Wiring questions

I did some re-wiring in my engine compartment, redoing the electric fan, distributer and alternator. SO I experimented a bit, and found my alternator still charges with the regulator wire jumped to the battery post and eliminating the dummy light wire. This is a 12si 78 amp delco by the way. Charging seems to work well, particularly after a good rev of the engine.

Are there any major drawbacks to this setup? The alternator has an internal diode I believe, so there is no reason to run one inline to the best of my knowledge, although Ill know for sure in the next few days of letting it sit. It is essentially a one wire alternator at this point, and seems to work.

 

I had my bobcat skid steer wired that way and it eventually ran the batt. dead dont know if the alt went bad but have wired a dummy light in and it stopped draining the batt...

 

I've had a tractor wired this way for 20 yrs now with a 27 amp delco with no problems. Typically I end up replacing the battery every 4-5 yrs. Other than the quick blip of the throttle after starting to get it charging no problems.

 

Interesting. Well, Im going to run with it then. The less wires I can get away with the better in my opinion. Thanks guys.

 

The best way to test for battery drain is to use a test light..Remove one of the battery cables (either one) and connect the test light between the post and cable. If there is a drain then the test light will light up. Just make sure everything is turned off.