Just Finished 3G Swap and what a difference.

[91f2504x4]

Well I have been having the problem for a while where when idling my lights would dim quite a bit and I had been meaning to put the 3G alternator on my truck that I got off a 98 Ford Taurus. Well I had put it off for long enough, the old alternator actually finally crapped out and starting running my battery down overnight, so I tore into it a few hours ago and it really took very little effort, everything bolted back into place flawlessly and I only had to cut one wire in the truck's factory harness. I cranked it up and my volt meter on the dash was showing a good solid reading this time even when idling, the lights seemed brighter than ever and I didn't have to rev the engine to achieve it. I am really pleased with this swap and would recommend to anyone who has to replace an alternator to look into this, I even got to take that crappy external alternator off and stick it in a closet in the garage, where I will eventually forget about it.

Oh and the new alternator is 130 amp compared to the original that was, when new putting out 100, but I imagine it was putting out far less now.

 

[razorback]

i keep putting this off..i really need to do this too..

 

[LCAM-01XA]

I have one in my truck, I didn't notice much of a difference - I have over 700W of auxiliary lights and when idling low I only see 12.5V at the batteries, which is the same as the 1g alternator performance... I'd imagine at higher engine speeds the current output is much nicer, but with the double-V pulley being so huge there ain't a whole lot I can do about it - I'm working on speeding up the alt with a smaller pulley, but so far not much luck...

 

[zpd307]

its a nice feeling knowing that the alt is now putting out more amps at idle than the old was at speed.......

 

[adam g]

It makes you wonder what ford was thinking. A 98 tauras only had a 40 amp battery and a 130 amp alt. Our trucks had 2 840 amp batteries and either a 65 95 or in rare cases a 105 amp alt. I know the tauras had more creature comforts but why didn't ford make this available on our trucks. I love it on my 89 I still need to do it on my 91.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

Adam, the 3G wasn't available back then - it came out in '92 for the cars, and '92 and newer trucks have it too, only the case is different for them so they don't look quite like a Taurus alt.

 

[k_williams1982]

What is the 3G alternator? Everyone keeps talking about the swap to one, but I have no clue what it is exactly.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

It's an internally-regulated 130amp alternator. It's a near-direct bolt-in for our trucks, and it's a vast improvement over the 75amp 1G or 65amp 2G factory alternator. It can be found in 3.8 V6 Taurii from '92 till I think '96. We have a write-up in the tech articles for that actually, here:

http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14573

 

[redneckaggie]

i really need to do this swap but cant find a vehicle to rob the plug for the alternator off of.

 

[LCAM-01XA]

do you have the alternator already? The 3-prong plug is the same as many 2G plugs, so find a late-'80s Ford vehicle and pull the plug off there along with several inches of harness. Wiring goes as follows:

- white wire - put a small female spade connector on its loose end, plug spade connector in the side of the alternator (you'll see the small male spae connector in there, tis surrounded by black plastic insulation.

- yellow wire - put a 1/4" ring terminal on its loose end, slide it on the stud for the main charging wire.

- green wire with red tracer - extend the loose end till it reaches the area where the external voltage regulator used to be, then connect it to the piece of green wire with red tracer that used to plug in the VR but now hangs loose in there.

- run a good size of cable from the alternator charging stud to the battery terminal, don't forget the inline fuse or circuit breaker of 150-175 amps.

 

[adam g]

I did not know on the year range thank you. Here is a link to the tech article on 3g install. It was helpful to me.
http://www.oilburners.net/forums/showthread.php?t=14573

 

[k_williams1982]

Is the 3G a v belt driven alternator or a serpentine style?

 

[jperecko]

Is the 3G a v belt driven alternator or a serpentine style?

serpentine in the taurus... but you can swap pulleys like on most(maybe all?) alternators

 

[opusd2]

You know, my sister drives a 94 Taurus wagon. I wonder if she'd notice her alternator missing???? I know, I will blame it on the transmission!

 

[typ4]

I have new connectors for the alt available and in stock, cant get the stator one though, a small push on .188 blade IIRC works fine there.
I just put a 3g on my buddies 460 motorhome, his 1g had the diode plate problem and would only put out 30 amps, now it charges 50 at idle 140 at speed and maybe the house battery will get charged now.