I just replaced my alternator and I kept the core being that I didn't pay a lot for a new one. Any upgrade kits out there? I'm also thinking about having the casing chromed out or powdercoated with black chrome finish.

 

Damn! I must come up with "hard to answer" issues.

 

Talk to polo.. He just found out an electrical place in NY that does custom alernators for Maximas... You can push out some serious amps with this. I forgot how much it was though..

 

I'll need to find out. I'll send him a PM and thanks.

 

I know exactly how you feel, since most of the posts that I start go unanswered. As far as a higher output alternator, why do you want one? Having too much voltage isn't a good thing either.
-hype

 

I dont think he wants to up his volts, aren't the alternator in the Max rated at 90amps or something pretty high?

 

a few weeks ago i got an oem alternator from nissan. it cost me $303. it is a 125 amp.

now my car is reving low, i think it has to do with the tension on the belt. i'll check some-time next week.

any way to know how tight the belt should be?

 

Freddie,

Would you mind posting the part number for this alternator?

Thanks,

Armand

 

I'm pretty sure that higher wattage alternators put a greater load on the engine. That's probably the reason. Obviously since power cannot be created or destroyed, it's taken from your engine's crankshaft and converted into electricity. And since your alternator is rated at a higher amperage, it's probably taking more power from your engine to turn it.

 

True, but the load on the engine will only be seen as load on the alternator increases.

No load on alty = no load on motor. (for the most part)

 

+1 for the first point about the load on the engine increasing with load on the alternator

+1/2 on the second point (gosh you and I always dish it out on the forums huh? haha) An alternator is similar to an electric motor operating backward. And just like small electric motors compared to larger ones, the smaller ones with weaker magnets are easier to spin than the larger ones with big magnets, even when the contacts of the motor aren't connected to anything (aka, open circuit, no current generated), probably very similar to smaller vs larger alternators. But that might have been what you meant when you said "(for the most part)"

 

Are you guys saying that an amp with more uses adds more resistance to your engine????? It's my understanding that the alternator just gives power to all of your electrical components, plus charge the battery. Like any electrical motor, if you turn the commutator, it will send off a charge of electricity to power whatever you want it too.

Now in the point that drewn brings up, if the magnets are stronger then I see the point of adding more load to your engine.

Hype: My system runs about 800W so I wanted more power. The stop amp is handling it but I figured I'd upgrade but if the load is increased with a higher powered amp, then hell with it.

Freddie: The belt should have about a 1/2" of play.

 

when i went to the dealer to get the atl they told me that they had the reg one ( which is already fix by the recall) or if i wanted the upgraded one (that just came out a few months ago). they had both instock so i took the better one.

now my brother installed the atl for me and the new belt started to make noise when i started the car. maybe the belt now is to tight. i have to wait for his next day off to check the belt.



i think my idle went down about 200rpms.

 

Yeah, if you are going to be at the meet Saturday, I could probably check it for you. I did my install and everything is perfect. I'm wondering if your brother loosened the steering pump belt when he installed it. When I had a shop put on my last alt, they loosened the steering pump belt.... That thing made noise everytime I started my car.

 

deezo that would be great if you could check my car. i will try to be at the meet by 10am.

should i bring any tools?

 

Just bring some socket wrenches. I hope its not the steering belt because my arms are to big to get to those bolts.

 

I think what you need is a flux capacitor! It has increased power output without increasing the load on the engine.

I know of a local place here in Indiana that rebuilds alternator as well as upgrading the output. I would check your local phone book and also ask around local repair shops if there is a similar place in your area. I wouldn't think that the load on the engine would change depending on the load on the alternator? Doesn't the crank pulley always spin the alternator at the same speed and isn't the resistance constant?

 

The crank pulley does always spin the alternator, but I'm pretty sure the resistance varies like mentioned above. If you have a Voltmeter you'll see that it's high ~14V when you first start your car. Then it'll lower to around ~13.4 as you drive further. Eventually (I'm assuming) after the battery has charged and the load is stabilized the voltage will be 13.1-13.2.
-hype

 

I do have a capacitor with a digital guage but I may need to add another one to keep my headlights from dimming.

 

Wouldn't reistance belower since it's the same voltage and higher current. Less resistance and equal voltage = higher current, right???

 

Sorta.

Well, if we all want a simplified lecture in electronics.....

Basically it goes like this:

Voltage can be seen as the potential between two terminals, think of it as a tubular slide on a playground. And the height of the slide directly corresponds to the voltage reading. The higher the voltage the higher the slide.

Current is the actual energy moving from place to place, think of it as kids on the slide. The amount of current corresponds to the number of kids going down the slide. It is the actual energy needed to power your electrical devices.

Resistance can be thought of as the diameter of the tube of the slide. The higher the resistance, the smaller the diameter of the tube. An open circuit can be thought of as a tube that has collapsed on itself (aka no current can flow) Obviously the kids are going to have a harder time going through a skinny tube than a large one. And with a large one, they could possibly slide down multiples all at once.

And therefore:

Alternators can be seen as pushing a kid up the ladder to the slide. The more current you need, the more and bigger kids you're going to need to push up the ladder (so they can slide down the slide and power your electrical accessories). When your electrical accessories demand more current, your alternator has to get busy and start pushing more kids up the ladder which uses power from the engine, because the kids don't move by themselves.

You can have voltage without current, take a disconnected battery... 12V but no current, the resistance between the posts is so high (think a tubular slide that has collapsed) that current cannot flow.

 

This thread is going from "Any upgrade kits out there" to thermo dynamics, electron flow, to ohms law, etc. Ok thermo dynamics was a bit out there, but you get the point. I'm more interested in why the original poster changed his alternator, did it die due to a upgraded stereo system and if so has he taken all the precaution (caps, proper size gauge wires, etc) not put such a heavy demand on the alternator. So besides that place in NYC that does custon alternator there's no "upgrade kit" that we/memebers are aware of, correct?

 

I replaced my alternator because it started making clunky noises when the engine was in motion. I though it was something inside my block and what out bought a stethescope and found that it was the alternator. It was still working find but I didn't want to chance getting stranded or ever worse, getting a surge that would blow out everything.

My point in starting the thread is that I still have to core which I'm going to keep because I got a new alternator for $160. I'm going to rebuilt the one I removed so I wanted to know if there were any kits out there.

I was pumping the system last night and I didn't notice my lights dimming like when I had the original alt and the 2 replacement. The new alternator is definitely better built than the one I just pulled off.

 

ohio generators, i just don't have the $$$$$ for it now.

 

My bad!! I thought he was talking to me.