Another 3G question... for an 86

egan_gt

New Member
Apr 14, 2005
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hibbing MN
Ok, Well after searching about a million posts Im finally making one of my one. I have an 86 and Im in the process of doing a 3G alternator upgrade. I was looking at the wiring last night and I only have the 2 black/orange wires on the one plug. It does not have the white/black wire for it. From what I know the other connector just plugs in.... I think? The white/black wire is what is boggling me! What do I have to do to make this work? I have the alternator and connector for the 3G from a Taurus. Any help on this would be great! Thanks in advance!
 
that white/black wire is the stator wire. on your ORIGINAL wiring, the stator wire went from the center pin on the D shaped connector, (the connector you keep when switching to 3g) to the 1st pin on the rectangular connector that the 2 black/orange power wires use to run to. when you cut the 2 power wires off the rectangular connector, the one wire left is the stator. cut that one as well, and put a female spade connector on it. then plug it in to the alternator where the stator goes. when i did this conversion, i had a couple questions as well, here is my post about it: http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=722021 . if you scroll down to the 9th post, there is a side by side diagram of stock to 3g wiring. Also, i wouldn't reuse the black/orange power wires. pull all of that out and re-run a new 4awg power wire. don't forget to upgrade your block ground to 4awg too. if you still don't understand, when i get to a computer where i don't have to use proxy servers (i'm at work and stangnet is blocked), i have a bunch of pics and such and i can make a quick write up that'll help you do this conversion if you want.
 
haha, Im at work too. I thought I had it all figured out, Im usually pretty good with electrical stuff! I have the 4ga and fuse holder for the upgrade. I also updated the grounds from the block to the chassis and the negative battery cable with 4ga wire. The only part I wanted to make sure on was the stator wiring. If you could get some pics or diagrams that'd be a bonus! Thanks for all the help!
 
haha thats funny...yeah i've got a few diagrams and a ton of pics; i'm actually looking at them right now, i just can't get the URL's to link them! i just keep getting an alternate URL that goes through the proxy server i'm using! i'll try to get some up for you later though.
 
Well just to add to my first post, I stopped at my garage quick and looked at the factory wiring on my car. I have two connectors coming out, 1 has 2 black/orange wires and the other has 2 wires wires, one green/red and one yellow/white. It seems like Im missing a wire somewhere?? Thats all there is and thats all that was hooked to the stock alternator. Just figured Id throw that info in.
 
really? yeah it sounds like you're missing the stator wire! i'm not sure what not having that will do. well, on both connectors, did you see the empty pin where a wire could go? the stator ran from one connector to the other in both those spots. the yellow wire splices into the power wire closer to the solenoid and is for the "AMP" light, and i believe the green wire is for the volt meter in your dash. haha i wish i could show you these freakin diagrams i'm looking at, i'm still at work though!
 
The wiring to the alternator on an '86 is different than all other years. I have found diagrams showing how to wire a 3G into a 79-85 and diagrams showing how to do it on a 87-93... but have never been able to find a diagram for an '86. On an '86, the connectors are the same, but there is a missing wire and the wires are different colors than normal. So before you guys who have done the swap to 3G on any car besides an '86 jump in here and start posting up all the usual diagrams to help this guy, think again... they won't work for an '86! I know because I'm trying to find some info on how to do my '86 and have looked everywhere... I even called the company that I bought my alternator from and they are confused too.
 
altwiring002.webp

altwiring001.webp


ok, so here are a couple pics I took quick of what Im working with. There are only 2 wires per connector. There is a spot for another wire, but there is no hole in the end of the mold like nothing has ever been there. Im so confused!! If anyone has any info please chime in and help a guy out. Thank You.
 
OK no guarantees here but go to google, type in Late Model Restoration Supply, then go to the latemodelrestoration/50 resto website and click mustang parts on the left side of screen. click the electrical category, then alternator, and then , alternator components. the 8th item down on this screen says "Mustang 1986 Conversion Wire, 5.0, 2G To 3G" theres not much info about it but it says its specifically for 1986 5.0 I hope this helps.

If you order here i would look and see if theres anything else on the site you may want because shipping is 14.95 flate rate, i hate ordering a 10.00 dollar part and paying $15 dollars to ship it
 
The wiring to the alternator on an '86 is different than all other years. I have found diagrams showing how to wire a 3G into a 79-85 and diagrams showing how to do it on a 87-93... but have never been able to find a diagram for an '86. On an '86, the connectors are the same, but there is a missing wire and the wires are different colors than normal. So before you guys who have done the swap to 3G on any car besides an '86 jump in here and start posting up all the usual diagrams to help this guy, think again... they won't work for an '86! I know because I'm trying to find some info on how to do my '86 and have looked everywhere... I even called the company that I bought my alternator from and they are confused too.

i see that it's different, but regardless, you're still gonna have to put a stator wire in there. the rest of the alt wiring on the 86 looks to be the same, just missing the stator. egan, trace the green and yellow wires, and tell us where they go. i guarantee you they're going to the same place as my green and yellow wires
 
The '86's aren't missing the stator wire... they just don't have the ignition wire.

The connector on the alternator has an "A" an "S" and an "I" molded into it... but the connector on the wire only has two wires... the "A" wire and the stator wire, but no ignition wire. I'm going to just hook up the 2 wires I have and see if it charges... if it doesn't, I'm going to hook up an ignition wire. I just don't know if the igition wire is supposed to be a 12 volt source that's only on when the key is on or something else. I'd like to see a diagram from an '87 and find out where the "I" wire is coming from.
 
There's a short write-up for the 86 over at foureyedpride. Search the forums over there. You're basically just adapting a newer style pigtail with the stator wire onto the stock two wire harness.

I checked over on foureyedpride and couldnt find anything! Maybe Ill have to look a little harder. I wasnt even thinking, I have a buddy that bought an 86 last summer and I think it has the 3G on it? Im going to rub there and take a look and probably snap some pics. Ill post them just to show whats different.
 
Wiring is pretty simple. Pickup a 3 wire pigtail from your favorite retailer (PA-performance has these) or wire up your own. 86s are missing the stator wire from the 3 wire plug since they (2Gs) are internally excited. Match the other colors from the pigtail to the colors in your regulator harness and solder them (you can crimp them but it's kind of half-ass). You need not modify or use the two wire power plug. Pull it, and tie it up out the way. Run a 4 gauge wire from the alt power post to the unswitched side of your fender mounted start solenoid. Install an inline 150 or 200 amp fuse block (depending on the amount of current draw you plan to pull or the rated output of the alt). and whola. You're done. Any accessory being fed by the now unused 2 wire 2G alt plug, will be fed from the other end of that particular harness and you're still backward compatable with the 2G if you ever needed to be. If you like: You can strip that harness down and cut out the wires back to the splices and get rid of it (talking about the two black/orange wires here). originally posted by Dagger on foureyedpride.

So, basically he is saying to match the colors up and thats it? It just sounds kinda odd? Seems like Id still be missing something. But maybe Ill give that a shot and see if it charges.
 
Has no one read anything I've posted?
I have been trying to get to the bottom of this for a while now to put a 3G in my own 1986.
Below I have a pic that will let everyone know what is going on with the '86 wire set up.

RED arrow: The factory wire harness.
BLUE arrow: The pig tail that came with my alternator.
GREEN arrow: The stock alternator that has little letters molded into the plastic
where the wire clips into. (I put "white out" on them so you can see them better)

The factory connector has a yellow wire that goes to the "A" on the alternator
and a green with red stripe wire that goes to the stator "S" on the alternator.

There is NO wire in the stock connector that goes to the "I" on the alternator.

The aftermarket pig tail has THREE wires.

Yellow goes to the "A"
White with black goes to the "S" stator.
Green with red goes to the "I".

I have posed two questions to the place I bought the alternator from.

1) What do I do with the extra wire?
2) Are the inputs on the alternator the same as the inputs on the stock alternator?
Because the fact that there is a green with red wire on BOTH connectors but in different places.

I don't want to hook up the new connector with the wires crossed and ruin the alternator and I need to know if the "I" wire is needed and if it is, what does it get connected to?

I can't seem to find anyone on this planet who can understand what I'm explaining... present company included.

269368911_HZsev-L.webp
 
ok, so I went to my buddies house yesterday! I was going to take a few pics of the 3G done on his 86, but there was no point. Its simple, the green/red and the yellow/white just match up and the white/black is the stator wire which just plugs into the new alternator. I cant believe its that simple, but he has had the car for well over a year and not one problem with it charging? Maybe its not the correct way but it works so Im going to give that a shot??
 
I know I am bumpinng a very old thread, but I went to upgrade the 2g to 3g on the 86 t top I bought last week and was scratching my head looking at the two wire power and regulator plugs... no white stator wire to be found. I had a 3 wire regulator plug I pulled from the junkyard and connected green to green, yellow to yellow, and the white stator wire to the stator connection on the 3g. I tucked back the existing regulator and power wires in case I ever want to return to factory.

Know that mid year 86 Ford switched from external to internal regulators. If your car has the D shaped regulator plug, it is internal and to do the 3G upgrade all you need is this, which you can also get from a junkyard .

https://lmr.com/item/PA-462802A/86-Mustang-50L-2G-To-3G-alternator-Conversion-Wire

pa-462802a_3866.webp


If you have posts on your alternator then you need to tap into your external regulator for the stator wire and run the wire stator wire from the external voltage regulator to the stator terminal on the alternator.
 
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