The other day I was driving home from work in my '89 Formula. I had the A/C on and had my 2-Profile California amps turned on preaty loud. After I shut off the A/C, the alternator (I think), started whistling loud. I just installed my amps one week before this happened. Could they be the cause of my alternator failing??

I think the the A/C and amps are too much for my stock alternator. Should I upgrade to a BIGGER high performance alternator, or just get a new stock replacement??
Any help would be appriciated, Thanks
Ben

 

First of all, how many RMS watts are you running? Most likely the alternator on your car is the original one, making it 13 years old. The alternator, depending on how many watts your system is, should be able to handle it if you had a new one and not a tired 13 year old one. If you are running alot of watts, I would suggest getting a bigger alternator and also investing into a cap. for your system.

This exact thing happend to me when I got my new amp, 560 watts RMS. I just replaced the alternator with a new stock one and added a 1 farad cap and It all works fine now.

Hope this helps,
-Kevin

 

I'm running 2 amps (460w rms total) with a stock alternator and everything is fine.

Be weary of the alternators you get at the local parts store. They are all rebuilt and not the same quality as the original GM one. If you can get a NEW Delco (from a GM dealership) it will be as good as the orignal and last many years. The rebuilds (although cheaper) are of questionable quality. I went through 4 before I got a good one.

 

Thanks for the info guys, My alternator is origonal, do you know the stock specs for my alternator??
In the SUMMIT RACING catalog, the have 2 POWERMASTER alternators for TPI's, (probobly the same as my TBI) one is a 100what version the other is 140, which one should I get???
Thanx for the help guys

The POWERMASTER alternator is a delco style with upgraded internals.

 

your stock alternator is most could be 63, 90-something, 105.. probably a few more.. it varied a lot over the years/models.. but to answer your question, get the highest rated alternator you can afford.. keep in mind that at idle you're going to see 20-40 amps less than the rated specs.. and also, amps have two ratings.. hot (real-world) and cold.. a hot alternator is going to produce less current than a cold one, and is more representational of real-world conditions.. just be careful when you get an alternator, its pretty easy to market a 140-amp alternator when in fact thats a cold rating, so at normal operating temps you might get 110-120 and at idle that may drop down to less than 100.. so just make sure to read the specs carefully

 

I don't know if the alternators are the same for TPI's and TBI's. However, I do know that they are located on difference sides of the engine so the mounting bolts might not be the same. Check your local napa or napa online for an AC delco replacement for a TBI.

 

I dont think a power problem would make a alternator bearing go out.

 

Look at the Iceburg 140 conversion kit summit has. I changed mine 8 months ago and no problems. best 100 bux I spent on the system so far