Alternators, who runs what?

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1wild&crazyguy

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I have had about 4 alternators go bad on my valiant.
They either fall apart on the inside or start sparking with rpm and the + post.

All from autozone.
I even upgraded after the 2nd one, but still have returned 2 more since.

Getting sick of turnin up the wick and having my volts go from 14 to 10 on the gauge, definite short in the unit thats for sure since the car has been rewired completely.

I've been thinking about a denso unit and some fabbed brakets.
Anyone run 1 of those?
 
I got a 100 amp one wire GM style Alternator from summit.

Never skipped a beat, but I have aftermarket EZ wiring and none of the electrical is stock.
 
Find a local rebuilder in your area. They'll do it right the first time. Their reputation will depend on it.

In my area, a friend I used to work with has a brother who works at a place that only rebuilds starters and alternators. They do alot of work for buses and big trucks. They can't afford to build a bad one. 99% of the store rebuilds out there are garbage. Most don't even replace the bearings. So get out the yellow pages and seek someone local.



Wylde1.
 
I agree with Wylde1. I had an alternator go bad so I went to the local chain autoparts and picked up a "remanufactured" replacement. After four failed in a short time I gave up on chasing warranty and took it to a local rebuilder. He looked it over and chuckled as he showed me the black ink lettering that said, "Remanufactured in Malaysia." Well, the "rebuilt in USA" unit is still working perfectly. One more example of "You Get What You Pay For....." When you pay someone thirty seven cents an hour you get about thirty seven cents worth of life out of what they work on. The local rebuild only cost a few bucks more than the chain store junk. So, I chalk the cost of the first purchase up to education.
 
I still use the original style alternator with the diodes and external regulator.
Rebuilt by a local ($40) and no problem since.
 
I use an original alt. that has run up plenty of rpms when I missed a gear a few times without trouble.
 
I've got the original on my 273 with W2 heads. That alternator doesn't even know what low RPM is!
 
one wire chevy mounted on the wrong side of the engine

alternator.jpg
 
Don't feel bad, I went through 8 in one day! The 9th wash a chevy alt and it charged better than any off the shelf parts store mopar alt I had on the car.
 
1wild&crazyguy said:
I have had about 4 alternators go bad on my valiant.
They either fall apart on the inside or start sparking with rpm and the + post.

All from autozone.
Click to expand...

"Remanufactured" parts are almost all junk. Those from Autozone and other "Davey Do-It-Yerselfer" types of places are especially craptacular. Yeah, they come with a lifetime warranty...which means you get to spend your lifetime replacing their cruddy thrown-together parts.

I've been thinking about a denso unit and some fabbed brakets.
Click to expand...

You could certainly do that; the Denso alternators are really nice (lightweight, reliable, and they give better low-RPM output than the Chrysler alternators). However, keep in mind you will need to have a thought for the ammeter in the dash if you upgrade the alternator. No, I am not one of those (like the Chevy-headed yutzes who run the MADelectrical site) who run around squawking like headless chickens, claiming you have to convert to a voltmeter right now, today, this instant or else you're going to burn your car down even with a stock alternator...because that's not true. A realistic, technically-correct discussion of the situation (from someone with extensive experience with Mopar systems) is presented here and there's additional discussion and links here.

I may go to a Denso alternator myself eventually on my '73, but for now I just did it the easy way: got a new (not "remanufactured") Chrysler alternator from Old Car Parts Northwest.
 
I also have been wanting to do a swap for better low RPM charging. The Denso alternator looks like a good choice. avarageerod, could you post more pics of your install? Thanks.
 
Denso off an 02 Ram van, 130 amps, stock big block brackets, uses factory 70's dual field regulator. you can run this with the ammeter if you run an extra 4G wire from the pos on the alternater to the starter relay main lug.
my swap cost me 150 bucks but i had to convert to dual field in my 68 charger and I paid 75 for my alt. I have seen lower amp versions of this alt go real cheap on ebay, 30-50 bucks for 90 amp units.

altswap1a.jpg


altswap2a.jpg


altswap9.jpg
 
Running an original stock 46 amp unit on the Dart /6. Lights were very dim and HVAC fan barely whirred at idle. Weekend well spent cleaning up bulkhead connections at firewall. Lights are stronger and fan blows. Before, I did not have power to run 1000 watt (380 watt RMS) 4-channel amp in trunk. I'll try to reconnect the amp in the next couple of weeks. Have other projects more pressing at the moment.
 
Here you can kind of see how mine is mounted low on the left side although it's not the current 90 amp Denso, it's the old 40 amp larger alternator I had on it previously. It was mounted in my stock chassised Duster the same way.

339020863.jpg
 
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