Good info

 

Are all GM CS 144 Alternators exactly the same?

 

I don't know exactly...I just looked at all of the 90s era Cadillacs I saw. If you pull one, spin the rotor a few times to make sure it's not messed up.

Stock alternator wiring is 10ga., and my feeling is that it's vastly undersized. The original Delco alternator specs (that no one followed) called for 4-8ga. wire for the charging circuit, depending on the length of run.

No, there are a lot of regulator differences. Make sure you get the one with the correct wiring as described in Z-Man's article here.

The plastic fan on the CS144 has a tendency to break vanes. I've found that the CS130 metal fan drops on and is almost exactly the same size. The SI fan is way too small.

 

If you take a look at the NAPA website that I posted earlier(it's down below again, for info), you will notice that the model of CS-144 that I got at the junkyard actually has a metal fan. This little fact was kind of perplexing when I first found the alternator because I thought they all came with plastic fans.
Nevertheless, the one I found DID come with a metal fan.

http://www.napaonline.com/masterpage...mfd+-+Standard

 

Well, I bought a cs144 from a '96 impala (140 amp) today and a plug pigtail from Autozone for about $100. What kind of rpm is the fan good to?

Next, I need to rewire things and I'm a little unclear still, even after reading the above link with pics. Anyone have an actual diagram? splicing the 330 ohm resistor thing is a bit confusing. Does it have direction or can it go either way?

Hope to mess with it this weekend. Also, need a lower, 3 belt V crank pulley because I bent mine somehow and it wobbles.

 

The site below tells you how to figure out which adapter to buy for your CS-144 tie in to your 12SI: I also added the key paragraph below in case you cannot open it.

http://www.idavette.net/hib/reman.html

"If you are unsure which adapter to use, measure the resistance of the exciter line. Disconnect the positive battery cable and the alternator plug. Connect an ohm meter between the #1 terminal on the plug end of the alternator harness and the end of the positive battery cable. Turn the ignition key to the "on" position and read the ohmmeter. If resistance is less than 35 ohms, use adapter #8078. If it’s between 35-350 ohms, use #8077. If it’s more than 350 ohms, you have excessive resistance somewhere in that circuit which needs to be repaired, first."

I figured out which plug-in-adapter to buy and then went ordered the equivalent part from NAPA. That way, I can use either a CS-144 or a 12-si alternator....if I ever break down somewhere weird.

I would recommend buying the plug-in adapter; you don't have to do any cutting/splicing, and it lets you have the option using 2 different models of alternators...mine cost less than 20 bucks.

Below are the 2 part numbers at NAPA:

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...ical+Connector

http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPage...ical+Connector

 

Okay...I purchased a CS144 alternator. I understand how to wire it (got some directions printed from a previous post) and all is good there. The one item I can't follow is about upgrading the wiring to 10 guage or better. My wires are all wrapped up in the darn original harness and the batt wire that is part of the original harness is small. It look like it goes through the fire wall but obviously this small wire is not the one attached to the battery. On the battery I have a 0 guage typical positive battery cable. So here are my questions.

1. Where does the batt wire go on the original wiring harness from the alternator?

2. Is anything else attached/spliced into this stock batt wire?

3. Where does the negative wire go on the original wiring harness from the alternator?

4. Do I need to upgrade the negative wire to 10 guage also or can I leave it alone?

5. Can I create a ground anywhere on the frame by sanding/grinding down a spot on the frame rails and then attach the ground wire? Could I use this for the alternator ground if I need to upgrade wire size?

6. I have dual spals (method to my madness with all the quesitons). Currently I attached them to the alternator batt terminal (I know very bad). So my thoughts are as follows....
Step A. Run new 10 guage alt batt wire to where ever it needs to go (battery or someplace else?)
Step B. Use old wiring harness alt batt wire for the spals power source? If the wire is good enough for 64 amps stock alternator and my fans are 30 amps each then should not this wire be okay for my fans, correct? Still need to figure out where the heck this original alt batt wire goes to thought I guess.

Basically what I want to do is run a new alt batt wire to where ever it needs to go and then possibly use the old all batt wire for my power source on my fans.

7. Can I ground my fans to the frame similar to question #5 above?


Ahh...you all confused yet? I know I am

 

In my '71, the red wire goes from the alt. to the horn relay and from there to the positive terminal in the starter's solenoid, and that terminal has the heavy gauge positive cable going to the battery (so that also answers your question about where the positive battery cable goes). so if you want a beefier cable going to the alternator, put a new heavier gauge wire from the alternator to the horn relay to the solenoid's positive terminal.

Thats in my '71 so it may be different in your car.

 

Should there be something for voltage spikes on these alternators? If so, what wire?

Also, what about radio signal static issues?

 

These alternators has a built-in regulator, so no voltage surges wll come out of them.

There are some capacitors that you connect to the output terminal in a prallel arrangement that would eleminate the static noise in the radio. Also the static noise may come from the ignition components, thats why they are fully shielded in all Corvettes.

 

What should I do for a surge protector? Should I put it on both Alternator pos. wires?

 

Surge protector? How in the world is a regulated alternator supposed to surge?

 

Run all your audio wires away from power leads, all my audio wires run down the passengers side and power wires down the drivers side. Be sure that ground wire to the alt is connected. One can make the argument that because the alternator is physically connect to the engine it is already grounded, try leaving off that ground wire and see what happens.

 

Here's my .02 worth...

1. On the original '69s, the batt wire went from the alt to the batt post on the regulator because they had external regulators. Then that same wire went to the positive post on the horn relay (just like all the newer units). This changed in about 1970 when alternators went to internal regulators on Vettes.

2. Well, a bunch of stuff splices at the regulator and horn relays.

3. The negative wire runs down and joins a "common" ground wire somewhere in that harness. It eventually gets to the frame but who knows where.

4. I'd clean it up real good and make sure the wire is not corroded. After all, the case of the alternator is grounded to the engine, and you should make sure the engine is really grounded well.

5. Yes. Yes, but you don't need to (see # 4).

6. Ehhh.....sort of... Take a look at the wiring on these pages - this is an excellent site, by the way. http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...evymain1.shtml
Read about the "original Chevy" wiring then look at the "new system." This is how most of the guys around here are wiring theirs. They even show how to wire the fan relays.

 

Ahhh $hit!!! Not exactly what i was hoping to read tonight, but very useful and probably has saved my butt from an electrical fire. I know the Horn Relay Buss they are referring to....I was thinking the same thing of using this distribution point but was concerned exactly how much power I could route through this single distribution point. Apparently a decent amount since they recommned all accessories come off this horn relay. Right now I have everything routed off the battery (Amp & Vintage Air AC) which now I read should be routed off the horn relay due to the different electrical system on the Chevy. Ugghh!!! I bet 99% of all others route any accessories like amps, ac, etc. off their battery and not the horn relay as suggested here causing precieved problems that is fixed incorreclty with a more powerful amp.

 

So after reading that article, tell me if I have this right.

1. The 'splice' for a corvette is under the dash, I believe.
2. The charge wire does not go through the horn relay on a '76 (my power wire for the horn has been disconnected at the splice under the dash and the battery still charges fine).
3. The cs144 is a '3-wire' alternator right? So the best of both worlds? Takes the voltage reading from the splice AND has 140 amps.
4. I was going to rewire the charge wire from the alternator to the splice under the dash and then to the battery with an 8g wire to increase my charging capacity. Do I need to do this for the cs144?
5. I do have a new engine side wiring harness that I could install, would this be sufficient?

 

Install an auxillary junction block next to the alternator like the one MAD offers, Jeg's has one with two posts. There's nothing that says you can't have two distribution points.

 

The above attached image from Jegs has it right....anything else is BULL CRAP of the worst order....

CASE CLOSED.......

 

OK, I found the 'splice' as per the link above. It is about 3 feet away from the alternator in the alternator/engine bay harness. I made some replacement 8g wires seen in the attached pics and will run a fuse on each. Also, will run an 8g to the battery starter post where the charging apparently occurs.

Where does the brown and black wire go on the CS 144 plug? Should I use my existing brown and black alternator wires and just hook them up accordingly? If not, what goes where exactly?

I'm being told that brown wire goes to "L" and the black wire is unused. Is this correct?

 

The plug only needs two wires - the L and the S. I think your brown needs to go to the L.