Sam, get me a picture of your engine compartment with clear shot of the alternator and brackets so I can see if you have enough room. The CS144 alternator is physically bigger. There are also different flavors - mounting ears at 12/6, 12/9, etc. They are also easily clock-able.

I wouldn't mind a junkyard alternator of this sort. Infact that would be an inexpensive way to experiment to see if it will suit you before you commit to a higher dollar unit. The wiring is slightly different but pretty simple. We'll tackle that when the time comes, just remember to get the connector for whatever you end up with if its different then what you have.

A 1995 Chevy Camaro 5.7 will get you one with 12&6 ears if you wanted to go the parts store route.

This has pictures of the options for a cs144: http://www.qualitypowerauto.com/catalog.php?item=12

This has pictures/options of a ad244, the cs144's successor in high power apps: http://www.qualitypowerauto.com/catalog.php?item=9

Side note:

If your fan is a 2 speed unit... how are you controlling it? Are you using both speeds, or just the high?

Sam you have a PM. May have an alternator for you.

Rick

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2 Mopars come with Spark plug tubes. One is a world class, racing machine. The other is a 426 CI. boat anchor!

12.70 @ 104.6

I think it is two, but have one only one available. I am not sure actually. How can I find out? It is a standard v belt.

Sam

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This may work for the amp meter:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-NA-_-NA

It's a shunt type, which should be more accurate than inductive. (you can move an inductive amp meter around and get different readings)

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Here's how to make your own shunt type ammeter:

http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/Ammeter.html

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Thanks Ems. Would the variations on a shunt type meter be critical ones? I seems we are working on a pretty gross scale here. Also, would you not have to cut into the wire to get a reading with a shunt type ammeter unless the wire in question was pretty short.? Or at least short enough to get your leads in contact with.

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OK; More questions. I have a line on a 140 amp alternator, new in box. Without knowing yet what it is, is this going to be big enough? The link Pierre gave me has a 150 amp one that provides 110 amps at idle. I do not know what the pending choice has in this regard, and will not know until the owner comes home from vacation. Any idea what the rating of my current one is? I know that is a silly question, since you do not know what it is, or what its ratings are, but based on the results it produces now, that is losing voltage in the system as time goes at idle. I think this fan is very hefty as they suggested putting two 30 amp relays in parallel to power it.

Sam

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Sam - Take a pic of front/back of alternator or give us any part numbers on the box so we can ID it.

Field measurements of this level of current is typically done with a clamp on inductive type meter. Shunt time ammeters (yes, you will have to disconnect the wire) is meant for more in place measurement (car dashboard, meter in a panel, etc).

This one's slightly cheaper (and from newegg too).

Looks the same

???

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-NA-_-NA


and here even cheaper

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 002D-00002


Just a slight difference in part number.....

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Yeah, those will be really convenient having to disco/reco every time you want to measure current. And as for leaving them in circuit... see how toasty they get. Inductive meters are plenty accurate for this application. You put them near the wire in question and zero them out (hit a button) to eliminate any stray interference, clamp it on, and go.

Pierre, I'll get to that this evening. Thanks. I have photos now of the front and top if you want to PM me your e-mail, I can send them to you.

Sam

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I would suggest measuring a baseline current draw: No accessories turned on, no heater fan, no radio, no lights, radiator fan off, etc.

Using that number as a baseline (let's say it's 10 amps), then measure the draw of each device by turning them on, then subtracting the baseline reading from your new reading. Ammeter stays in the same place.

Do the same for each major electrical device on the system (lights, wipers, heater, etc). Do them one at a time, with the electric fan off.

Totaling all these values will give you the maximum current draw your vehicle needs, assuming a reasonably charged battery. Increase that number by a bit and you should have enough reserve capacity in the alternator to charge the battery on a rainy, cold, really dark night.

The reason I throw this idea out there is that your readings will likely change as the voltage changes... Simply measuring the current with everything on at once may not give you an accurate picture of how much current the alternator needs to supply at 13.8 volts. Doing things one at a time keeps the voltage up where it should be while the current demand is assessed.

- Mac

It would also be interesting to see the resultant data chart on how much current each component of our A-Bodied Mopars draws!

I've asked for the inductive ammeter for my birthday, which was last week. I will not have it for awhile yet but will get on this project as soon as it shows up. I am going to go shake a few bushes now.
Sam

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