Just wondering if Chevy made any higher output alternators that would be compatible with a TBI set-up. I know most Camaros came with the 105 amp alternator and some with a 120 amp if I'm not mistaken. But are there any with a higher output say from another vehicle that would fit in our cars? Trying to find a cheap upgrade to accomodate and compliment my audio system and accessories. Summit can get so pricey... hopefully there's an alternative.

 

What year, engine etc. 87 up used the CS series and you can do an upgrade yourself if you are moderately handy and can use a soldering iron. www.alternatorparts.com offers upgrade kits for under a $100 to take the CS 130 105 amp unit to 140 amps. If noy try a boneyard and look for the GM CS 144 unit. It came on many caprice's as the option. Earlier TG's used the Si alt, but the newer CS can be fit in by simply getting an adaptor plug.

 

hey true blue



What makes you think that you will need a bigger alt? I have a 600 watt amp in my car that is bridged to a 2 ohm load. I thought that i needed a stronger alt. I was wrong come to find out i had a grounding problem causing the power surges when i would turn it up. check all your grounds. i also put a new ground from the engine to the frame rail to help support the body. cause the only thing grounding the body is the small wire from the batt tot he inner fender well and a small flat braided wire from the head to the firewall.

I have no problems now with a 105 amp alt. also do a search on alts to. sometimes bigger is not always better.

 

powermaster makes a direct drop in alternator in natural & chrome. two things you can do that will help alot is to install a 4guage ground strap from battery directly to body& a4guage lead from alt main battery terminal (this is the large one but be sure to retain factory lead also)to battery positive terminal. route this wire away from heat sources and sharp metal. these 2 things really help and are inexpensive.

 

Well, I think it wouldn't hurt to upgrade the alternator... I'm going to be running a second battery (optima yellow top) to go along with the beefed-up 950 CCA AC Delco battery I have for start-up, but I don't know if they'll be enough even with a one farad capacitor. I tend to agree with you, SC2camaro; most alt upgrades made to accomodate stereo systems are unnecessary. But I've got three amps going in, two high current Orion amps for the fronts and rears (that'll be pushing 400W RMS apiece) as well as a hefty sub amp (Orion's Xtr Pro 2400). So getting a 140 amp alt or more will at least ensure that it's not holding anything back. I've already upgraded all the major wiring in the electrical system 'cause you're right, that can be a massive issue in the future.

badjuju342: the powermaster sounds interesting, but is it really expensive? With all the other stuff I've had to add (batteries, wiring, cap, circuit breaker, etc.) I was hoping that there would be a cheap way to go on the alt while squeezing out more power. Is the powermaster on of the 2 inexpensive things?

Thanks for the replies, I'm relatively in the dark about aftermarket and direct swap alternators

 

well , the 140 amp powermaster alt starts at about 200.00 and i believe the 200 starts out at little above three.generally, when you start getting close to 1000w of real usable (RMS) power from your amplifiers,you start running into issues from the charging system. i do know orions are very voltage sensitive and they get real cranky when you don't feed them enough current,they are a voltage-regulated amp.on the alternator, there really isn't a cheap way out.running two batteries will increase the load on alt thus neccesitating a bigger alt.any amp will benefit from a beefed-up power supply.

 

hey true blue



Also one thing thay you might want to consider is to try and mount the amps as close to the power source as you can. Running a very long wire that will need to flow high current can become resistive and heat up too causing a drop in performance.
Also why will you need the power cap, if you are planning on running 2 batts. Another thing that i learned with stereo stuff is always use a mechanical bond to put wiring together(i.e. Solder all connections) cause even the mosfet power supply with nice allen screws can become s source of a bad connections and rob your system of performance.

Another thing to think about yes your going have alot of power being drawed out of the batts but how long do you think that your actually going to be able to sit in that thing with the stereo cranked up to draw all the power out of them batteries. you might just go deaf tring to kill the batteries.

a friend of mine has a matts 1500 watts amp in his envoy with the stock alt it runs ok with no problem and he does compition with it.

 

That's not a horrible price on the powermaster compared to some other stuff I've looked at. Are they generally considered reliable? Another thing I was considering (but looked sort of sketchy) was an ebay auction for a CS130 alternator that "has been wound for 180 amps". It's selling for less than $130. Is this a credible option or is this guy just blowing smoke? I know alternators can be rewound at a higher output, but 180 amps?? Here's the link:

Ebay 180 amp alternator

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of breathing room on the amp locations... the two HCCAs are going to be mounted in the rear seats and the sub amp will be in the back. The cap serves a different purpose than the two batteries though. The first battery is for regular start-up conditions and the general operations of the car. The second, run through an Orion MBR (multiple battery regulator) powers the system. The cap is just a quick-discharging "power storage" unit that accomodates quick drops in power caused by big bass notes and the like. The battery can't discharge power as fast as the cap, so the cap is just there to prevent any strain on the electrical system. The good thing about the MBR is that it doesn't force the alt. to recharge both batteries at once, it charges the start-up battery first and the system battery only after the first is finished. So the two batteries are more for preventing a strain/irregularities on the electrical system than worrying about stored power drain. But yeah, I don't plan on blasting the system for an hour and a half with the ignition off or anything

 

Stay away from a CS claiming that kind of output. First, they can't take the heat from the rectifier pack, and second it's very doubtful that it actually has that much output unless it's a "D" version. CS 130 and CS 130D are different units. D versions can be used but a straight CS even with a 140 amp mod kit(I have done them) can get so hot from the diode pack that it melts the solder that connects the diodes to the stator. A CS 144 is the best bet and even though they rate it at 140 amps GM only claims 124 amps in normal vehicle use.

 

Figured there would be something negative about it... I tend to follow the "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is" principle, but I still try to be an optimist Thanks for the heads up

I'm really interested in this CS 144... if I can find one that works from a scrapyard for cheap then I can avoid the cost and time of upgrading the alt on my own. One question though: are there any indicators on a scrapped alternator that can give me an idea as to whether or not they'll actually work/are in decent condition before hooking them up or is it really just a roll of the dice? I just visited one scrapyard a little while ago on an unrelated trip and I saw a large metal cage full of different alts... looked both promising and sketchy; not the greatest method of storage but hey, it's a scrapyard afterall

 

i,ve got a chrome power master on my '95 chevy 3500 that has been in it for about three years now ,so i would call them reliable. the MBR you mentioned is a very good piece and it will help to keep that alt alive. one thing about the powermasters, they drop right in . no bracket changes,no plug adapters, no nothin'(plus the chrome does look very snazzy) .junkyard alts are a roll of the dice, they are in the junkyard ,ya know. if you had a VOM meter and patience, you could go thru the pile and find a good one, but it is a big hassle. i also would like to point out the powermasters are all-new ,not remans.

 

Don't be afraid of a boneyard unit. There is no way to really check it without spinning it up somehow but look at it this way, 9 out of 10 times it's the brushes that go anyway. A brush holder with brushes is less than 10 bucks for an OE set. Crack that puppy open , check it out and throw new brushes in or drop it off at an electrical shop and have it done. It will still beat buying one. The CS 144 is the way to go if you want to upgrade and as long as you have one running the car you got all the time in the world. LOL, Dan

 

What is the difference between the alternators between the 92 tbi and tpi models? I was under the impression that they were all 105 amp, except the B4C models, but GM lists different part numbers for the tbi and tpi. What gives?

 

The newer CS144 units from GM were often rated at 140 amps, up from the earlier 124 amp designs. This was achieved with a stronger rotor, and a different stator. You generally would only find those on newer luxury cars, and on some trucks with lots of options.

The CS144 is larger than the CS130 by quite a bit, and it may be difficult to mount it under your hood without getting creative with the bracketry. I haven't really looked at my car to see how much room there is above the alt, but I know that the rear of my alt is only about 1/4 inch from the valve cover. Not a lot of room in there.

 

Is there a website I can goto to see some of these powermasters? Thanks.