100 amp alt upgrade what can i use?

[trashline]

i want to upgrade to a 100 amp alt bc my 60 amp is dieing as we speak. i have alot of lights on my car halogen headlights aux driving lights three strobe lights and 44 led lights. along with an after market radio and such. i feel 100amp is enough juice for my application so im gonna use that. are there any cars i can use or go to the parts store and say that i can use? will any ford alt work or no? i dont want to upgrade to a one wire . but i am also loking for an inexpensive alt upgrade . ford seems to be more expensive then gm so let me know guys. thanks

Brian

 

[xctasy]

Any thing over 80 amps will cause extreme loads on the stock fan belt drive.

The best option is to get a second fan belt and look at a better pulley.

Like Okefenokee Comet's

Could be expensive, but 100 amps will take almost 3 hp to drive it at full load. Alternators are not very efficient, they sap a heap of power to drive mod cons.

The advent of the serpentine drives in the early 80's was partly convience, but mostly becasue of the drag of high load alternators.

In Australia, there are aftermarket wider pulleys which fit the Aussie 250. They are similar to the US ones.

Check Rickwrench's download of his water pump or crank pulley. There was a slight change needed in v-belt angle to 35 to 45 degrees or so, but it depends on how it works out.

http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15899&highlight=crank+pulley

http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=119647&highlight=#119647

 

[Anonymous]

I used a Summit 130 amp alternator one wire set up. Very easy to set up and from what I can tell driving no apprecialble drain on my massive I6 engine's HP. (results may vary...professional driver on a closed course)
Here is a pic of my set up. Steve-O
New alt:

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_im ... 783_23.jpg

 

[Anonymous]

Do you have a part number for your 130 amp alt? I can't seem to find it in my Summit catalog.

-Brian

 

[trashline]

ok then , i dont really want to upgrade to a double belt setup. what is the biggest alt i can get that wont put a serious pull on engine power like the 100 amp alt can do. i just want to find a quick replacement. with more power then my old one. bc i think i am putting a severe draw on it when i have all my lights and fire lights going. how about an 80 amp? think this will be enough power to support my car?

 

[Anonymous]

Well.... your 44 LED's draw very little power to operate, approx 25mA each or just over 1 amp all togather. Strobe lights, depending on the size and type shouldn't draw more than 1 or 2 amps each. The significant extra current draw comes from your driving lights and stereo system. (only if you have a subwoofer and amp)

Here is an easy equation to figure out the minimum amperage requirement for each accessory.

OHM's law: W/V=A
W= watts
V= voltage (13.8v for most 12v charging systems)
A= amps

For example:

2 driving lights at 55 watts each would require...

110/13.8= approx 8 amps.


After figuring out how much power your accessories are using add that to your existing alternator rating of 65 amps and you have the minimum amperage rating for your new alternator.

If you do have a stereo system with a subwoofer amp I would suggest in addition to an alternator upgrade you either install a deep cycle battery or an inline capacitor to ease the pressure on the charging system.

-Brian

 

[Anonymous]

I put a Powermaster 100 amp (GM style) alt on my Mustang. It's set up to be a one wire or a 'three' wire.. I have it as a 3 wire...

I only have a single v belt pulley on it (that's what it came with) and I haven't had any trouble so far. I was considering changing it to a 2 groove since I have a 2 groove pulley, but it is a little smaller diameter...

I didn't really notice any drag (but this is on a 302), although I can say it does feel like it runs better (probably due to more voltage to the ignition, MSD 6A). With the stock Ford alt (60A) it was putting out less than 13v at idle, now it's 14.5 no matter how much stuff I turn on!

I got it from Summit, they had a sale on them in Mar/Apr, they were $10 cheaper...

http://store.summitracing.com/default.a ... 2&x=9&y=11

That's still not a bad price for a 'new' alt, not some reman crap. By comparison a 'new' Alt at Autozone (63 amp Delco) is around $85... I'd rather have the Powermaster myself.

But I should say it's not 100% bolt in since it's a GM style, you'll have to drill out the top bolt hole to the 7/16" bolt size, and I drilled the bottom hole out to the 3/8" size and put a heli-coil in it. And you will probably have to add or make your own spacer since the GM case isn't as thick as the Ford one here. Most of the auto parts places sell a 'universal' bolt spacer in the HELP section that you can cut to fit. Or you might be able to find another one off another Ford in the junkyard...

 

[Anonymous]

Do you have a part number for your 130 amp alt? I can't seem to find it in my Summit catalog.

-Brian

I just checked the catalog and don't see it. Maybe they stopped selling it...a close second is part SUM-810302, the 100 amp single wire alt for $129 in chrome.

Will check my old recipts...
Cheers,
Steve-O

 

[LaGrasta]

For a cheap an easy upgrade, assuming you haven't already, just ask at your local auto parts store. I bet you can choose betweeen two or three different sizes (amps) for your application. All direct bolt ons. That with most any car application.

 

[Anonymous]

spend the xtra for chrom...IMO looks great

 

[Lazy JW]

I would have to look up the specs but I believe the stock belt can transmit more than three horsepower.
Joe

 

[trashline]

im not going with crome holds in heat which is bad for an alt and it is right next to the exhaust manifold i will try autozone tomorrow and see what they come up with

 

[Anonymous]

trash line don't know how your lights are wired but it helps if all lights are set on relays and alternate. so not every light is on at same time. this will help reduce peak load on system. every apparatus i've ever work on is wired this way and no one will be able to tell when done right i mean they flash any way just put some reason behind the rime.

 

[Anonymous]

I bought a 108 amp internally regulated alt for my 200 6 i set it up with a double belt pulley and wireing was a snap just run a hot wire from the acc treminal of the ignition switch and split it so it goes in both plugs on the voltage regulator. then buy a starter cable (the one that goes from the starter to the solinoid attach this wire to the bat post on your alt and connect it to the solienoid and your good to go. If you need to get a double belt setup check your local junkyard. This is the cheapest easiest setup ive see i did the whole thing for under 50 bucks and not any noticable difference in horsepower.

 

[Anonymous]

wireing was a snap just run a hot wire from the acc treminal of the ignition switch and split it so it goes in both plugs on the voltage regulator.

I simply took my voltage regulator out of the equation. No problems at all. I just taped off the original connection to the old alterbator. One wire to the + terminal of the battery. If it is internally regulated..you don't need the car's voltage regulator.

Cheers,
Steve-O

 

[trashline]

my alt wasnt bad, so for now i am going to stick with the 65 amp jober. pyro. i am unsure what you mean with this relay sense. i have a dash strobe an LED light in the grille and a strobe supply with two strobes in the tail lights. i have the power supply on a relay and the dash strobe on a relay my led only draws 2 amps. im not sure how you can get them to alt? my two rear strobes alt . i actully dont notice an extreme load when all these lights were on. my brand new VR went bad so i had to replace it. i do plan on upgrading in the future if i dont sell my car