Craig Miller
Posts:11799
 | | 14 Jan 2011 12:14 PM |
| Just found out the 80amp alternator in my RRC is getting a bit wobbly. Since I'm putting a winch in, I'd like to see if I can upgrade the alternator a bit too. As this is a budget build, I'm looking for high gain / low cost upgrade options. On the DII, I was able to upgrade from 130amp alternator to a 150 amp alternator from a P38. Is there anything similar available for the RRC (3.9 liter Rover V8 with 3 belts instead of a serpentine)? Thanks, Craig | | |
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pross
Basic Member
Posts:362
| | 14 Jan 2011 12:27 PM |
| I dont know about your area but around here its cheaper to have it rebuilt and upgraded to what ever amp you need within its limits. it runs $100 to $200 witch is most of the time cheaper I had my old bosses viper alt taken up to 200 amps (he was running alot of nitrous and a big system) they did it with the factory casing and it cost us $200 plus tax. I have had 4 other ones done for sound compition always about 100 bucks and always worth it | | | |
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 14 Jan 2011 12:35 PM |
| Good tip. I'll look into it. This alternator has a really small so casing so I'm not sure how much they'll be able to upgrade it. I'll ask though.  | | | |
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Scott Williams
Advanced Member
Posts:880
| | 14 Jan 2011 12:53 PM |
| Craig, The Lucas alternator is not very upgradeable. You can fit a 150 amp unit from a VW VR6 with a little modification though. There is also an AC delco option which may be more upgradeable. It is also possible to install a later model Marelli alternator by changing a few pulleys. PM me I have a new phone # for you. I can walk you through the pros and cons of the options. | | | |
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Tony Sims
Veteran Member
Posts:1231
| | 25 Jan 2011 10:50 AM |
| X2 on Scottie's VW/Bosch advice. That's the route I took.
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 25 Jan 2011 10:51 AM |
| Posted By Tony Sims on 01/25/2011 10:50 AM
X2 on Scottie's VW/Bosch advice. That's the route I took.
Cool. I'll dig into this some more. Need to get that swapped soon or I'm going to be taking a ride in a tow truck.
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 26 Jan 2011 09:38 AM |
| To clarify the info provided above, the VW alternators are 120 amp. Mean Green doesn't offer an alternator for an 89 RRC (V-belt). They only offer alternators for serpentine belt V8s. http://www.bputah.com/ has 140 amp alternators for $245 (no core). Brand new, w/ a 2 year warranty. I decided to go with the bputah (formerly roverconnection.com) alternator as it is the biggest upgrade in alternator output I could get and still had a reasonable pricetag (About the same as a new VW VR6 alternator). A remanufactured VW alternator is $150. A mean-green is $435. The 130 amp alternator (before upgrading to 150) in my DII along with 2 Optima's was able to keep up with my Ramsey RE12000 worm drive winch, so I'm confident this one will do even better once I get the batteries replaced. The RRC has a lot less electrical demands than the DII, so this 140 amp alternator is probably overkill. Sticking to my "budget build" theme, I was able to sell some more junk on craigslist, so I wound up only $30 out of pocket. | | | |
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Todd Eliason
Veteran Member
Posts:3515
| | 27 Jan 2011 10:39 AM |
| I ran the Rover Connection in my green RRC and it did a great job. Be aware that there was a mistake on the instructions for mine and I had to reconfigure the wiring from what they recommended. I can't remember the specifics however. That was at least 5 years ago so they probably got it figured out. | | | |
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 27 Jan 2011 11:07 AM |
| Great to hear it's reliable over the long term. | | | |
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 02 Feb 2011 10:48 AM |
| Todd,
Was your alternator noisy (whine)? Mine seems to be working OK, but is pretty loud. I'm thinking about having them send a replacement.
Craig
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Todd Eliason
Veteran Member
Posts:3515
| | 02 Feb 2011 11:20 AM |
| I don;t remember it being noisy... | | | |
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Alex Kogan
Basic Member
Posts:421
| | 02 Feb 2011 11:27 AM |
| Sometimes new brushes need to be broken in. Might explain low voltage at idle too. I would let it be for some time but if it keeps being noisy - no good. | | | |
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 02 Feb 2011 11:36 AM |
| Thanks guys. I'll give it a couple of days and see what happens.
My voltage numbers in the post that I deleted were wrong (I remembered incorrectly). Voltages are:
Engine Off: 12.6
Engine Idle: 14.5
Engine Idle w/ lights on: 14.1
The lights on scenario is surprising to me, as I thought the alternator was supposed to compensate for the increased load and continue to put out 14.5. | | | |
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Alex Kogan
Basic Member
Posts:421
| | 02 Feb 2011 11:44 AM |
| I'd say that's pretty good. Maybe even a tad on high side but within reason. I don't think you have anything to wary about. Was it cold or hot engine? On hot engine you would read less. | | | |
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Benny Benson
Veteran Member
Posts:1681
| | 02 Feb 2011 11:51 AM |
| Just for comparison I ran out and checked the jeep's. I have a 160amp alt. Off: 12.8 idle no lights: 14.95 idle w/ lights: 14.95 This was cold and at about 1000rpm | | | |
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Dustin Morrow
Basic Member
Posts:471
| | 02 Feb 2011 11:56 AM |
| Craig, Have done several alternator swaps and none of them have ever been noisy post install. Seems odd. Also, the voltage drop from just the lights seems incorrect to me. My gut says somthing is up with it. Dustin | | | |
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 02 Feb 2011 12:03 PM |
| Yeah, I think the alternator has a bad regulator. I bet my lights draw .4 amps. :-( | | | |
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Craig Miller
Posts:11799
| | 02 Feb 2011 12:08 PM |
| According to http://www.econofix.com/alt.html the voltage should drop from 14.4 down to 13.x with lights/accessories on. I need to call someone who has a clue. | | | |
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Alex Kogan
Basic Member
Posts:421
| | 02 Feb 2011 12:12 PM |
| standard light 55 watt low 65 watt high * 2 = 110 / 14.1 ~ 7.8 amps. There should be a drop always on hot engine at least. Cold engine runs at high RPM then it won't be as sensitive. | | | |
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