318 12v 24v

bubba_got_you · Post by **bubba_got_you** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 7:24 am

Ok now that I put a 318 in my truck can I keep it 24v or do I need to swap to 12v if so what all needs to be changed.

k8icu · Post by **k8icu** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 8:40 am

You can keep it 24V if you make some changes to the engine. First you would need to figure out how to hook up the mill 24V generator or altinator. Secondly you would need to either run the starter on 24V which will spin it really fast and shorten the life of it, or get a 24V starter or have the one on the motor rebuilt into a 24v one. Then you will need to change your coil to a 24V one or get a dropping resister to make it 12V at the coil. I'm going off of foggy memory here, but didn't the military use the 318 in another vehicle like some armor or something that had a military distributor (ignitor) so if they did you could try finding one of those and change your ignition over to a military setup with waterproof wires etc. Not sure if that is possible or not, but just a thought. I'm sure someone will post more information.

Post by **Cal_Gary** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:43 pm

The M880-Series had 318's in them, running 24V as I recall....
Gary

bubba_got_you · Post by **bubba_got_you** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 5:31 am

Ok so I am going to convert to 12v but how do I hook the new alternator to the old voltage regulator? Or do I need to get a new regulator?

tmbrwolf · Post by **tmbrwolf** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:30 am

The M880 318 (and the rest of the truck) ran off of 12V, some of the series did have an added 24V system to run military radios and RATT rigs, if you can find the 24V system alternator bracket it would make installing the generator easier, IMHO I would think it would be easier to do a complete 12V conversion, basicly change all the bulbs, guages and senders to 12V ones!

poor rich · Post by **poor rich** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:35 pm

Be aware, there is no fuel gage for the truck that works on 12V.
Rich

jbxx · Post by **jbxx** » Tue Dec 02, 2008 6:01 pm

Just use a 12 SI alternator that has regulation built in
and chuck the regulator.
See Mad Electrical: here's a good URL
http://www.madelectrical.com/electrical-tech.shtml
J.B.

Juan · Post by **Juan** » Fri Dec 05, 2008 1:39 pm

The first generation M113 had 318v8 with 24v ignition. They also had a waterproof distributor (a la M37).
Though all the parts of this setup are VERY hard to find since all of the M113 from second generation on were diesel powered.