New alternator - difference in cast
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
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From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
New alternator - difference in cast
My alternator died on me last Saturday (actually, it died on Friday night and luckily, my battery held up for a 60 mile trip with the headlights on without a functioning alternator.. So, on Sunday, I got a remanufactored alternator from Advance Auto Parts and Installed it.. When I installed it, it would not fit into the header alternator bracket ( F shaped bracket) correctly.. (it would not lean towards the engine far enough to attach the belt.. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was a slight difference in the cast between the new and old alternator. A non-functional lip was in the cast of the new alternator (no idea on why this was there). As I didn't want to bring it back and look for another alternator, I used a grinder and ground down that lip and after doing so, it fit perfectly into the bracket.. Has anyone else noticed such different in cast on a replacement alternator?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
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From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
Here is a pic of how exactly the piece of the cast looked like that interfered with my alternator bracket.. (circled in red).
However, in this picture, that cast is in a different spot where it would NOT interfere.. There seems to be no functional reason for that..
Last edited by GrandSportC3; Oct 21, 2015 at 08:45 AM.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
Likes: 88
From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
I didn't think of rotating one section of the alternator.. I had many C3's and tons of alternators but never ran into a issue like that before..
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
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From: Orange Park Florida
I don't recall on which part of the cast the issue was. It might have been possible to rotated it and solve the problem that way but I ended up grinding down that part of the cast as it had no functionality anyways (at least in a '68 Vette).
I didn't think of rotating one section of the alternator.. I had many C3's and tons of alternators but never ran into a issue like that before..
I didn't think of rotating one section of the alternator.. I had many C3's and tons of alternators but never ran into a issue like that before..
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 112
From: Great Plains Iowa
I don't recall on which part of the cast the issue was. It might have been possible to rotated it and solve the problem that way but I ended up grinding down that part of the cast as it had no functionality anyways (at least in a '68 Vette).
I didn't think of rotating one section of the alternator.. I had many C3's and tons of alternators but never ran into a issue like that before..
I didn't think of rotating one section of the alternator.. I had many C3's and tons of alternators but never ran into a issue like that before..
It is standard procedure to "clock" an alternator so the position of the wires is the same as your original alternator. The C3's need to have their side plugin pointing directly to the left side so the low hood won't hit the plugin.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 4,226
Likes: 643
From: Orange County Ca
I've found this to be true to get the electrical plug in the correct position. The alt. may work as purchased, but clocking is more correct.
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Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 182,997
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From: Lakeland, FL
Cruise-In IV-V-VI-VII-VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03, '06, '17
I have run into this over the decades man, don't remember which car but WANT to say this '72, and yes the clocking of the FRONT section is the difference, the iron field windings clock only one way to the REAR section, not the front aluminum piece, THAT you can flip around any way you want.....BUT you have to do the commutator brush trick with a piece of paper clip/wire to hold the brushes away from the slip rings while inserting the front plate/armature into position, see that it agrees with your car, THEN pull the paperclip/wire out to hear that both of the brushes make a nice click upon removal....