Alternator Fun

[camerondownunder88]

Hi,

Just messing around in the shed today with some alternators I have seeing what I can do for an up grade into my KE30 as the standard one now with a stereo on it is having trouble keeping the car charged.

 

So I got out my old KE70 spare I have and another Bosch one I have unknown origin but it is rated at 70 Amps. At first look the body of the 70A one the mount was similar to the rolla one but it was about 10mm to long so it wouldn't fit. Could of used a spacer but that is messy.

 

So I did a bit of fiddling and found the body for the KE70 one is the same size as this one. So I began pulling the 70A alternator apart to get the insides out so I can put it into my KE70 alternator. First I got the pully off then the front housing but I got stuck at the outer stationary windings. See photo below:

 

After pulling on it a bit I found A on the bottom of it it is attached to wires. So how do I remove these windings? As I don't want to break the windings so I can use them in the DIY KE30 alternator I'm trying to make.

 

And just for reference here is a photo of the back:

 

Thanks

Cameron

[camerondownunder88]

Ok

After following Trev advice pull harder I got the first alt apart :y:

 

I then proceded to remove the KE70 one. But before I got to far ahead I noticed the main power feed from the back of the KE70 one is small as compaired to the truck one. So I did a few calcs and there isnt enough meat on the back of the KE70 one to drill the hole out so below are 2 pics the first is the KE70 power feed the second is the truck one. So what I have decided to do is putthe truck one back together and just make a spacer to fit in the gap between the 4K alt mount and the body of the truck one and use a corolla pully and then ill be set.

Above is the KE70 alt and power feed terminal.

This is the truck alt power feed terminal as you can see it is about double as bit.

 

So just a question now about wireing up an alt. The truck one has one of these new style plugs on it (see below)

On the left of this plug the left pin is labeled S and the one on the right of the pic above is labeled L (the L is stamped upside down). On a standard KE30 I know wire the main power feed in to the bolt then what next? what wire should I cripm ont eh KE30 and push onto this plug?

 

Cameron

[kangaroosa]

Wouldnt you just plug the standard/existing wire onto your new alternator. don't ask me which of the 2 terminals it should go onto. But couldnt you try one with the engine running and use a multimeter to test if the battery is charging. If its not, swap the wire over to the the second terminal on the alternator. If neither works, then i guess it requires a more knowledgable person.

 

I know when i swapped from a Denso Alternator to Bosch item, I simply unplugged the loom from the external regulator and looped 2 terminals on the plug. Then I used a test light on the push on style plug that goes to the alternator. The one that lights up, is the one that you want to plug onto your alternator. That required crimping a spade terminal onto some wire and a female crimped fitting on the other end that plugs onto the alternator. Then I ran a thicker gauge wire (with an inline fuse) from the positive terminal on the battery, to the bolt on the alternator.

 

I should add that my Bosch alternator was rebuilt to 70amps. It was also internal regulator, compared to external (which my car was running with the denso alternator).

The auto elec also mentioned that the corolla's wiring was only rated to 72amps max, hence why he didnt rebuild mine to 80amps as suggested in the FAQ.

[styler]

hey i have also been stuck doing an alternator upgrade on my old ke30 corolla.

 

what i wanted was a bosch one (external removable brush/diode pack) around 70 amp and mounted passanger side with similar bracket mounting.

 

i ended up at wreckers sorting through hundreds of them and found a few at 70 amp ones but they were too small a mount length etc... then found a old ford falcon one which was suitable with a bit of modification.

 

can't remember the exact details, might have to check on it but i think i removed the front plate and changed it with my

one and cut down the rear plate to make it fit as it was too small. it was a bit of a pain to do but i got there. i would say the easiest way would be to change the mounting on the engine, possibly with the falcon on and modify to suit the block, but I'm not sure it will work with the tensioner arm setup?

 

check on toymods.net, i remember someone else also modded a falcon one on a corolla and may have more details.

i will be doing another bosch one soon anyway depending on what condition my old one is in.

 

when getting an old one check the bearing play any how easily it spins for an indication of condition.

 

look on the old and new alternators for symbols and terminal types when trying to rewire them up,

usually you can work it out.

Edited December 28, 2006 by styler

[camerondownunder88]

Ok,

With the wireing think I have it sussed might go to my mates auto sparky shop this arvo to use his tools to test it.

 

This 70 Amp alt lets just say it is dirty but LOW Km's and is like new so it is all fine. I will not cut the mount on it but as all I will need is a 10mm spacer and it will go onto the 4K motor mount AND the pully will align so less hassel. But Ill get a pic soon of the spacer and how this alt will fit.

 

With the removeable diode stuff be carefull but I had a spare diode pack here for a Bosch alt and well there are 2 different types so the only difference is the plug possition but because of its position they are non mixable so just take note of this.

 

And as kangaroosa said rolla wire is only good for 72 amps I was also told this that is why my 110AMP alt new never used..lol and fits isnt going onto my rolla..lol

 

Cameron

[BreakDave - GT]

i think i may be of some help here....

the 'truck alternator' u have the pic of looks more like one off a VS commodore... with the re71/72 regulator on it.

the two pins in that plug:

1. 'L' controls the warning light on the dash (must be operational for alt to charge)

2. 'S' is actually a sense terminal which senses battery voltage and can step up the charge rate to compensate for extra load... ie h/lights/stereos...etc but can be simply linked to the main B+ stud on back of alternator

[camerondownunder88]

Ok the alt I was told is off a small truck and the regulator I'm holding is off another truck 110 amp alt. But knowing bosh the 70amp one I have is the same as the dunny door one as most of there stuff is universel.

 

Thanks for pin info on plug will help lots.

 

Cameron

[BreakDave - GT]

no worries... in relation to the wiring size and what current (amps) it can handle;

 

a 110 AMP alternator is not goin to charge at 110 AMPS all the time.... this is just a maximum output figure. if u are running a ridiculous sound system and 4 sets of driving lights u may get close to this figure, but on a carby 4K it wont get close.

 

for peace of mind if u wanted to use an alternator rated at 70+ Amps u could run an auxillary battery cable lead from the B+ on the alt to either the B+ on battery or starter (whichever closer) of bigger sized cabling (6-8 GAUGE/B&S) to handle the possible extra current. just make sure its in conjuit and away from exhaust etc.

 

if u have any other q's just yell out

 

Dave

[camerondownunder88]

Yes 110A is a max WITH 12V input on the feild windings..lol

 

When I was making welders from alts once before I had an old crappy 55A alt off a car. So I though lets put more power into the alt and it will put more out. I was right..lol On my mates alt test bench at his auto sparky shop we had it pumping out 110amps and the case of the alt was cool to touch :y: was great..lol So we tried doing this with like a 30A alt and we just over reved it inputed HEAPS MORE than double power and man man never seen an alt glow hot before..lol

But a pic below of what an alt welder can do:

 

This pic is of the 55A running at 55A to weld was afast dodgey welld with out a good stick handel even so not to bad..lol

 

So an alt will make more than it is stated max on the case BUT you will need more input power and since a car only has 12V battery well that will be hard.

 

Cameron

[styler]

haha, you are going to be an eccentric old man later in life, flying down the road in a jet powered go kart welded together by a modded alternator!

 

on the subject of max amps, look at the existing alternator setup in the car it came from.

ie how fast that engine spun and what pulleys the engine and alternator have, to get an idea of how much it was

putting out. you can always downsize the pulley on the alternator and use a shorter belt on the new setup to give a lower current.

[Medicine_Man]

This may be of some help..

[BreakDave - GT]

yeh... I'm pretty sure 12V is always the voltage in the field circuit (when the alternator is charging bout 14V), the output voltage of around 14.4V is regulated by adjusting the current flow through the field circuit (ie the rotor) to a max around 4-5 Amps for max output.

we had a 12V alternator on the bench with regulator disconnected and full rotor current charging at around 40Volts (not amps) with it spiking at over 100 volts, as to say it disintegrated within about 5 seconds.

[camerondownunder88]

"as to say it disintegrated within about 5 seconds."

 

HEHEHEHEH I have done this to. Did your alt housing glow red? That is so cool when they do ours glowed red adn just yeah Died..lol Was fun

 

Cameron

[BreakDave - GT]

yeh the stator windings were glowing red... then after few seconds when we really had it cranking....the insulation almost caught fire and smoke pissed out everywhere.

was exceptional fun... for few seconds it lasted

[BiGGy]

Good to see some custom mechanical work going on, keep it up, Ill read all of it later. I remember reading a how to article on fitting a second alternator on the belt, can't remember where I seen it.