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Is changing to Negitive Ground the way to go?
- Thread starter 1965GTFB
- Start date
mikephillips
Donation Time
Depends on what your future plans are. If you want to be able to use a modern radio, cd player, gps, alternator, etc plugged into the system then you're better off converting to negative rather than going through all you need to in order to make them work. If you want only to run a pretty much stock configuration with no addons, then leave it positive ground. As for if one is intrinsically better than the other, not really in my book.
If I keep it, it will see use as a daily driver in non-wet weather(but might also get a little rain) and long weekend pleasure drives. Possibly, if reliable enough, mulit-day trips with the wife.
Tunes for this kind of driving would be nice. There is a radio in it now but have no idea if it works. What all has to be done to get modern tunes with positive ground?
Tunes for this kind of driving would be nice. There is a radio in it now but have no idea if it works. What all has to be done to get modern tunes with positive ground?
tony perrett
Gold Level Sponsor
For the use that you describe, a dynamo in good condition coupled with a decent battery will probably prove adequate. Why not use the car for a few months and see how it performs with positive earth? Conversion is not as straightforward as you might imagine and may not be justified for the marginal benefits.
serIIalpine
Donation Time
Here is the most important reason: When your generator craps out, and it will, you will have no one who has one in stock to replace it within 500 miles and if they do it will be $200.
Switch to an alternator and if and when it dies you can go to the nearest chain and get a new one for $65.
The change over is easy and instructions are available on the SS FAQ page.
By the way I used a mitsubishi unit 35 amps universal catalog # 12138. It goes in a forklift.
I got it because it's smaller than most and rated very HD.
Good luck.
Eric
'62 SerII
Switch to an alternator and if and when it dies you can go to the nearest chain and get a new one for $65.
The change over is easy and instructions are available on the SS FAQ page.
By the way I used a mitsubishi unit 35 amps universal catalog # 12138. It goes in a forklift.
I got it because it's smaller than most and rated very HD.
Good luck.
Eric
'62 SerII
64beam
Donation Time
Hi,
If you are not worried about originality, I would choose the alternator. They are better able to cope better with the electrical load of your car whether it has a low or high load. Since installing an alternator on my Alpine, I can leave it for quite a few months and still kick over when I next start it. Prior to the swap, I could not do that. If you get a self regulated type, you can also reduce the amount of components in the charging circuit as well.
At the end of the day, it's your choice.
Regards, Robin.
If you are not worried about originality, I would choose the alternator. They are better able to cope better with the electrical load of your car whether it has a low or high load. Since installing an alternator on my Alpine, I can leave it for quite a few months and still kick over when I next start it. Prior to the swap, I could not do that. If you get a self regulated type, you can also reduce the amount of components in the charging circuit as well.
At the end of the day, it's your choice.
Regards, Robin.
mikephillips
Donation Time
You can make a negative ground radio work in a positive ground car. It needs to be completely isolated from grounding against the car body, and that includes the antenna. If that's done it doesn't know it's in a car wired the opposite way from what it expects. Did this once in mine when I was in high school and college in the 70s to get a junk yard radio to work.