Alternator upgrade question

[bq93]

I’ve traced my strange combination of issues (overheating, sluggish performance, etc.) to a bad alternator. I don’t want to put an after market alternator on and have to do it again in a few months so I was looking at an AC Delco unit from one of our vendors, but I'm afraid the shipping is going to kill me.

I’m thinking about just doing the 200 amp up grade kit and was wondering how critical the upgraded high amp positive wire from Caspers is. I plan to do the upgrade soon, but available funds are an issue right now. Could I run the 200-amp alternator on the stock wires for a month or so, or am I just asking for trouble? The car is only driven on weekends, it's not a daily driver.


Thanks for any input.

 

[turbodave231]

Why do you need 200 Amps worth of power? If you measure your operating current requirements (clamp on ammeter), you will see that 120 amps is more than enough. Unless you are running big audio amps and lot of crazy equipment, The stock 120 amp CS144 generator should be plenty.

I have always repaired my own generators. All you need is a good volt/ohm meter to check the individual components. The rotor and stator almost never fail. Usually, the recitifer bridge or voltage regulator are the cause of the problem and they are replaceable. Bearings and brushes are also replaceable and available.

Parts aren't easy to find, but they are out there. I found a shop in Norwalk Ohio that supplied the parts for the last CS144 I rebuilt.

Dave