Sonix

iTrader: (1)

In preparation to a bigger stereo going into my car, I'm going to need more juice from my alternator. I understand I have a 10SI alternator stock. I also found out a 12SI fits in perfectly (right?), or a CS144 would also work with some connector modifications.

Now, my goal is roughly 140A or so. I DO NOT want to just buy an aftermarket beefy alternator for upwards of $300 if I can at all avoid it.
My car does not have overdrive, so the cruise RPM is rather high, ie 3000+ rpm, i'm also considering a smaller diameter pulley for the alt if needed.

I understand to increase the current output of the alternator you can replace the rotor or stator (not sure). Can I buy an aftermarket "kit" or just rotor or just stator to boost output? Which alternator core am I best off using?

Thanks for any ideas or input.

black89ws6

Get a CS144. It's one whopper of an alternator. The 140 amp unit will put out 100 amps at engine idle speed. It will bolt right in. www.alternatorparts.com has an adapter harness that will make your wiring plug into the regulator if you don't want to wire it yourself.

You can get a used CS144 for $20-$30 from a salvage yard (check www.car-part.com, look up 1996 caprice) and put new bearings and brushes in it, if you're inclined to do that sort of thing yourself. Otherwise you can get one at a parts store. If they're not paying close attention (most don't) you can even turn your old alt back in for the core charge.

Be sure to upgrade your charging cable to a larger wire.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Thanks Black89, i was wondering where the heck i was going to get a CS144 from. I keep frying the 108 amp SI alternator i have under warranty, and im tired of changing it out. I bought one from the junkyard and did the brushes and voltage regulator, and took it apart and drilled holes all around the end case for better cooling. It worked great but the heat and amp load are killing draining it good.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

hey that's great info, thanks. I heard most CS144's have only 100A usually though, is that right? There was a very recent post to someone upgrading to this alt and mentioned some case grinding as well....
Am I looking for a certain CS144? ie the 140A and not the 105A ? Perhaps some exterior markings?
That is very helpful info with the caprice however, i'll be looking into that, any other vehicles that would have a 140A alt?

Yea, i'm definately ok with rebuilding it, i'm an engineer


Any chance I could beef up a different alternator, or would that not work reliably?

black89ws6

There were two versions of the CS144. The early version has a metal fan blade on front, and a sealed ball bearing in the rear of the case. The new version has a plastic fan(better) on front, and a needle bearing in the rear case. The early version came in ratings of 108A and 120A. The late version came in 124A and 140A ratings. Like any other alternator, the hotter they get, the lower their max output becomes. However, it takes a lot to get a CS144 hot, as it has very good cooling due to it's large fan and big case. I have personally measured mine putting out 95-100 amps at idle speed, when well warmed up.

The grinding on the case of the alternator is for folks trying to make one fit in a serpentine belt mounting bracket. Your car is an 82, right? If so, you should have a standard v-belt setup. If you get the right CS144, it will have mounting ears in the same spots as your original unit. You will have 3 minor issues installing it on your car:
1) You'll need the v-belt pulley from your original alternator. A 15/16" socket and impact wrench is the easiest way to remove these.
2) You'll need an adapter on the wires that plug into the regulator.
3) Your mounting bracket that attached to the back of the old alternator may not attach to the back of the CS144. You'll still have to use that bracket, but just leave the brace post at the back of the alt unhooked.

I guess I should have said 4 things, as you really should upgrade the charge wire while you're at it.

I recommend the late version. Beyond that, it's up to you whether you want the 124A or 140A version. The 140 sounds better, but if you think about it, it's only 16A difference. If you're looking for a junkyard unit, usually you can still see a delco number stamped in the front case frame, near the large mounting ear. If it's still there, and you can make it out, it should also say 124A or 140A.

The easiest way I can think of cross referencing that alternator is to look it up at car-part.com. They will automatically cross reference it for you. When you see the list of parts, it will show the car they come from. Otherwise, you can go to acdelco.com. If you get the ac delco number of an alternator, their website has a place where you can enter the PN, and it will tell you that PN's listed applications.

If you want to rebuild it yourself, this is definitly the alt to get. You could beef up just about any alternator you want to make fit your car (alternators with traditional 180 degree mounts, 6.6" apart, are pretty common), but I think it's one of the easier units to work on. You don't need a special tool to remove the stator from the housing (some units are press-fit). The drive end bearing is a needle bearing, and the shaft pulls right out (no brg puller involved).

(edited for sp error)

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

Awesome! you answered all the questions I could've had (like the v-belt issue), thanks muchly!
I'm going to be looking into this alt then, and see if a JY has one...Thanks again!

ckeene502

not trying to start anything but...how many amps does a car really need? just a basic daily driver, no crazy 2000 watt amp and stuff like that. just curious. i have a stock alt. on my 89 but the volt guage drops to about 10volts at idle(has under pulleys) and about 14 volts while driving.

black89ws6

With stock stuff, the 105 amp OE unit is more than sufficient.

More amps aren't the only reason to upgrade alternators, though. I put a CS144 on mine more for the other reasons than for the increased output:

1) More reliable unit. The larger case dissipates heat faster.
2) It is easy to repair/rebuild with common hand tools. The stock unit is a little more difficult to work on.
3) Much higher idle output. My personal preference is to have an alternator that can hold 14 volts at idle while running all the electrical accessories one could logically run at one time (dual rad fans, elec. defrost, headlights, ac.)

It's not something that is necessary to be done to the car, but really, how many of the things discussed here are necessary things?

If you're system is falling to 10 volts at idle, you have a problem. Are you measuring volts, at the battery, with a voltmeter, or are you reading the volt gauge?

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

black89ws6
Did you have to change the bracket ? The bolt holes look a little different on the CS144. I bought a CS144 140AMP pn# 10479891 off a 1996 caprice, supposedly. Looks like it should fit the stock location, i took it to autozone and it tested good. Did your car originally come with a CS130 alternator?
This is what the end case of my 97Amp 17SI alternator looks like after i drilled it with holes, it sounds kinda creepy with all that air going through it and it has a metal fan.

black89ws6

My car is an 89 with serpentine belts. I used a completely different CS144 and mounting system. My car originally came with a CS130.

If you're working on the car in your member info (86 z28), the 96 Caprice alternator is the one you need. It should fit your existing mounting brackets, although you may not be able to put a bolt in the rear mount. You can use the rear mount without that bolt, it will still work just fine. If you prefer the rear mount to also be attached, you'll have to fabricate something.

Did you get the alt from a junkyard? Did you get the regulator plug that goes with it? You'll either need that, or an adapter harness.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

black89ws6
Thanks for all the help man, i appreciate it. I had read on a website that this guy had to change the bracket with a B4C bracket gm part # 110118722, but then i noticed that you stated that the mounting bolts were 6.6" apart like the regular SI alternators. So i went rummaging through the part yard today and i noticed that none of the GM cars have that stupid bracket. I did get a spacer (by chance/random luck) from an older Caprice, and it was missing that tab that bolts on the back of the SI alternator. I went through the caddys and i noticed that nearly all of them had their CS144 alternators on them, so i grabbed some of those mouting bolts (just in case) and headed out.
Today my alternator was running different, and i just happened to be reading that you have to make sure the GROUND screw on the 17SI regulator bolted in correctly and uninsulated (oops) so i tore it down and cleaned off the insulation i put on it, and the car runs very trigger sensitive now.
While i had the 17SI off, i jury rigged that spacer to hold on to the CS144 and got the BOTTOM bolt from my existing alternator (came with my car) and that went all the way through and threaded into the block perfectly. I took the short bolt from the caddy and went to autozone and got a longer one with a matching nut. I installed it BACKWARDS from behind the alternator through the TOP bolt hole and popped a washer and nut on the front and tensioned it. It fits very well, but i need a larger battery wire.
My car for some reason came with a serpetine pulley on the alternator. I bought the alternator from a salvage place supposedly from a 1996 caprice but i think they got it off a caddy. It has 140A 1124 pn# 10479891 stamped on it. I sent for the adapter harness from alternatorparts.com since the local alternator shops wanted $30 for theirs, and im waiting for that so i can put this bad boy in. I know what you mean about the rear mount/spacer, and it doesnt look like i will need that part from my 17SI alternator in this swap (good thing i bought that caprice spacer today). I paid $40 for the CS144, $20 for the harness adapter shipped and saved $66 - i didnt need a bracket. I didnt have to grind and im happy.
I hope this helps elucidate this swap a little and helps someone else, and i will try to post a pic when that harness comes in.
Some useful link:
http://www.extreme4wheelin.com/tech/...ators/tech.htm

Thanks for your help black89ws6

black89ws6

The "B4C" bracket is used on cars with a true serpentine setup. Although your car uses a 5 rib belt for the water pump/alt that looks like a serpentine, it's not actually a serpentine. It's still much better than a v-belt, though. Much less prone to slippage and/or belt squeal.

It's good you got a spacer that would work. I always try to get a few extra little parts like that when I go to yards, too. I had thought the one from your SI would work (just as a spacer, not to bolt to the rear alt case). Did the spacer you picked up bolt to the rear alt case?

By the PN you gave, that alt could have come of a caddy, but it's still the same unit. Check here for a list of all the vehicles it cross-ref's to. That's a website for a rebuilind supply company. Their site is really cool, with just about any part you could ever need listed, with picutres, but they won't sell to individuals . The site is still quite handy for reference, tho

Which harness did you get from alternatorparts.com? It's important to get the right one, because if you use the no resistor harness in a car without a charge light, it will burn out the regulator.

I don't know if you were thinking about drilling more air holes in that CS144 case, but I'd recommend against it. The old SI series were quite solid, and could stand that, but the CS cases have more vents and the cases are less strong than the old SI's. A couple holes in the wrong places could make your CS case bust under a high load.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

I'll take a picture of the spacer when i get a chance, its off an early model caprice i think, i was just poking around and i saw it on an SI alternator, and it was missing that long tab that our SI alternators have so i pulled it, it has a little tab to bolt to that model alternator but it just kinda hangs there. It just happens to be the same length as the camaro spacer too. Next time im at the junkyard ill go back to that car and get the model/year.

Mine is missing the "no charge" light, so i bought the harness with the resistor in it. I'm not going to drill holes in the CS144.

This 97A 17SI alternator that i have runs much better in the heat with these holes in it, and its much lighter too. I didnt drill any holes in the front of the case, for strength reasons, all the holes were in the rear of the case, but not past the ridge where any bolt holes are. I rebuilt it as a backup, since autozone has to ORDER my alternator and it takes a week to get here ("special clocking"). I only paid $20 for the alternator, $25 for the brushes
and a new regulator, so if i mess it up ill chalk it up to learning experience, and it runs very good so far.

Every rebuilt 108A SI i have had from autozone drops output as soon as it gets hot, and eventually fails. When it does, you can see black residue/ soot on the heatsink on the rectifier. Its not oil, its more of a soot, that you can wipe away easily with your finger. I always wanted to take it apart and find out what pops, but its under warranty.

Thanks for the link, i found one with about remanufactured alternators all the gm PN# that shows you what amperage, clocking, CS style, lester# but i cant find that stupid link. I'll keep looking for it, if anyone needs it i can scan it.

My 17SI case is full of holes!!

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

That adapter finally came in. I'm going to bolt it up tomorrow. I found the car where the spacer is from, looks to be an 85 Caprice.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

I bolted on the CS144 and have been running it with an 8AWG wire since i put it in. The difference i really noticed is when i bought some of this 4AWG JL Audio Fine Copper Strand wire and got some Lightning Audio connectors for it. The engine is so much more responsive now that it has more juice actually going to it.
I'm thinking of adding a wafer fuse terminal because i saw some OEM 175Amp fuses for like $3 at the auto store, hmm or maybe a circuit breaker.

black89ws6

That looks great.

How old is your belt? It looks like you're already at the end of the tension bracket. Did the belt get tight enough? These higher amp alts will put more load on the belt if you put that much load on the electrical system. I forgot to mention before that the CS144 may need a different belt, although usually they need a little bit longer belt.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Thanks man, your help is appreciated

Yeah it tensions great, the belt is a couple months old. I used to tension using the twisty rule but my mechanic always tensions the hell out of all the belts and the car always runs better after he has worked on it. So now i tension the crap out of it too, and then back it off a little when/or if it makes any bad noises. This is the same 5 ribbed pully off the original alternator. I like this alternator a lot better than the SI setup. I jump started my friends battery when it had 4Volts, and when he cranked it my voltmeter dropped to half and immediately jumped back up to 13-14V.

When i run the a/c the voltage still drops, but the engine is more responsive. I need to figure out a way to get an amperage reading on the radiator fan and the blower motor for the a/c. The wiring keeps frying at any nodes on the rad fan harness, and the fuses burn instead of pop, i run a 20A on that line.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

and back from the dead.

I finally finished rebuilding the car, and picked up an alternator here.

It looks too fat, but i'll measure it up here and find out for sure. I grabbed the weatherpack plug that goes in the back, it's got 2 red wires going into it, my alternator has 2 wires going into it (aside from what i'm guessing is the output "charge" wire, which uses a nut).

Which of my wires do I splice to which of the CS144 wires?? Then, do I need a resistor? I have no "charge" light, I have the choke light, which apparently is my "your alternator is dead" light....

Thanks
-J
----------
ok, so this alternator has 7 5/16"ish bolt hole spacing. WTF is this? It was from a lumina van, '95 or so, JY said it was the right one....P/N 10480201

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Sonix
I went searching and found that part number on that alternator here:
Alternator Tech

So that should be the correct alternator, and it should even have a stamping on it of the amperage. One thing i noticed shopping for one at autzone, is that the cadillacs came with an THREADED mouting bolt hole while the 1996 Caprice did not. The top one was not threaded so i could run a bolt through backwards and tighten a nut in the front of the alternator. I recommend looking through this entire post again and reading it over, since we went over many steps already that might answer your questions. I even posted pics of the results.

To answer your question about the harness.. i think i read somewhere that you can actually splice the wires and make it work, you will just have to google it. They sell the conversion harness on the website mentioned in a previous post, and thats where i purchased it. You might want to check with your local alternator/starter places that sell rebuilds, because after i bought the harness online, the guy at the local shop said he had them in stock. I just asked him if he had a conversion harness to use a CS144 alternator in a car that came originally with a 10SI or 12SI alternator.
You are in luck, i found a page that has some useful info, i know there are more out there too:
NovaResource.com - SI to CS Alternator Conversion
Be very careful when picking the harness or wiring it yourself. There are two different types of harnesses depending on if you have a light or not. If you use the wrong one you will short out the alternator.

Also do me a favor and post any pics you have of your engine setup, your profile says you have a 1982 model? The 82 was the introductory model and may be a little bit different in the brackets, and i didnt know they had WS6 in 82.
I will try to answer anymore questions you have if i can
Good luck
Lucid

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

thanks a bunch lucid! I'll check out those links, and search online, I didn't know this was a common swap.

I was told by the PO my car had WS6, I think it's on the RPO sheet. I've since swapped to all brand new suspension bits, so it's kinda irrelevant. The motor is the plain SBC since the dawn of time, so I think the bracketry is the same...? it's a 350 in there now, with the brackets from the 305 I think.

My main beef, is that my stock alternator seems to have the mounting holes, 6.6" apart. Roughly, that's with a tape measure, but seems close enough. The CS144, looks like in the picture (on that link you posted), but it's also pretty obvious the mounting holes are 7.75" or so apart. (measuring tape) There's no way this will fit in the bracket I don't think.

both of the 180* apart holes are non threaded on this puppy.

here are a few pictures of the front of my motor, might be able to see the alt bracketing.
https://webdisk.ucalgary.ca/~jmknopp...html/brackets/

i'll search around here and see what's up, maybe tommorow i'll try and put it in, and take a picture or something.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

ok, new pictures:

10si vs CS144 front The cs144 mounting holes are ~7.25" vs 6.6" on the 10SI. I don't think it'll fit in the pivot slot of my upper bracket.

10si vs cs144 top top of both alternators

I've measure the resistance of my alt wiring, and I would need the harness with a resistor, i'm showing 13ohms on that line. I'll get a 50ohm resistor and throw it on there, and hardwire it up as is. (any idea the power rating this resistor should have?)

I could probably rig up some sort of home made bracket to fit this on there, but I was under the impression it would simply bolt it.... What's up?

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Sonix,
That definitely is a CS144, shes a big one alright. I am not for sure, but that bracket does look like it may be the problem. Where did you get that bracket from? It looks like from a truck or something. My bracket on my camaro will actually pivot i think on that bolt by the water pump to allow for adjustment.
I will try to take some pics tomorrow of the setup that i have from the front angle and take a look at my truck, i actually have an 86 Silverado. My car originally came with a 17SI (cousin to the 12SI) alternator which has a bigger case than the 10SI, that i do know. I know a custom job is a PITA but its worth it with this alternator. I ran my junkyard CS144 til it died and then went and bought a rebuilt one from Autozone since i liked the throttle response, charging ability, and pure energy so much more. Black89ws6 would probably be the one to ask, since he is the one that told me about this upgrade....

Good luck
Brian

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

hmm, yea, this is the stock bracketry as far as I know. The bracket at the waterpump has 2 bolts, and can't pivot unless I ovalized one of the bolt holes, in which case the alt pivot bolt wouldn't be able to go straight into the head...

well if you can get a picture that'd be great, then I could check the JY for that type of bracket....
thanks

1986tpiiroc

Just got a CS144 Alt from a Buick Roadmaster at the jy yesterday and ordered the wiring harness today. I have the same prob with my autozone 108A Alt. Charges fine when its cold, but once it heats up, thats it, Battery voltage. And yes, I did check with a voltmeter at the battery. Hopefully this will fix my problem. I will install it as soon as I get the wiring harness.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

More useful info on CS144
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/car-...ighlight=cs144
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...ighlight=cs144
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tpi/...ighlight=cs144

Serpentine Systems:
CS-144 Conversion for your thirdgen

Was going to take pictures but battery was run down in digital camera, will try to snap some in the daylight tomorrow.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

ok, thanks, i'd appreciate it.

I'm thinking this saturday I might be able to run down to the JY and peek at other brackets available. See if there's something larger/different that would work. Perhaps from a late '80s caprice... :shrug:

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Sonix,
Here are some pics of my setup, let me know if you want some more. I may have to take off the plastic intake to get in there to get the whole bracket.
I broke the connectors on the TPS sensor and the MAF sensor, so i need to get some replacements. I found some on Ebay so it should be easier for me to tear the thing apart in the future.

I found another link to munch some chips to:
Re: stock CS-144 alternator (fat)

1986tpiiroc

So wait, The SI alt on our cars do not require a resistor or light and are stable, but the CS alt requires one??? I only ask cause im getting ready to put this in and want to know why one would need the resistor and the other dosnt.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

it depends if you have a "charge" light.

Measure the resistance between the small wire, and power. with your key to "on", if below 35ohms, add a resistor.



lucid; those brackets look quite similar to mine. Does the upper one only bolt to the water pump, or the intake manifold as well? I don't think I can swivel my top bracket to make up for the 3/4" wider bolt hole spacing, but we'll see...
I'm trying to get my new y-pipe to fit up first, so this has become second priority now...

1986tpiiroc

No I do not have a charge light, its all gauges on the IROC, I looked for a choke light too, but it dosnthave one, the only lights that light up on start are the check engine, brake, and stupid seat belt warning lights. Now heres a stupid question, when I check resistance on the small wire to power, do I have to have the Bat disconnected??

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

uhh, you don't have to disco the battery, (i'm not 100% sure on that one), but it's a good idea. If you drop that wire, it's a hot wire, so it'll short out on your car...

I measured mine at 13 ohms, probably the resistance in the old wires. I grabbed two 20ohm resistors at work, 1/4watt or so, the biggest size, smallest resistance I could find, and twisted them up in series, with heat shrink over the whole thing.

I'll post pics when I get this working right....

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

1986tpiiroc,
If your car is like mine, mine doesnt have a charge light just the alternator Voltmeter gauge, you need to go here:
Alternator Wiring Harness adapters and wiring assories
I emailed the guy at that website and he told me which one to buy, i think you need a resistor in the harness...if memory serves. Your car is a TPI it doesnt have a choke light.
If you want to know why it needs a resistor go here:
http://www.extreme4wheelin.com/tech/...ators/tech.htm
What is the part# on your alternator?

Sonix,
Yes the top bracket bolts to the water pump and the intake manifold. Your bracket looks like the one i have in the truck. I have time tomorrow to pop the hood and check and snap some pictures. My bracket pivoted on the water pump bolt, i was surprised. Make sure you have nut and bolt for the top mount, i couldnt reuse the stock one on my setup because the casting is not threaded. Good luck with that Y pipe, yuck.

You both may need a shorter belt, my stock belt puts it at the end of the bracket.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

ok done!!

It seems like i'm the first v-belt user to get this done, so i'll post what I did for the rest of the users, since a $60 140A factory reliable alternator is a damn good idea to me:



-The pivot bolt can be re-used, the bracket that the pivot bolt goes through, which bolts to the back of the case of the 10si can be re-used. The bolt that connects that bracket to the case cannot be used, leave that disconnected.
See pic "cs144 side view.jpg", red circle

-the top bracket, uses 1 3/8" bolt into the water pump, and a 3/8" bolt going into the intake manifold. As you can see in the blue circle in the side view picture, the top bolt must be left off, that way you can pivot the top bracket on the water pump bolt.

-The pivot slot: the CS144 I have, did not have a tapped hole there. It was a 25/64" clearance hole in the alternator, but the pivot slot is under 3/8" wide, so you can't use a 3/8" bolt or larger. I used a 5/16" bolt, 1.5" long, 1.75" would be better. flange bolt is best, with a washer under the bolt head. I stacked 4 washers behind the bracket, in front of the alternator. Then on the back of the hole, a 5/16" nut. A nylock with a washer would be best there, but you'd need the 1.75" long bolt.

-Looking from the side of the car, my alternator pulley is just about perfectly lined up with the driving pulleys. I used NO washers or spacers with the fan and pulley. See "cs144 front pic" yellow circle

- I am in the center of my pivot slot, with the stock belt. :shrug: fine with me.



-I simply measured the resistance of my smaller wire, with key in the on position, as mentioned in the above post. 13 ohms, so I added 40 ohms.

-I grabbed the weatherpack connector from the car I got the cs144 from. When you look at the plug, you see it's got 1 large connection, and 3 smaller ones. Only the large one, and the 2nd small one have a connection, the others were optional. I used my multimeter on continuity to check which wire coming out of the weatherpack was for which connection. (There were 2 identical red wires coming out of the connection). The large connection, and the wire coming from it, was soldered to my large wire that used to go to my old alternator. It's a hot power wire.

-The other wire, was connected to my wire that I put the resistor on. That's a switched power wire. see NovaResource.com - SI to CS Alternator Conversion for more info on that. The "SFLP" connections were stamped on the CS144, right where the plug goes in.

-My charge wire, with the 1/4" ring terminal, I cut off.

-I added a new charge wire, 4AWG that I had laying around, and connected it to my positive battery terminal. The stud on the back of the alternator is M8x1.25mm, I didn't get the nut with my alternator, so I picked up a "keps" nut for that. The serrated teeth on that washer help with electrical contact, and locking action. A 5/16" ring terminal would be ideal, but I had to use a 3/8", since selection was crappy where I was.


Well I think that pretty much covers it, let me know if I screwed anything up, or if I missed anything. Thanks to lucid and black89ws6!

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

Sonix
Great job! After looking at pics of your bracket and looking at my truck, they look very similar, and i think thats why you were having trouble with fitment. The alternator in the truck is slanted in the bracket, not straight up and down like in my camaro.
How does she run?

Lucid

1986tpiiroc

Which alternator, the stock one on the car or the one I got from the jy??? I dont have the car right now, Im at a friends house. But the one I got from the JY is from a buick roadmaster, 140 Amp cs144. I ordered the harness with the resistor in it as I was told this is what I need. Just wanted to know why one qwould need the resistor and one would not. Still have to check the resistance in the wiring, but Im still gonna wait for the harness with resistor, dont want to fry this alt even though I only paid 17 bucks for it. Had it tested and it tested good.

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

1986tpi, the wire that turns on your alternator, must have some resistance in it, or it'll burn up your regulator. If the car has a "Charge" light, like that roadmaster would, then the bulb has say 50ohms resistance. Your car won't have that bulb (as you've said), so too much current would go to the regulator, and it'd burn up quickly.

It's a broad spec, 35-500ohms will work, so even if you do have the bulb in the dash, adding a resistor shouldn't hurt anything anyway.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

1986tpiiroc,
Everything sounds right so far. (CS144) The part# and the output rating is stamped usually along the edge where the mounting tab is. It might be dirty and you probably will have to clean it to see it. The resistor harness is the right one for your car. I would also try to upgrade the power wire to the battery, since this thing puts out a lot of amps.

Lucid

1986tpiiroc

Ive already upgraded the power wire from the alt to the battery awhile ago to a 4 gauge wire. It helped out a little on the 108 Amp Alt, but with the A/C running fog lights and headlights at idle in gear, it just dosnt want to hold above 12.2 volts at the battery. My foglights are 55 watts each and headlights are the sylvania silverstars and yes I do have relays running them, I was afraid I was gonna burn up old headlight wiring. Hopefully this 140 Amp Alt will solve that problem. Oh yeah, I also made sure all the ground points from bat to engine and body were all good.

1986tpiiroc

I just wanna thank you all for all your help, keep the replys coming as every bit of info has been good. When I get this thing running im gonna try and post pics of voltages at lighter socket and battery before and after pics. Id go with the gauge on the dash, but as ive seen on my lighter voltage guage the one in the dash is quite a bit off. At the lighter and bat there only seems to be maybe about .5 volts difference if even that, but thats probably because of the resistance in the wires going into the car as opposed to at the battery.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

1986tpiiroc,
Mine too, i sometimes tap on the plastic gauge and the volts suddenly jump up to where they really are.

1986tpiiroc

I pulled my voltmeter out of the dash and cleaned the terminals on it, it made it a little better. One of these days i'll pull the whole cluster out and clean the contacts that go into the dash and see if that works. In the mean time, still waiting for that harness adapter so I can install this badboy 140 Amp Alt.

1986tpiiroc

Ok, got mail today and harness has arrived with resistor. Now I have to wait til I have time to install it as I work all day and dont have too much time on weekdays. Here are the part numbers off the alt.
Top line: 10480201 140A
Bottom Line: 72751 12V NEG
I hope this solves my charging or I should say voltage problem, as ive never had a hard time with the battery being dead.

1986tpiiroc

Ok, Heres my dilema... I compared the harness I got in the mail with the one that came off the Roadmaster and the wires are in different spots. on the Roadmaster harness there are two small gauge wires in the middle. On the harness I got in the mail theres one Heavy gauge wire at the end then it skips a spot and there is a smaller gauge wire in the middle. Is this still gonna work???

Sonix

iTrader: (1)

mine had two small wires, one going to the end, an empty slot, then another wire, then the last one empty.
The edge one is normally a thicker gauge wire, like on my 10si, but on the cs144 it's a tiny 18awg wire.

I think your new one will work for you.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

1986tpiiroc,
There should be no reason that it doesnt work in your application. The wiring is going to be different, these are different cars. I have the same year car and engine that you do. You bought part# D1-W1204 from AlternatorParts.com ??
If you are unsure about the conversion call them up, the company is called Quickstart, im sure they can tell you for sure.

Lucid

1986tpiiroc

Yes the part # for the harness is D1-W1204 and it does have the resistor in the harness. Getting ready to do the swap in a little while, just have to wait now for car to cool off. My dumba$$ just took it out for a little spin forgetting I wanted to do the swap today.

1986tpiiroc

Success It works!!! started up car and turned everything on, A/C, lights, foglights, turnsignal, stereo up loud and in park voltage stayed at 13.4 Volts. when i stick it in drive it drops down to 12.7 with everything on, but its better than the 12.2 volts I had before. once I hit the gas it goes back up to 13.4. With just the A/C on and Radio on it stays at 13.8 even in drive not moving. Now I gotta go change the subwoofer I just blew.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

1986tpiiroc,
Good job! I am in the process of finding a shorter belt since the stock belt is too long. My car has a 5 rib pulley and the next smaller belt was too short to even slip over the pulleys. Make sure you are getting enough tension to turn the dynamo, when this belt gave just a little the charging wasnt as good. When i put this alternator in, the engine was more responsive as well.
Have fun

1986tpiiroc

Lucid, was there a difference between the old alt and the new one that you just installed??? I only ask because the belt I have in my car fit in just like it did on the old alt that was in the car. Belt is tensioned tight and alt still has a good inch and a half to go to tighten down belt if needed be. Now that I think of it its almost the same position as old one. Id post pics before and after but dont know how.

Lucid

iTrader: (4)

1986tpiiroc,
Yes there is a difference, probably the case design. When i get a chance i will get the old CS144 and the 12SI alternator and take a picture of them side by side. The stock belt put the alternator at the far end of the bracket, so there was no bracket left to tension with.
FYI : for those with the 5 rib pulley on the alternator, i went to Autodrone
tried the stock 450K5 (too long) 440K5 (too short) and the 445K5 Belt is juuuuust right. The counter dude couldnt comprehend why i would ask for a belt part# that wasnt on his computer. Good thing i was smart enough for both of us.