Alternator with a built in voltage regulator?

[acavdragoon]

I was wondering why my green field wire was disconnected and was looking over the back side of my alternator. It looks like I may have a built in transistor voltage regulator on the back of my alternator. At least I suspect it is, can someone confirm my suspicions?

 

[67Dart273]

Appears so, but those can be a problem for a couple of reasons. The voltage sensing is right there at the alternator, so typical voltage drop in the factory undersized harness can cause the battery and system to see under voltage

If the alternator is much more than 45A, it can damage or further damage old wiring. The big culprits are terminals and connectors inline from the alternator, through the ammeter, the bulkhead connector. And the factory wire size is too small

 

[acavdragoon]

What sort of visual indicators to tell what amp size my alternator is?

 

[67Dart273]

It's possible there may not be. Look for a tag, and numbers other than casting numbers. If the thing was sold along with the VR, it may have come from someone like powermaster.