alternator

[rhkcommander]

looking for an alternator, I read some people were doing conversions like 3g high amperage and such. was wondering if there were any good alternators to look out for at the junk yard/etc.

Mine is dead, had to roll down the hill to start - it was my birthday too. Any help is appreciated

 

[LCAM-01XA]

'94-'96 Taurus and Mercury Sable with the 3.8L V6 engine will have what you need - 130 amps of 3G goodness. Do not get one from a 24-valve motor tho, they are different animal entirely.

 

[david_lee]

how tuff would it be to put my twin v-belt pulley on the 3g alternator, or should i say, would it be possible to do that?

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Just swap the twin-V pulley onto the 3G - nut takes 13/61" and is easiest taken off with an impact gun.

 

[pybyr]

'94-'96 Taurus and Mercury Sable with the 3.8L V6 engine will have what you need - 130 amps of 3G goodness. Do not get one from a 24-valve motor tho, they are different animal entirely.

For those of us _not_ already in the know, what are the advantages to the 3G alternator? Other than retro-adapting for the v-belt pulleys, is the 3G more or less a mechanical drop-in for the alternators on the IDI engine?

Thanks

 

[david_lee]

Just swap the twin-V pulley onto the 3G - nut takes 13/61" and is easiest taken off with an impact gun.

do you mean 13/64"? and i would guess that it bolts up just fine using existing brackets?

 

[rhkcommander]

alright thanks! ill call around town and get back (if) when i find one

 

[CDX825]

For those of us _not_ already in the know, what are the advantages to the 3G alternator? Other than retro-adapting for the v-belt pulleys, is the 3G more or less a mechanical drop-in for the alternators on the IDI engine?

Thanks

The 3G offers higher output (130 amps) and is internally regulated. It will bolt right in place of the 1G and 2Gs used on our trucks. Just remember to grab the bolt that goes into the adjustment ear on the the 3G as its some odd thread.

 

[david_lee]

with it being internally regulated, will there need to be any changes made to the wiring?

 

[rhkcommander]

edit---
been reading a guide for help, http://www.ourdjtalk.com/~thewebw/forums/showthread.php?t=1918

seems like a good read.

got one, 130 amp 8".. I'll try to figure it out - i think its just direct wiring- but helps always nice :>

http://fordfuelinjection.com/public/alternator/3G-ALT_wiring.gif

just like the pic on that site, i got the same colored wires.ill try and match them and see if it works

 

[LCAM-01XA]

do you mean 13/64"? and i would guess that it bolts up just fine using existing brackets?

13/16" actually, or 21mm if you got metric sockets.

 

[david_lee]

i should have guessed 13/16". if i would have thought about it at all, i would have realized that 13/64" is way too small so a 3g bolts up fine except for the adjustment bolt and we still dont have a definite answer to what has to be done to the electrical system to make it work? i will be keeping an eye on this one to see what the answer turns out to be

 

[THECACKLER]

Mine came off of a 91 Continental. The advantage of these alternators is that they have a higher output at lower speeds have an internal fan and because of the generous case venting, run cooler. They are the same "large Frame" case dimensions as what came on your truck (pre serpentine). I had to do some very minor filing on the three ribs on the front of the case to keep the pulley from contacting. Very Minor... There wasn't enough shaft to put the washer back under the nut so I used loctite. The adjustment bolt is a metric 8 x 1.25 x 30mm. The 3 wire connector is a Dorman #85843 "Internal Regulator Socket" I used a 48" 4Ga battery cable for a charging wire and replaced the ends with copper lugs the appropriate sizes, 4Ga 1/4" & 4Ga 5/16". You will also need three 16ga butt connectors, one 5/16 16ga ring connector and 4' (+/-) of both yellow and green 16 Ga wire to wire it up. The Yellow goes from the "A" terminal on the 3 wire plug to the battery side of the solenoid on the same post with the 4Ga charging cable. The Green goes from the "I" terminal on the plug and gets spliced into your harness "Ignition" wire from your old regulator. The White "middle" wire on the 3 wire plug gets looped back over to the alternator Stator plug connector between the 3 wire Dorman Internal Regulator Socket and the big 1/4" B+ Charging/Output terminal on the Alternator. That's the connector to snag if you're scavenging. The use of a fuse on the charging wire is suggested although I opted for a fire extinguisher.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

and we still dont have a definite answer to what has to be done to the electrical system to make it work? i will be keeping an eye on this one to see what the answer turns out to be

The answer depends on what kind of alternator you have now:

a) currently 1G - rip the external VR and the alternator out along with all its wiring, the only thing you should have left is the green wire with red stripe that used to go to the VR. Harvest a large-frame 3G alternator along with its 3-wire connector and some of its harness. Install the 3G in place of the 1G, reclock the rectifier if needed. Run a nice heavy-gauge cable between the alternator stud and either the starter relay on the fender or the positive battery terminal. Yellow wire from the 3G factory 3-wire connector gets a ring terminal to on the cut end and that goes on the alternator's charge output stud (where the main charge cable is too) - this is your voltage sensing wire, needed for the VR to do its job. Then extend the green/red wire that you cut in the beginning so it meets the green/red wire coming out of the 3G 3-wire connector - this is the VR trigger wire actually, it energizes the VR and the alternator only when the truck is running (it's key-on power). And that's it, good to go.

b) currently 2G - those are somewhat rare and the procedure is quite similar to the above but there are a few differences which I will explain tomorrow.

 

[rhkcommander]

got it in, truck started and watched voltage climb from 12.4v~ to 13.3 or so before i went for a test drive.right after the voltage declined back to around to low 12v with just riding/head lights.

both the yellow and the output cable were spliced together to a fusable link before the starter relay... so i am guessing the fuse went bad? that or maybe the pulley is slipping? What should I check for?

Also what was the stock amperage of the oem alt? i am finding 60A to be a common replacement for stock alt at rock auto.