Alternator suggestions

[Blacksheep Josh]

As always tbars, some great information.

I'm still looking around.

I guess I should list what I'm looking at in the future:
-800 Watt subwoofer system
-200 watt door speaker system
-electric fan.

Those are the major things I'm going to be running, I all ready plan on an Optima battery at some point, but I'm thinking at the minimum the 130amp, but I'm not sure. I'm thinking a 150amp alternator would be plenty good.

 

[SwaintaN]

oh yeah you should be fine, i still have the stock and i was running a 2400 watt amp hooked into 2 12" 1000 watt each subs, 800 watt for the 6x9s and HHO units... only time i had problems was at night running the lights at stop lights and stop signs... and that was with the 93 alt on there, still there... that is when we thought it was the alt but it ended up being a bad battery... which was a redtop and still run optima redtop, i bought one during their bad cell sell, but they replaced it with no problems and i still run stock alt, havent found a reason to install the other one, so yeah long story short

you should be fine with a stock or slightly more amp out put alt

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Yeah, my lights would dim at night with a 500watt system, but then I found out the battery was going bad, and as soon as it was replaced that problem went away. I'm going to be running one 12" subwoofer, so I'm probably going to go with either a Kicker CVR or Kicker CVX

 

[YourNameHere]

Can you find out waht buyer it was from? and What brand?

Was it for an Explorer?

It was for a Mustang.
The seller was...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...0525101QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p4506.m20.l1116

 

[Pollarican]

I sware I remember reading in one thread that someone had mentioned using a F-150 alternator as an upgrade to the stock 4.0 but I can't find it anywhere searching.

I'm in need of an upgrade/ replacement, the pully on mine makes my engine sound like it's crying.

 

[Nedwreck]

I wondered if Josh got his alternator problem fixed??

Also I wasn't very clear in the post below...
HER X got the Advance Auto stock-type alternator, that had problems.
MY X benefited greatly from a hi-output alternator and bracket (with tension pulley) from a '95 limited... and used the same belt as before.

Guys, just for reference, I'm going to chase info on the regulator/rectifier for our alts... If the windings are good in an alternator, the rest is renewable and maybe even upgradeable. Low Buck Rules! (as long as it works right..heh)

I bought an alternator from an Advance auto that wasn't too great. Had to rev it once every time after starting to get it charging...

I did notice that those Alts appear to have the regulator mounted on the back of the alt... wonder if they're replaceable?

Mine has the biggie alt. and bracket off a '95.. used the same belt as the first gen. too!

 

[YourNameHere]

So, a 95 OHC alt will work on the 91-94 OHV motors?

 

[Nedwreck]

So, a 95 OHC alt will work on the 91-94 OHV motors?

Connections and all were direct, strait forward, and perfect.

The bigger alternator from the '95 (Limited Edition) required the '95 mounting bracket, due to the mounting dimensions being different. Also on that bracket is the tension pulley.

The '92 bracket has the tensioner to the driver side of the alt.
The '95 bracket has the tensioner under the alt.

The big wire from the alt. (the main output wire) ~should~ be upgraded in size, but I haven't had any issues. yet. heh

You can re-use the belt, or buy new and keep the old one for a spare.

Edit to add:

I don't know if more basic models 95 and up have the smaller alternator like our 91-94's.. this Limited has every option known to man, so it had the high output alternator.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Still haven't replaced my alternator, but I think my Dad just ordered one we found on ebay. Hope it works, I'm going from a 95 amp to a 130 amp alternator to have some room for electronic add ons in the future.

Should be here within about a week or two I think, I'll post again once it'd done.

 

[Explodr94]

Josh,

I bought an alternator of RockAuto that was manufactured by NSA. I have had no problems with it and it was about $130. Have put about 30,000 on it. If the ebay one doesn't work out check it out.

Thanks, Matt

 

[beetlebz]

ok these are words from some time ago when I spent all my time installing systems. 99.9% of the time people that came back to us with dimming issues, we could resolve the problem without new alts. or giant chrome capacitors.

only once was it actually a bad alternator, not just an underpowered one. I see you ordered one already, and thats fine. Im sure it cant hurt, but a biggie that helped ALOT was upgrading the alternator wire, chassis ground (just for fun) and the battery wire all with 0 gauge and high quality battery terminals and terminals for the ground and alternator. you still may desire to add a second battery down the road, and you may even find that after a while listening at a high volume the battery will wear down enough to see the lights dim a bit with the thump but nothing a second battery cant fix. I did the wire upgrade in both my 99 intrepid and my 01 grand prix, both ran 500 watts (underrated... cadence Z8000) for the 15" sealed adire audio sub and a second Z8000 powering a pair of element design components in the front doors. Once I upgraded the wires I never had a problem, and both of those cars had stock alts with probably 70k miles minimum on them.

just my .02 cents if you have not spent the money on an alt yet

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

just my .02 cents if you have not spent the money on an alt yet

Well first off, it's not my money. It's my Dad's money, lol. This new alternator is my christmas present. The reason I went ahead and got a brand new one before trying other means, is this is the original alternator, it's 15 years old, with 266k miles on it, so it's worn. My problems were that the gauge lights, headlights, battery gauge, and everything in general was dimming without any music or accessories going. I think my Explorer has the 95 amp, I upgraded to the 130 amp so I have room for improvement down the road though. A second battery will come, after I get the optima battery (not sure which type though). I do plan on rewiring the power wires for almost everything so I won't have to worry about it again for a long time.

Yes, I've heard about the upgrading of the wires, I just don't have the spare cash to do it yet. I believe Aldive covered it at some point, I just dont' feel like searching.

Thanks again for your input, the new alternator is supposed to come in on Monday through UPS, so maybe I'll have it installed by Monday/Tuesday night and can report back with good results.

-Josh

 

[beetlebz]

we will be waiting

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Got the alternator about an hour ago. Haven't installed yet... but here's the cool part...

Spent 79.95 plus shipping on it from ebay, and it's a motorcraft alternator! I took it to the auto store to bench test it before I installed it, works 100%. Hits about 130 amps around 1200-1300 rpms the guy said. So looks like a good deal.

Will update again as soon as I have the alternator in.

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

Alternator is in! Took about 45 minutes, literally, the hardest part was getting the belt off/on. The alternator bolts were pretty snug, but not to bad. The plugs and wires that connect to the alternator was IDENTICAL to mine. So no customization or having to come up with a way to connect something. A great experience.

It's funny though, it's so shiny next to a dirty engine. Anyways, like I said, it ended up being from eBay, but the alternator said Motorcraft. I seriously approve of this alternator. In case any were wondering/looking for a good seller, here is the one I got from mine:
http://myworld.ebay.com/ebaymotors/dbelectrical/

 

[LBarr2002]

I'm glad it worked out for you. I was going to tell you the 130 amp ones are direct replacement for our 95 ampers...which you found out. The 130 amp ones can be modified to put out around 200 amps... I've got one bench tested at 193 amps I think it was. We've got a local guy in town that does custom rewinds and such. He semi-rebuilt this one for me for $110.

 

[CDW6212R]

Good work Josh, that DB Electronics is where both of my truck alternators came from. I paid about $160 for the SOHC 170 amp version, and around $230 for a powder coated 220 amp unit for my V8. These make about 95 amps at idle.

FYI, the later model(90's) Explorer alternators are much better than the pre 95 models. I have a 2000 model unit on my 91 4.0, it is much stronger. The SOHC and 302 use the same alternator, the OHV is different(don't swap brackets etc). Regards,

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

FYI, the later model(90's) Explorer alternators are much better than the pre 95 models. I have a 2000 model unit on my 91 4.0, it is much stronger,

Yup, this alternator was listed for a 1992-2003 Ford Truck Alternator. It just looks better, I'm not sure if this is normal, but it's actually bigger then the 95 amp, I mean, it maeks sense cause it's "putting out" 35 more amps, but it's a lot heavier. Oh well, was a direct bolt on.

The battery gauge is still fluctuating a little bit, but I'm contributing that to needed new battery cables all around the engine compartment, and partly because the old alterantor was starting to fail, maybe it was taking the battery along wtih it. That's what my Dad told me, so who knows.

Maybe for Christmas I'll ask for an Optimum battery and new cabls lol