Dual Alternators?

[d240zx2]

And the mosquitoes are big enough to stand flat-footed and f*** a turkey!

In the late '70s I was working for Chrysler in Minneapolis. Got a fresh "field car" one afternoon, a Cordoba. Nice car. Drove it home from the dealer and parked it outside. The next morning I found it wouldn't even buzz the key... the battery had frozen solid. Down to -50 that night. I resigned the next August and came back to Texas. No mas frio!

[ktm]

Again, I guess diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. I've heard other people swear by the electric fan upgrade. Moves more air and frees up some torque/hp.

Then dem folks be wrong. There are very few electric fans that outflow the stock Z fan. Timz over at Hybridz has a 600+ hp monster using the stock fan setup and a shroud. Why? Because it cools better than any electric fan that will fit in our cars. The Taurus or Lincoln Mark VIII fans are too large to fit into our Zs with the L6 in there.

The stock cooling system is indeed quite sufficient ... until a component breaks or fails (which is what happened here) ... the advantage of the setup I've installed is that all of the replacement parts I could ever need for it are available off the shelf. I DD my Z, and waiting a day or two for replacement stuff to come-in can often times be quite obnoxious.

Don't fool yourself. You are causing the cooling system to "fail" because you added an electric fan, an item with a very high current draw, to your otherwise stock setup. Return to the stock mechanical fan and your power draw issues will be resolved.

Now upgrading your alternator because you've wanted to is a perfectly acceptable reason. I am running a CS144 setup on my car (I have a write-up on Hybridz about this conversion) because I needed more amperage at idle with my setup.

Edited June 22, 2010 by ktm

[KDMatt]

Don't fool yourself. You are causing the cooling system to "fail" because you added an electric fan, an item with a very high current draw, to your otherwise stock setup. Return to the stock mechanical fan and your power draw issues will be resolved...

I think you misunderstood. My mechanical, OEM fan-clutch failed. It has less than 20k on it and even still looks new (and again, this is the apparently 'infallible' mechanical fan clutch, the very same brand and type supplied to Nissan, ordered from MSA, and it still went out) ... but because I replaced it 4 years ago I doubt MSA will give me any kind of replacement... and SINCE a proper OEM fan clutch is in the neighborhood of $85ish dollars ... (before shipping and taxes) ... and the electric setup was $93 after taxes and has a smaller likelihood of failure, I went with the latter.

... and I don't see how adding an electrical draw causes a cooling component to fail? ... Even so, like I said, in my instance, the cooling component failed first.

IDK, I'm still on the fence as to how much I like the electric fan. I kept all the receipts and stuff, it seems to move air reasonably well for being in the 'push' configuration in front of the A/C condenser (which I need to remove ... seeing as my A/C is FUBARed) ...

Now upgrading your alternator because you've wanted to is a perfectly acceptable reason.

Glad it meets with your approval?

I am running a CS144 setup on my car (I have a write-up on Hybridz about this conversion) because I needed more amperage at idle with my setup.

I'm an audio enthusiast, and I want to add some more punch to my system via subwoofer anyway ... so an amplifier was already on the table for me, and therefore a beefier alternator as well. I know perfectly well that it's totally silly to add more draw without adding more capacity. The electric fan was a last-minute thing I needed to do ... I'm heading to the junk yard this weekend ... I should be able to nab something.

--

MikeW, I knew you were just messin' ... but every now and then I encounter folks from down south who are surprised to learn that we don't all live on farms or in igloos, and that we have indoor plumbing and paved roads. :stupid:

d240zx2 ... -50? ... that's pretty damn cold ... I've seen it get close to -20 ... without windchill, but never that cold ever ... You picked a bad time to be in MN, :laugh:

PS, does the ZX2 part of your name have any relation to The Ford Escort ZX2? I'm a closet fan of those.

[d240zx2]

PS, does the ZX2 part of your name have any relation to The Ford Escort ZX2? I'm a closet fan of those.

No. D for Datsun. 240Z for the car. x2 means second time I've owned it.

[ozconnection]

I don't see how you think using 1/3 of your alternators capacity is"significant".Change the pulley* so the unit puts out more amps down "low"(idling & cruising).Or upgrade to a ZX unit with the same pulley.

* any rebuild shop will have them

Exacto! :classic:

[Walter Moore]

For what it is worth I recommend the ZX upgrade. It worked out well for me. The only caution I would mention is to use the ZX belt, because the original belt can't take the power.

I went electric because my 71 does not have a fan shroud and the stock fan showed clear indications of having been hitting the radiator, which was missing. Actually I have 2 fans, one 12" and one 10". (two 12" fans will not quite fit behind the radiator.

I tried using a GM style alternator, but could not get the mounting bracket right, and keep losing belts. The ZX alternator is bolt-on mechanically. The electrical part only requires a kit that is easily available from sources here and MSA, or a carefully placed diode.

I actually told Advance Auto that I needed one for a ZX turbo because that car came with a 70 amp unit. The "test" report showed 70 amp max output. Since I installed it I have had no serious electrical issues.

(The max current output at idle is still not optimal, but by 1K rpm all is OK.

[KDMatt]

I went electric because my 71 does not have a fan shroud and the stock fan showed clear indications of having been hitting the radiator, which was missing. Actually I have 2 fans, one 12" and one 10". (two 12" fans will not quite fit behind the radiator.

Walter, interesting solution. I have a 16-inch, and I'm considering returning it. It doesn't fit all that well (have to have it front mounted for 'push' operation) and thusly isn't cooling that efficiently.

Do you have both fans set to go simultaneously? (i.e. on a single thermostat?) or is one supposed to to be the main, lower temp one, and another is set for a higher temp in case things get extreme, to save current. ?

... actually all things considered, I am enjoying the tiny extra bit of low-end grunt (and reduced engine/fan noise) from this upgrade .. but I'm also sort of missing my mechanical fan ... at least my 'old' mechanical fan ... ya know, the one that worked? ... I'm still considering returning all of this stuff and just getting another fan clutch...

Great thing about the guys at my auto parts store... they usually pretty good about this kinda stuff.

[ozconnection]

Walter, interesting solution. I have a 16-inch, and I'm considering returning it. It doesn't fit all that well (have to have it front mounted for 'push' operation) and thusly isn't cooling that efficiently.

Do you have both fans set to go simultaneously? (i.e. on a single thermostat?) or is one supposed to to be the main, lower temp one, and another is set for a higher temp in case things get extreme, to save current. ?

... actually all things considered, I am enjoying the tiny extra bit of low-end grunt (and reduced engine/fan noise) from this upgrade .. but I'm also sort of missing my mechanical fan ... at least my 'old' mechanical fan ... ya know, the one that worked? ... I'm still considering returning all of this stuff and just getting another fan clutch...

Great thing about the guys at my auto parts store... they usually pretty good about this kinda stuff.

Electric fans can be made to work. The 16 inch unit you have sounds like the same size one I'm using. I have three heat exchangers at the front of my car..a radiator, of course, an a/c condensor and an A/T cooler. Surprise, it works brilliantly and has not failed me.

However, I set up my fan on the engine side of the radiator. It is contained wholly within the factory radiator shroud to all look very factory. The fan has been slotted into position as close to the radiator as physically possible without rubbing. Potential points of contact have had rubber 'shoes' added so that the radiator tubes and fins don't get damaged and when inspected recently, only a small section of black paint has been removed but NO damage to the radiator! I feel that having the fan close to the radiator improves the 'draw through' effect from the fan.

The temperature regulation is handled by a rather simple electrical circuit using a relay, a fuser, a temperature switch (set at 80 degrees celcius) and some other connector electrical 'stuff' Since I also recently upgraded my alternator from externally to internally regulated 60 amp Bosch, where the voltage regulator plugged into the main harness was now a whole heap of power, earth and switched power lines.....ready for use......for anything!

Have a go.....I was using an eight bladed fan with a Temcoupling clutch before but it was loud and like you I wanted to grap a few extra kilowatts and thought that an electric fan conversion would work.

By the way, I also use water wetter, distilled water, an 87 degree celcius thermostat and a 20 psi radiator cap. My radiator is a 3 core unit from a Y30 300C (VG30E engine) and I use an LD28 water pump.

And yeah, it works!

[Z train]

(The max current output at idle is still not optimal, but by 1K rpm all is OK.

Change the pulley and your problem will be solved.

[ktm]

I tried using a GM style alternator, but could not get the mounting bracket right, and keep losing belts. The ZX alternator is bolt-on mechanically. The electrical part only requires a kit that is easily available from sources here and MSA, or a carefully placed diode.

You need to be somewhat precise when cutting the lower bracket for this very reason. You should be able to ship the alternator forward (if you cut too much) by using thin washers.