A bit of help here please

[Yatzee]

I recently upgraded the charging system of my car and when I got the alternator I expected "Field 1" and "Field 2" to be marked on the back. It's a square back alternator. Does it matter which voltage regulator goes to which terminal and if so how do you identify which is which. It charges perfectly but 15 volts output seems a tad high.

 

[super-bee_ski]

Remember:
Mopar early cars had 1 Field terminal and a ground (So with the single wire field alternator, one of the field connections was directly connected to ground and the other to positive from the voltage regulator.)



Later (Square Back) is 2 Field
Essentially: For the dual wire field alternator, one wire (positive) is connected to the ignition circuit, and then the other wire is connected to the voltage regulator - which then varies the amount of current via resistance to ground.

What happens if you "switch" the wires?
1. Simply all you are doing is reversing the Magnetic Field
Remember Nicholas Telsa devised this system?
EMF and the rotating magnetic field?

 

[Cranky]

http://www.mymopar.com/charging.htm

 

[Yatzee]

The alternator I got does not have nut type connections, rather slip on spade connectors and these connectors are not at 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock. I did notice that one spade connector is brass and the other has an aluminum finish. I'm not sure if this means anything as far as the position of the field wires or if reversing them will create any damage. I can say that the alternator voltage at the battery indicates a solid 15v on my VOM meter. Is this really too high and do I run the risk of boiling the battery?