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which high amp alternator for LA?

Posted By: mshred

which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/14/10 10:08 PM

Hey guys,

im looking to get an alternator to replace my stock unit as it needs a total rebuild... was hoping i could get something that is internally regulated with 1 wire hookup, but its not a nescessity...my car is a 71 scamp with a mild 340, clutch fan, mallory ignition box, and a decent sound system (4 speakers, cd deck and 800 watt sub) and it will be daily driven...i have a brand new 50 watt denso at home that actually fits perfectly, but its not 1 wire hookup or interally regulated, nor do i think 50 amps is enough...id like to know what amperage you guys think i need and what vehicles these types of alternators come off of, since i have a buddy who runs an alt shop and he can get me anyone as long as i tell him the vehicle...im looking for something that is high in amps and will bolt to an LA with as little grief as possible...any suggestions you guys have would be great!

Thanks!
Posted By: AndyF

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/14/10 11:53 PM

The 60 amp Denso unit kit works really well on the SB motors. Should be enough amps for most vehicles. Alternator is from a Toyota 4Runner. You can get the bracket kit from Mancini Racing or Hughes Engines.

Attached picture 5865239-MagnumToyota.JPG
Posted By: Andrewh

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 12:05 AM

89 new yorker, full size comes with a 74 or 78 amp stock.
not a 1 wire, but cheap and can get it from any parts house.

needs a longer swing arm. the 10 dollar chrome gm ones work with a spacer.
Posted By: RapidRobert

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 02:54 AM

Quote:

89 new yorker, full size comes with a 74 or 78 amp stock.

Andrewh is that the big one w the external fan behind the pulley?
Posted By: mshred

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 03:38 AM

Quote:

89 new yorker, full size comes with a 74 or 78 amp stock.
not a 1 wire, but cheap and can get it from any parts house.

needs a longer swing arm. the 10 dollar chrome gm ones work with a spacer.



do you know if its internally regulated? also, im assuming this is off a 318 new yorker, so i can take the bracketry for it as well and adapt it to my 340?

thanks!

any other suggestions anyone has are appreciated as well! the denso 60 amp is my other options, but if anyone knows anything more high powered that works just as well please share!
Posted By: Andrewh

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 02:10 PM

Quote:

Quote:

89 new yorker, full size comes with a 74 or 78 amp stock.

Andrewh is that the big one w the external fan behind the pulley?



No, I think you are thinking of the cop car alt. This is just the standard square back. They just upped the power in 89 from 64 I think to 74 or 78 amps, can't ever remember that number.

And yes it would be on the 318, I just didn't get it from the bone yard, I just picked up a new one at autozone and found I could not get the swing arm to match. discovered with a spacer on the block end(to space it away from the block) I could get it to line up with the alt using the chrome gm setup.
This is on a no a/c car. Not sure how much different pully alingment will be from an a/c car (which you figure most full size chryslers will have) to a non-ac car, so the brackets may not be as useful.

If you are running the old single wire regulator, just ground the other field on the new alt and it works fine.

No this is not internally regulated. so it isn't what you asked for, but it is about 50 bucks new vs the 150 for the toyota type alt.
Posted By: denfireguy

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 05:53 PM

Let me be devil's advocate here. You will do what you want to do.
First, putting the regulator in the alternator housing leads to early demise of the regulator. Too much heat. That is why Mopar alternators lasted longer than GMs.
Second, your 800 Watt subwoofer probably only draws around 10 amps and is the only high power thing listed. My kid's Kenwood subwoofer is rated at 400 watts but is fused at 15 amps so someone is lieing. (Police electronic sirens are rated at 110 Watts into 4 ohms, they are pretty loud.) Everything else draws around an amp or so.
Third, the halogen headlights in use today draw less current than the old tungsten lamps burned so you are drawing less current there as well.
70 amp alternators were sufficient for police and fire vehicles with lots of tungsten burning and Federal Q sirens that used a power contactor that makes your starter relay look like toy. Add a Motorola Motrac two way with 110 Watt transmitter and now you are talking current draw.
Just stuff to think about.
Craig
Posted By: kick_the_reverb

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 06:54 PM

Dodge Ram van ambulance 89-91 140 AMP Denso alt.
Uses external regulator.

Ran
Posted By: mshred

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 08:23 PM

Quote:

Let me be devil's advocate here. You will do what you want to do.
First, putting the regulator in the alternator housing leads to early demise of the regulator. Too much heat. That is why Mopar alternators lasted longer than GMs.
Second, your 800 Watt subwoofer probably only draws around 10 amps and is the only high power thing listed. My kid's Kenwood subwoofer is rated at 400 watts but is fused at 15 amps so someone is lieing. (Police electronic sirens are rated at 110 Watts into 4 ohms, they are pretty loud.) Everything else draws around an amp or so.
Third, the halogen headlights in use today draw less current than the old tungsten lamps burned so you are drawing less current there as well.
70 amp alternators were sufficient for police and fire vehicles with lots of tungsten burning and Federal Q sirens that used a power contactor that makes your starter relay look like toy. Add a Motorola Motrac two way with 110 Watt transmitter and now you are talking current draw.
Just stuff to think about.
Craig



hey man, you bring up a very very good point! first off, i have always thought that internally regulated wont last as long, but like i said a good friend builds them for me very cheap so when it craps out he can fix it for me...in regards to to how i came up with what car would draw amp wise, i used some info from the electrical tech pages here for amp values and included worst case scenario...so heater on, wipers on, lights on, possibly highbeams, plus other stuff here and there came out to about 52.2 amps of usage for me not including the stereo...id also like to add some nitrous to the car in the future so factor in a bottle heater as well as the current draw from the solenoids, and it should go up reasonably it seems...i just want the alternator to charge regardless of the situation im in (Dont want dimming headlights, rougher idle, accesories slowing down, etc.)

so in any case, what alternator would you recommend for me? do you think the denso 50 amp i already have is enough? should i spring for the denso 60? or something else altogether?

anyone else with other opinions on all this please share
Posted By: challenger70

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 08:38 PM

I got this on my Challenger. I have an aftermarket stereo, 2 big spal fans, an electric fuel pump etc.. and it works great.

http://www.msdignition.com/info.aspx?taxid=301&taxid2=303
Posted By: scratchnfotraction

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/15/10 09:22 PM

thats a slick MSD alt set up right there
Posted By: mshred

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/17/10 02:12 AM



i find it hard to understand how a site full of mopar guys and not many have had to convert to a higher powered alternator on their rides and have suggestions for it
Posted By: Noblewk

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/17/10 02:27 AM

To figure Power values it is P=I*E where P = watts (Power), I is current and E is voltage. Your 800 Watt Amp will pull 66.6 Amps Most Headlamps were 55 Watts so that would be 4.5 Amps per headlamp thats 9 Amps for the pair. I would bet that your wiring and grounds through out the vehicle are pretty poor also.

Anytime you think you need to put in a Bigger Alt, also plan on upgrading the wiring also, at least from the ALT to the BAT connection.
Posted By: mshred

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/17/10 07:25 PM

holy smokes, 66 amps for the sub??? does it matter that its only 800 watts peak and probably will not even pull close to that? also, the wiring on the car is all redone, grounds checked, and all new cables from alt to battery (did a relocation so i had to)..

im wondering if guys running a decent sound system in their mopars can chime in here to share what alternator they used
Posted By: joedust451

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/17/10 11:27 PM

Wiring is key, if you want/need to up-grade, up-grade the wiring as well so it can handle the extra amps/current, i think you'll be fine with a 58/60 amp alt., & this should still work fine on the factory wiring, all you need is one from a later 70s Aspen/Volare', you can even get the 78 amp., there around 53.00 exchange with a lifetime warr. from AutoZone.
Posted By: Noblewk

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/18/10 12:00 AM

The 5.7 hemi come stock with a 130 amp Alt, HD is 165 amps. Old cars didn' have much electric item, Lamps, wipers,blowers,horn,ciglighter and maybe a 15w radio. Once you started the car you didn't need the battery to continue running.

Today. Electic fuel, computers, high powered radios, and all the other crap.
Posted By: mshred

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/18/10 12:05 AM

hey joe, the wiring is being redone so i know i dont have anything to worry about there...My dad just brought home a 60 amp toyota roundback alternator that fits perfectly, just need the pulley swapped to the chrysler one. Im thinking it should work ok, and if it doesnt then i'll go from there...this one is brand new and for free, and since not many are suggesting other options, ill try er out and see
Posted By: Skeptic

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/18/10 03:16 AM

Music is very transitory, so the 800 watts is not a continious draw and most amps are very overrated in capacity. My 86 Colt turbo had a 720 WRMS sterio that I could push clean well past the pain threshold and the stock 60 Amp alternator never complained. Get a "Stiffing Cap" of 1 farad for the sub amp, this will keep the lights from dimming when it's getting pushed hard. And wear ear protection, I've got Tinnitus that drives me crazy at times, it's no fun. It didn't help working at a shop next to a train track for 18 years either.
Posted By: Magnum

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/18/10 04:32 AM

I just put a big stereo system in our 00 Park Avenue. Kenwood head unit, Rockford Fosgate 4 channel, 6 Blaupunkt speakers, Cadence mono driving 2 12" Kicker solobarics in a sealed box.

Don't know the amperage but it's big enough to make me feel dizzy after 3 minutes of big volume. Truthfully I seldom listen to it that loud. So all these peak numbers can be ignored and I solved that by running a dry cell battery in the trunk.

Basically you take all those big bass hits off your alternator and let the rear battery take them. Now your "power wire" becomes a charge wire.

I've installed systems with half the power before and you can see the headlights dimming and sometime notice the tach falling on the bass notes. With this rear battery set up there is none of that. It's the way to go since the factory wiring of the alt is already overtaxed
taxed in my opinion.
Posted By: mshred

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/19/10 01:55 AM

Quote:

I just put a big stereo system in our 00 Park Avenue. Kenwood head unit, Rockford Fosgate 4 channel, 6 Blaupunkt speakers, Cadence mono driving 2 12" Kicker solobarics in a sealed box.

Don't know the amperage but it's big enough to make me feel dizzy after 3 minutes of big volume. Truthfully I seldom listen to it that loud. So all these peak numbers can be ignored and I solved that by running a dry cell battery in the trunk.

Basically you take all those big bass hits off your alternator and let the rear battery take them. Now your "power wire" becomes a charge wire.

I've installed systems with half the power before and you can see the headlights dimming and sometime notice the tach falling on the bass notes. With this rear battery set up there is none of that. It's the way to go since the factory wiring of the alt is already overtaxed
taxed in my opinion.



so the battery in your park avenue is in the trunk?

also, i knew that my system will rarely if ever be hitting peak...i dont like a lot of bass (not a rap fan, heavy metal for me) just have a sub to handle the lows so i dont overload the speakers and blow them from the lows...im thinking the 60 amp should be enough, but i will find out once i get it running
Posted By: Magnum

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/20/10 02:39 AM

It has one battery in the stock location AND I installed an extra one in the trunk.
To save the hassles of venting I chose a dry cell. It's also small for it's power and can be mounted any way except upside down.

I will take some pics of the install tomorrow.

Which area of Ontario are you in?

Posted By: beecrazy69

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/20/10 10:32 PM

I am running a cs130 GM alternator rated at 105 amps. It is off a late 80s early 90s gm (Cadilac 5.0L Fleetwood Brougham/ Caprice/ Pontiac Safari Wagon ....) It is internally regulated.

I found the info on Moparts (maybe the Tech Archives?) It is suppose to be a direct bolt in for non A/C big blocks, not sure on small blocks(mine has A/C). It needed 100 ohm 1 watt resistor in the field wire to the alt to be a dummy alt idiot light since Mopars don't use them on the dash.

It has 14.4 volts at idol!!! An 8 gauge charge back wire must be run to the post on the starter solenoid or it will cause an electrical fire to the bulkhead and dash wiring!!

Attached picture 5877369-100_1427.jpg
Posted By: hooziewhatsit

Re: which high amp alternator for LA? - 03/21/10 05:06 AM

Quote:

I am running a cs130 GM alternator



Sure looks like it would bolt on to a SB with the right spacer. Also looks like the housing could be re-clocked if the output stud is too close to the block.
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