Once again, I'm cooking another alternator.

So this weekend I was on a mission to get an alternator other than our stock Hitachi/Lester/Bosch units. I was almost ready to put a marine alternator in the Max until I found a company down in Tampa, FL named Can-Am Motors. They will make you an alternator along with a mounting kit and harnesses to upgrade to their 200amp alternator.
It cost me $410 and it has a one year warranty. They will also powdercoat it so I went with gunmetal. I can't wait to get my hands on this bish.

 

200 amps. Wow. This should be one big mother shutyomouf. Post a pic when you get it

 

Sounds good, hopefully all this time the dealer wasnt stiffing you with the recalls alternators

 

Conrad: I'll post pics when I get it.

Gtr: My car was never on the list for the recall so I was getting stiffed with the rebuilt crap. I'm not going to spend another penny on another stock type alternator.

 

ah ok, rebuilt is never as good as new

 

200amps? That is going to be one hell of a power robber.

 

yo, do us a favor, and tell us how tolerable the idle is after you install it. if it's how i understand it, you're gonna have a rough idle. car can't keep such a high current alt. running at low rpm's w/out being rough. higher alt. and it's hard to even keep the car on. that's the only thing holding me back. if you say that it's tolerable enough where you're not bothered, then i'll go along with it, but i'm scared that idle is gonna get annoying.

 

I'll let you know but I need the power to my system's. There is no other option right now.

 

Wow, that's huge I was always told that the alternator we have now was the only one that was capable of fitting down there. How much power are you pushing on your system? My 800a4 & bd1000a1 haven't been enough to kill my alternator so it must be pretty freakin' big. Let us know if your lights still blink when you thump it.

 

did you ever do a current test to see how many amps you were pulling on average?

 

I've never did a amp test but its not just my stereo that's burning up my alternators. It's the HID's, stereo, plus all of the electrical components of the car that I run everyday.

Idle may need to be adjusted a bit but I can't see losing a lot of power when my car is suffering from an underpowered electrical system. Adding more is better. Plus a high output alternator should come with a smaller pully to ease the load of the belt driving it.

 

Well, I just found out that it comes with a smaller pully also so this should be fun.

 

I just picked up a genuine Nissan alternator that was redone to make 150+amps today for $150 Canadian. How do I know the amps? The shop bench tested it for me in front of my face.

 

did you pay for your alternator already. Try checking out www.mechman.com for custom high output alternator. I contacted him once to check if he had anything fora 98 Nissan Maxima. He said yes and he also have custom mounts and wiring adaptor so you don't have to cut your factory wiring. It's basically a remove and replace. My friend has one in his truck and it doesn't seem to affect his idle at all.

 

What did they want to charge you for the whole kit? If I knew all of these shops were around, I would have done this a year ago but the majority of them don't advertise on the web which kind of sucks. It's bad enough going from site to site where nothing is made for Nissan Maximas.

 

im interested as well, keep us posted

 

That is my main concern. I want to go with an HO alternator, but I am afraid that I will sacrifice too much engine power.

 

How can your alternator not handle your electricals? I am pretty sure I have just as many things running as you(stereo, hids, strobes, s/c) and I have yet to have a problem with my alternator. Oh wait they replaced it over a year ago when the recall alternator almost set my car on fire!

 

I blame it on the 2 hour commute 5 days a week, running my HID's, fogs, heating for the interior, Satalite, the engine electronics and the 700W system (2 amps and one 12" sub). That's a lot of stuff for an alternator to handle.

I have a 1 farad cap and my fogs will still dim with heavy bass hits. Who knows if when I had the alternator rebuilt in Providence about 5 months ago if they used new parts. Either way, I'm done with the stock units.

 

Would weak grounding on the aftermarket stuff cause the alernator to have to push too hard and burn it up?

 

$410? arn't Ohio Generators $100 more?

 

I can't feel any difference between my old stock alternator and my new 150+ amp alternator.

 

I forgot already how much he wanted to charge me, it was back in late 99 when i started building my stereo system. I was trying to get my options.

I ended just adding a second battery in the trunk and making my own grounding system like the ones that Hyper ground sells but i only used an 8 ga power wire and soldered the ring terminals on instead of just crimpimg them. And i'm running three amps. And my future upgrade would require me to add another 4 channel amp to it and a few processors. So far no headlights dimming.....

Eric

 

MardiGrasMax: Weak contact points will cause more resistance/heat to the alternator and wiring. You will never push your equipment to its full potential without opening up the pipeline so that the current will flow properly. On the aftermarket alternator, you'll most likely burn up the wires before the alternator itself.

SprintMax: $410 is the cheapest I've seen and I never talked to anyone at Ohio Generator but I did call them. Even mechman.com want's over $500 for theirs.

 

CustomMaxima is an official dealer for Ohio Generator.. they are $5xx .. but i think they put out 500 amps

 

That should be a good price for a 500amp alternator because they should be over $1000.

The company I'm using makes alternators for Stinger and I know a lot of people use them in DB Racing. I can't wait to get this bish so I can look at it, plus, size it up.

 

It may interest you all to know that the same alternator will fit on all Maximas from '95 - '03. Perhaps even the '04+ and the 3.5 Altima.
I just installed my 3rd one the other day after cooking my 125 amp at the track last weekend.

 

Is there any aluminum pulleys for newer year maximas or altimas that would bolt on older maximas?

 

FYI, HIDs draw less current than regular bulbs.

 

would putting on a larger alternator take away some hp?

 

Good to know I'm not alone. How long did each one last?

 

You're right about that. My Catz kit run at about 10amps and OEM halogens run around 15amps.

 

It isn't fair to say really because they didn't die on their own. The first one lasted about 1.5 years and died because I had a small oil leak on my cam cover. Motor oil will quickly kill an alternator. The second one lasted about 6 months untill I put the lawn & garden battery in for weight reduction. I guess it kept the alternator running at 100% for too long which did it in. My uncle who owns a auto electric shop told me that alternators can't stand being run wide open for too long, they'll burn out.

 

the same here. i just had mine changed from the recall but i dont have a problem with mine. im currently running three t.vs, playstation 2,
1500 watt stereo, converter, hid, elctronic ign,. i also have the i farad
lightning cap. what type of grounds are you running cause that could cause your problems if your not running at least a four gauge for all the stuff you have. would like to know how it turns out because i heard it also helps your hp a little.

 

how would a udp affect all this?

 

Running the UDP slows the speed of belt so it probably cause things to get worse but installing a smaller pulley on the alt will give you more power back. The smaller pulley allows it to spin faster so you get power at low RPM's.

 

I thought HID's had low current draw..more efficient design and such? Kinda like flourescent lights.

 

yeah i got a an SUV right now, and i got lights, fogs, and a 1,400 watt system, with 2 15" L7's going and u need all the power u can get, im about to go through my first alternator

 

FYI guys.. a high output alternator shouldn't affect your idle-- unless it's designed for high output at lower RPM as well, AND you're using ungodly amounts of power at the same time (sitting in traffic with your system cranked)..

most alternators only output 50-60-80 amps at idle, but when you spin them up to 3-4000rpm they'll put out the 150+ amps they're rated at.

Thus, you won't really FUBAR your idle with a bigger alternator.. plus there's not too many people that can sit at idle and draw 100+ amps of current and NOT **** off everyone within a 1 mile radius of you. to use that much power, the stereo will be cranking 130+dB the entire time, as well as any lights used would be lighting up the sky like NYC. easy way to ask for a ticket.

For those that have huge systems and play at car shows, this is a good option, but even then you're only needing that much power for a minute or two at a time.. you don't sit at shows all day with the system cranked. the battery should be able to handle a few minutes of the system at full volume and then let the alternator recharge it when you turn it down.

(I've got some friends that do SPL comps with 50,000W + stereos, and they have done 50-60 SPL burps without ever starting their cars, and all their results are withint 0.1dB.. no big deal, and a LOT of power draw.)