Put me down in need of an alternator.

Not good seeing I discovered this in Boston! :eek:

Needless to say I drove back during the day! :rolleyes:

Anyways, what brands do you like?
and where do I get one for the best price?

 

Pep Boys, lifetime warranty. You'll need it! :yesnod:

 

Here is a link of a guy in Michigan who I bought a CS-130 from brand new with the iceburg kit for under $100.00 with NO CORE charge. Alternator is in the garage. See if he still has this deal (the web sight says rebuilt, but talk to him he had some brand new ones for the same price). http://www.alternatorparts.com/cs130_&_cs130d_alt.htm

BTW, the higher amp options this guy offers will not last longer, IMO. Not a good idea in a CS-130 case.

Only second alternative I would do is take the alternator to a local rebuild shop and let them do it. I fould a guy less then 5 miles from my house that has been in business for something like 40 years, recommended by my local marina. He did a great job, and that is what is in the car right now. Rebuild took two business days only because I got it to him late in the day and he had a emergency.

Brand New or Local rebuild (small shop - one two guys tops) is my recommendation.

Good Luck,

Pete

 

Just make sure you keep the reciept in a safe place, you'll need it.

Vic

 

BTW I've got a manual fan switch, and just purchased an electric waterpump.

I plan on running both in the pits.

So it sounds like I should get the high amp output.

The "iceberg" unit sounds interesting.

 

Brian - mine went also (91 with 20k miles). I went to a local autoparts store (on Gratiot and 13) and got a re-build (looks identifcal but cleaner!!!). The volts on the new unit shot up to nearly 18 - much higher than before the failure.

I have heard that the altnerators on our cars fail quickly - don't know why.

Jeff

 

Brian, you need higher capacity battery, not alternator. That alternator produces plenty of amps for your use, getting a bigger unit just makes more waste (HP/Heat). Bigger is not better.

You need lots of reserve battery power, higher amphour. If you plan on running the fan and pump w/o the engine running (that's the idea) for a long time then aux battery or charger is a good idea. In either case, larger capacity alternator is not help. If you do need higher capacity alternator then make sure it's in a much better package then the CS-130 case - the heat will kill it even faster.

Pete

 

I've already got an Optima battery.
I was thinking the higher amperage would recharge it quicker.

 

Pete - Mine died right after warming the car up in the drive for about 20 minutes (drying out the moisture in the pipes before taking a holiday trip). The fans came on, drove it for a few miles and then zappo. As you point out, the heat nailed it.

Jeff

 

It might charge it a little faster, but not a huge difference. These CS-130 alternators are not good with heat, the case takes away the heat. When you try to pull more out of them they make even more heat, so they die even faster.

Another thought, when let the battery get too low this puts a strain on the alternator (and causes heat). So lots of cycles of low battery charging by the alternator will reduce the life of the unit. That's why it's a good idea to bring a back-up fully charged battery and let it do the cool down work. Or if you can throw a charger on it in the pits, this would be great.

Pete

 

I think you'll be fine Brian. I've got the optima battery as well and still have the stock alterntator, with the water pump. So far so good, the alternator keeps the battery charged. I've never run it down with the electric water pump, and I don't have a manual fan switch, but I think it will last a long time if you cool down with it. Just be sure and take a nice long trip when you are done racing to be sure and charge the battery back.

 

jgrice, it was probably not the heat this time, was probably just the last straw! Low battery from sitting in the winter, and it was just it's time. Heater on full(drawing lots of current for the blower while the battery was low from sitting)? However you make a good point, another good reason to try and keep the engine temps down to a reasonable point on these cars or we also cook the alternator while sitting.

Pete

 

If your alternator is like mine on my 94, its a 140 amp unit. See if they have a complete rebuild kit and rebuild your stock unit. I have taken mine apart and it looks pretty straight forward.

I think this is what you need:
http://www.alternatorparts.com/CS-144_Special_offer.htm


[Modified by AquaMetallic94LT1, 6:45 PM 1/2/2002]

 

I dropped them a line
so much for a rebuild kit.

 

I highly recommend PowerMaster alternators. I had one in my 90 or a year with no difficulties.

Before that, I had a Pep-Boys with the 'you will spend your lifetime replacing this POS' warrenty. Went through one about every 2 months.
http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/

You will not regret using them! :cheers:

 

You have a CS-144. That's supposed to be much better than the 130, by a bunch. More of my LT-1 ignorance. He didn't say what he gets for that unit, but pricing is usually good there.

I'm sure they "can" be rebuilt. He probably has the kits, but CS-144 may need some "special tools" to get it apart. I have a similar unit on my Suburban, I think a 144D?

Give him a call, he's a good guy. Could probably send you in the right direction. Pretty sure I caught him on a friday night around 6:00 and he spent a bunch of time on the phone with me, very helpful.

Good Luck,

Pete

 

If you decide to go with an alternator that is *supposed* to be more rugged than stock, you might check to see if there is a Duralast Gold alternator for your application. These alternators (AutoZone) are apparently manufactured using a completely redesigned case and no/very few OEM components throughout. They are completely new and are redesigned. Unfortunatly, I couldn't get one for the earlier C4's. Good luck, -Matt-

 

After replacing several alternators using these Pep-boys, Autozone, and Discount Auto Parts "lifetime warranty" alternators because they were cheap, I *** HIGHLY **** suggest going with a quality alternator like a Delco rebuilt alternator -- I think Advance Auto Parts has it.
The cheaper alternators seem to be rebuilt with diodes that were not produced in a "clean room." This results in diode degradation over time -- so your alternator fails after about a year.
The last time I needed a "good" alternator, I called the Ford dealership (for my Ranger, not my Vette) and tried to get a factory rebuilt alternator. They said they would have to order it. I told them I needed it immediately and I didn't want any "junk lifetime warranty cheap stuff that fails in a year." He told me he knew about the problem and told me to go to a NAPA dealer and ask for a good alternator and specifically tell them that I didn't want their cheap alternator that they sell to compete with Pep-boys, Autozone, etc.

After many replacement "lifetime warranty" alternator failures, I now use the good "one year warranty" alternators that don't fail but cost more -- never had a problem since.

In another life, I worked for a company that produced silicon diodes. We produced them in a clean environment (with people in "operating room" attire) -- this is absolutely essential to prevent contamination of the silicon, but it is also expensive to maintain the environment. Companies that produce them cheaper don't use a clean environment and these diodes end up in the cheaper alternators. This results in an alternator with a time-bomb ticking.

Tom Piper

 

I,am with PeteL i took my alt to a local rebuild shop $42.00 later and 5 mins back in, and it still runs like a champ that was 1 year ago. :D :D