IMO your battery sounds fine. 13 volts is good on a test machine. I'd just buy a brand new alternator and see how that works out for you.

 

Are you turning the motor high RPM ?? I killed 2 Advance Auto lifetime alternators real fast after installing a Miniram and taking the revs past 6000. Bought a NEW ($130) liftime one from the Zone and fixed the problem. There is a difference in product from different stores. Oh yea, anybody want to buy a nice fresh alternator from Advance ?

 

I quit counting at a dozen with 60,000 miles (a couple of which were replaced under the Factory Warranty) and I've been back to the Discounters on the same day with crummy ones right out of the box. Corvette Fever addressed the issue back in '91 or '92, pointing out that the proximity of the alternator to the header, the tight engine compartment and the high loading occassioned by too many electrical accessories for the rated output led to premature failure. At the time, they recommended some aftermarket builder (I think the guy was in Tennessee) that was building an amped up unit. They also took apart an A/C Delco Rebuild (to this day, GM only puts new ones on what's being built at the Factory - so rebuilds are all you can get), a Bosch and some other aftermarket rebuild, finding that the A/C Delco actually had more new components than the others. They mentioned that it might still be best to carry a spare. Later, they did an article on a trio of fans that replaces the middle inner fender and they're use to blow out engine heat. They were available through Mid America and a couple of the other suppliers at one time - I don't know if they still are. Neither do I know if GM has improved it's lot - I do remember Car & Driver got stranded with a new C5 when it lost it's alternator and there were no replacements available as the production run had just started. And GM issued a Bulletin chastising their Dealerships for replacing alternators simply because the output wasn't enough to keep the headlights from dimming at idle (all lines). Finally, every GM I've owned has had an alternator or two bite the dust at some point, but hardly with the frequency of the Vette. A popular site around here for info/replacements/doing it yourself is www.alternatorparts.com - and someone did try the "iceberg" or whatever upgrade and promptly toasted it.

 

 

Interesting viewing: http://www.alternatorparts.com/CS144...pair_video.htm

I'm sure the 130 is very similar except for housing diameter. This outfit also sells replacement parts. Personally, I need a couple bearings.

 

I keep a spare alternator in the car. what's the big deal. it's a 10 minute job. from experience, pepboys don;t last.

last time, I got one from a local rebuilder, and it's fine for many years.

it's obvioulsy the rebuilder, since ALL our factory alternators lasted 60,000 miles, then all the problems started.

 

Is the CS-144 a direct bolt on? The 421 is getting close to be being finished. What do you guys recommend?

 

I've done the CS-130 upgrade. This video for the CS-144 is easier because the stator is connected to the regulator with nuts, the 130 has to be soldered. I did my best, it was hard because the torch was melting the plastic insulator. I also did the Big Three grounding techinque. So far so good.

 

I have an 86e, 135,000 miles.
The alternator went one day, and I bought a rebuild kit for it, and took it apart and rebuilt it, and the following year, same thing.
The following year, same thing, around the end of June, beginning of July, I just took it apart, and changed the guts, and away I went.
On my other car, the alternator went, and I investigated it, I noticed that the rear end of all the alternators were about the same, only the front frames were different for mounting. My other car is a buick, so off I went to the corvette wrecking yard for a fact finding tour. Those guys are great to work with, and I plopped the alternator on their bench, and said do you have one of these?
They looked at it and said it's not from a corvette, but we can fix u up.
The alternator off of a S-10 pickup is the same amperage, and essentially the same except for the front frame.
They sold me an S-10 alternator for $50, and away I went.
When I got home, I took the S-10 alternator apart, and then the one from the Buick.
The S-10 alternator apparently had never been apart. The Buick one had.
The 3 wires that go into the stator coil on the S-10 were soldered, and the Buick ones were clipped off, and extensions were crimped back on to the coil leads, and showed evidence of overheating and arcing.
I installed the back half of the S-10 alternator onto the Buick one, and it worked great..
I deduced this:
The rebuild facilities, to save time, clip the leads off, and crimp on the extensions that cause high resistance that allow the battery to lose it's charge because at a stop light, you are running on the battery because of the high stator resistance. the original leads soldered in place is a much better method for attachment.
In your car, engine running and the alternator under load, with a crimped scenario, when you give it gas, the alternator has to make up the charge to the battery, as well as run the car and all of it's accessories.
This added current draw of a low battery, plus stop and go traffic, exascerbates the problem, and allows the regulator to operate at it's maximum untill the cycle repeats itself and then it blows.
The other thing I noticed was the battery terminal inside the alternator had gotten extremely hot lending itself to the theory that the torque on this nut was not sufficient to eliminate the resistance there as well to prevent the arcing and heat buildup inside the alternator.
It's easy to spot a rebuild by the stator coil crimped extensions. any rebuild of this type can't hold up to the corvette current and heat requirements.
The alternator that I put together has had no problems keeping up, and has a minimum voltage at night with brake lights, air conditioning, radio, etc. running at a stop light at 12.3 volts.
The voltage regulators have a temperature compensation circuit in them that allow you to get 14.5 - 14.8 volts cold, and 13.4 when hot.
These voltage regulators aren't hard to replace, they just require about 2 hours to remove the alternator, clean it, inspect it, repair it, reassemble it and to install.

 

The CS 144 is not a direct bolt in but it is very easy. The upper mounting flange on the CS-144 needs to be narrowed to 1/2" from 5/8" and the alt bracket needs to be slightly modified to clear a small interfearance. Before I changed to the CS-144 alternator I would go through at least 1 CS-130 a year, after I changed to the CS-144 the problem disappeared. I believe the CS-144 was $90.00 dollars brand new from a local shop that specilizes in alternator repair work.