 3G alternator!!!!!  its a bolt on, has a piggy back voltage regulator (meaning you can dump the POJ stock one), comes in 135 amp, 150 amp and 200 amps. 
  So,, as a Ford guy,, (lol)   why would anyone bother going through all of that work when you can simply bolt on an alternator that puts out 90 amps at idle while the Chevy guys with the 100 amp single wire alternator are calling AAA,,,,,NOVEL THINKING,,,,, lol

In the following picture the yellow wire is changed from going to the battery side of the starter solenoid and now connecting to the output wire that goes to the  same place,, LOL,, now a SINGLE WIRE alternator,, LOL  Picture hosting is giving me a bad time???  cannot delete the double pictures,,,tired of messing with it,,, will send this and try one more time,,, krud,,,, late for work,,,
Vic

Been messing with this for over an hour, late for work on orders and aggravated,,,,,one more time?
vic

Here should be a wiring schematic to show single wire alternator wiring,,,LOL also,, cannot get rid or delete a 2nd image of the same thing,,,, 

Amen!!!

,,,there you go,,,,,,,another choice for you,,,,,,,,