What's old is new again. Alternator upgrade options

[wheee!]

Following your plans and machining mine tomorrow...!

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[rcb280z]

"Quote" 100 amp is enough for just about anybody with common upgrades.Rad fans, Halogen headlights, "nice" stereo.

 

Anyone know if its possible to have your stock "lower amp" Alternator rebuilt to put out 100 amps? 

Edited October 14, 2015 by rcb280z

[wheee!]

Not that I am aware. You can add more windings theoretically to a stator but the rotor has only so much surface area to create the field. As much as i would like to stay stockish, the commonly available gm alternative makes more sense to me. Plus I really wanted get rid of the external voltage regulator and the associated wiring.

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[wheee!]

Success!

Marked off at 1.78" for margin of error.

On the cold cut saw...

Ready for drilling out to 3/8ths...

Finished after another quick sandblast and final measurements....

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[wheee!]

Measurements...

And a solid coat of Zinc Mate until it's ready for paint with the block....

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[zKars]

Wheeeee I want that cold cut saw! Love it!

[wheee!]

Wish it was mine... Work tools! I am very fortunate to get to use the shop!

Thanks for the great tips. Looking forward to installing this in a year or two...

Ps: the saw still cut fairly slow. Just being cautious.

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Edited October 15, 2015 by wheee!

[Kurbycar32]

On 10/9/2015 at 7:18 AM, zKars said:

1982 Caprice 5.0litre engine. Check Rockauto, you'll see a huge selection of 10SI alternators available. Clocking is 6:00, which means the top mount is 180 degrees from the lower mount. Most are 63 amp.

There is one listing in there for this thing, Might work for us.

PURE ENERGY 7127SW3 Click for more information about this part

Remanufactured

GM Universal, Single Wire, 63 amp alt.

Here's the thing. None of them are 100+ amp one wire alternators. But it's the right case, and all it takes is a 12v wire to the exciter terminal to get them to work. It's a way to get back on the road in 60 minutes rather than 3 days. That's all I'm trying to do, give us options when traveling.

I wish I could find autoparts that last 150,000 km, but that does seem to be realistic in this part of the world. I'm also not interested in originality, I'm interested in maximizing my enjoyment of my Z and doing everything I can to ensure I take whereever and whenever I feel like without fear of left on the side of the road when I can't get a super quality Nissan part.

BTW, re not being able to find Podunk on the map, Poduck un-incorporated and closed as a townsite in 2011. Seems the AutoZone closed and it was the major employer in town, and it couldn't maintain liquidity. Sad, this is happening all over the US and Canada as small towns struggle to keep their young population from moving to more lucrative bigger centers

Long term update:  The alternator listed here and the one that fits the 1982 Caprice use a 10.414mm (0.41in) wide belt, and my Z motor uses a 13mm belt system.  The actual belt that zKars used is a 13mm (1/2") belt so the original instructions are correct but this cross reference section is not.  Initially the 1982 Caprice alternator bolted right in and with a thinner belt it seemed to work OK.  Under heavy load, perhaps due to my 3.0 Rebello motor, the thin belt gets thrown.  I was able to source a replacement pulley and am happy to report that with the correct pulley everything appears to be working correctly.  I attempted to find a better cross reference with a 10SI alternator that came with the correct pulley but I never found an OEM equivalent, though I did find several advertised for tractors that looked right.  Here is the pulley info:

Delco Alternator Generator Belt Pulley 3/8 7/16 1/2 in Wide Single 1 Groove 10SI

 

[zKars]

More updates

While trouble shooting an alternator wiring problem on my 510 with yes, another similar GM alternator, wired as two wire, I have more to add on the subject.  

First, I ran across another excellent reference web page that does an excellent job of describing the workings of all the GM alternator variants, and how to properly wire them. 

https://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Wiring/Part2/#onewire

My initial suggestion/recommendation about using the hotrod oriented 1 wire alternators from Mopac, has, shall we say, 'evolved'

I've had consistent problems with them as they have a non-insignicant amount of current drain when the car is off. They kill the battery within about a week if you don't drive it. Hence I've moved on to the two wire style, where you supply a switched +12 wire to the alternator on the "F" or "I" terminal (right next to 'S') (see above link for very good explanation).  The above reference alternator has the same case style as the original nissan alternator, so you don't have to modify your mounting base. A little spacing is about all you need to do. All I have to do is remember which car it's for. I'm pretty sure its a CS130 from the 88-89 Eagle Premier. 100 amp, internal regulator of course. You have to put your pulley on it, they come with a serpintine belt pulley.

These alternators have a four wire socket that accepts a plug. You can get a pico  5657-bp pigtail from your auto parts store or get one from the wrecker.   https://picocanada.com/en/view_product/5657-BP

According the above link, the common practise of just jumpering the "I" (or F) terminal directly to the output terminal to excite the alternator is not the best idea. Read the details in the pirate4x4 link and you'll understand why. 

Edited May 2, 2019 by zKars

[Kevin McSweeney]

Has anybody installed this 80 amp alternator from Zcardepot in their Z? I was planning to go down the 100 amp route but I don't see myself installing a big stereo any time soon and I'm planning to convert most/all external bulbs to LED to lower the power draw. Also trying to keep costs from getting out of hand ? so this seems like a good happy medium - if it's a direct bolt on as they suggest:

https://zcardepot.com/collections/charging-starting/products/alternator-high-amp-80-240z-260z-280z

[Zed Head]

I think that that is a Maxima or 300ZX alternator with a pulley swap.  Or, Ithink that there is one or two specific years that still use a V pulley on a 60+ amp alternator. It's not a bad option.  It would be good to know that actual brand of the alternator.  If he is just buying OReilly Auto parts and swapping pulleys, that could cost a lot in return shipping until you get a good one.  Lots of bad-from-the-box reman alts out there.  Worth asking him via message.

Looks like you have to do some wiring.  His image shows TYC, which is probably where he got it.  OR maybe he just borrows the image.   Looks like you might have to buy a plug also, maybe.  Not clear.

https://www.carid.com/tyc/alternator.html

 

[madkaw]

well I was thinking about doing the AC Delco swap but using the 12S. I was going to ask for one of the mounting brackets from you @zKars, but now I read about the drain and wonder if I made a mistake .

the original reason for coming to this thread was ask about the wiring. in every thread I've found on 1 wire, I've not seen a schematic. Sounds silly for a 1 wire, but I've read you should upgrade to 8 gauge wire directly to the battery? I've also read that these do better with the sense wire connected . I actually have read that 3 wire is best. How does this wire work with the original wiring running to the inside of the car and the amp meter?  Any examples I can see?

As far as why GM alternator. New sent to my house is 70$ -thats not a reman. Oriellys couldn't find a zx anywhere . I run electric fans and EFI and a 200watt stereo.

I've read both the stories of battery drain and those that never have had issues.