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Why not just get a Powermaster? Great quality in my experience, I think that's the only brand I would buy for an alternator. At this point, I don't trust that any of the OE "branded" stuff is going to be as good as the assembly line original.
what cars came w/ this alt? like if it's not to old of a model wouldn't is be better to get a used, like thats what this long thread is all about right?
Yes, that's what I would get if I needed one today. I bought one of their units for my '71 (different case design but same brand/quality) years ago and it's been nothing short of excellent.
Originally Posted by badmfkr
what cars came w/ this alt? like if it's not to old of a model wouldn't is be better to get a used, like thats what this long thread is all about right?
IMO, the crap shoot of buying used is only worth it if it's really cheap and you have nothing but time on your hands to mess with this, otherwise you can get quality right out of the box with Powermaster.
how are you Guy's grounding the alt. case to the cars body?
I have mine though the lower mounting bolt. was concidering buying the inverted torque bit an then ground to the star bolt.
^ not seeing ground post on the back or front.do see the positive output . also don't see the exciter wire plug thats should be on top. is it now on the bottom at 6 o'clock? thanks
What kind of voltage are you getting at the alternator and how does it compare to what the leads on the battery show?
this sounds like a good way to test the orginal wiring.
so far just going by the GM inaccurate dash gauge. main problem is this needle goe's to the orange section when at a red light w/ AC on so I have to turn off AC, I think the coolant fans coming on drains the power.it's worst if the radio is on. I don't drive the TA at night so I can't comment on dimming headlights few times I have driven at night never noticed dimming.
today had the girl at Oriley auto parts test alt. she said the battery an alt. is fine alt. was putting out 84amps w/ AC on this a AD244 at 145amps so I'm assumming the alt. is on it's way out.
the weird thing is during the winter time when AC isn't used she charges fine at or just above the 12 O-clock position 13VDC.
in the morning when I cold crank her this needle goe's well over into the 14VDC area. but never way down into orange section which I think is around 8VDC.
I haven't once inserted a multimeter into the alt.s output of either voltage or current.tested atl.s output voltage w/ the GM gauge is inaccurate but it is at least letting me know there's a serious drain an keep it up you'll be riding on battery alone for a short trip. I've owned this car since 2000 and the charging sys has never been that great the big3 & the ad244 helped but still this is a issue. thanks
my mechman alt pretty much requires the alt be grounded....they say if it is not grounded to the battery.....the ground point becomes the bearings to the chassis
my mechman alt pretty much requires the alt be grounded....they say if it is not grounded to the battery.....the ground point becomes the bearings to the chassis
not all alts have a point to ground on the case
I've grounded the alt. at it's mount bolt to the car body, I think you'r correct when saying alt.s case should be grounded at neg of battery.
even 01CamaroSSTx video screenshot says to ground to batterys negative.
I"ll add another thick 4gauge from alts case to Neg of battery. I have a like 4' of zero gauge isn't the thicker the better?or should I stick w/ 4gauge?
should I just leave the alt.s case to body. remember I'm still using the ad244 only 145amp.s thanks for charging advice my order hasn't been shipped yet so hopefully I can cancel it.
just pulled the trigger on the powermaster hopping it resolves the voltage dropping.
in your video you have what appears to be a extra red 4gauge going to fuse box where's it coming from?
all I've done ontop of stock is out of alt. to pos of battery, neg. on battery to car body, and alt. case to car body, the big 3.thanks
"Ground is Ground"
My alternator ground is from the altternator to the chassis, it does not go to negative on the battery. There is a chassis ground from the negative side of the battery though and I was having the same issues as you describe until I installed this new alternator. The reason for the three leads on the power wire is because I'm using a starter solenoid to engage the starter.
One of three goes to the alternator, another one goes to the fuse block and the last one goes to the starter solenoid moutned to the wheel well which moves the power off of the starter and only sends power to the starter when keyed on by the ignition. Nice having the extra solenoid up top to connect a remote starter switch there instead of on the starter solenoid.
for anyone having fbody issues and want the powermaster, you need this and this
and youre set. we have the std finish in stock and soon black finish as well.
no questions necessary really. buy, install, drive.
BUT you will also need to look at your max rpm you're running on your engine. Any stock alternator wont live at 6800 and up even a few times. Youll either need a better alternator or bigger pulley or under drive crank then up the idle rpm.
One of three goes to the alternator, another one goes to the fuse block and the last one goes to the starter solenoid moutned to the wheel well which moves the power off of the starter and only sends power to the starter when keyed on by the ignition. Nice having the extra solenoid up top to connect a remote starter switch there instead of on the starter solenoid.
Pls rephrase I could understand connection if I know to and from. thanks brother.
recieved the powermaster today it doe's have the ground post, instrucsions say to use exact same size wire for power an ground. only came in one box it was strofoamed inside but no outer box an this box was smushed.Dam hope it's good.
To connect it like stock you already have threee power wires coming off the positive side of the battery. One goes to the alternator, the other to the fuse block and then one to the starter. For the ground just come off the alternator to the chassis and you'll be good to go. If you want to set it up like I did then I'll share some pictures and give you some more details on how I went about everything.
It's pretty simple really just make a jumper wire from the starter solenoid to the power side of the starter and purchase a solenoid to mount to the car near the battery. The small wire or PPL wire that connects to the starter solenoid now connects to the small post on the new solenoid. The power wire that originally went to the large post of the starter from the battery would now go to the side of the new solenoid and then the other side of the solenoid would have a power wire that runs back down to the large post on the starter.
I did go with 4 AWG for all three wires and from the new solenoid I kept 6 AWG to run down to the starter. I also purchased a new side post for this repair and the three wires where it went into the side post had to be separtaed and then braided together before soldering. The end of the lead had to be spread apart large enough to clamp down to the wires and I even soldered it to the braided lines because it would not wrap around and clamp. If I were to do it again I'd build the lead with two 6 AWG wires, one for the fuse block and the other for the starter solenoid and the 4 AWG for the alternator. It would not have been so difficult to get the wire bunch to clamp firmly into the side post with just one 4AWG wire. Hope this helps if you decide to go that route.
Last edited by 01CamaroSSTx; Jul 15, 2023 at 08:04 AM.
To connect it like stock you already have threee power wires coming off the positive side of the battery. One goes to the alternator, the other to the fuse block and then one to the starter. For the ground just come off the alternator to the chassis and you'll be good to go. If you want to set it up like I did then I'll share some pictures and give you some more details on how I went about everything.
It's pretty simple really just make a jumper wire from the starter solenoid to the power side of the starter and purchase a solenoid to mount to the car near the battery. The small wire or PPL wire that connects to the starter solenoid now connects to the small post on the new solenoid. The power wire that originally went to the large post of the starter from the battery would now go to the side of the new solenoid and then the other side of the solenoid would have a power wire that runs back down to the large post on the starter.
I did go with 4 AWG for all three wires and from the new solenoid I kept 6 AWG to run down to the starter. I also purchased a new side post for this repair and the three wires where it went into the side post had to be separtaed and then braided together before soldering. The end of the lead had to be spread apart large enough to clamp down to the wires and I even soldered it to the braided lines because it would not wrap around and clamp. If I were to do it again I'd build the lead with two 6 AWG wires, one for the fuse block and the other for the starter solenoid and the 4 AWG for the alternator. It would not have been so difficult to get the wire bunch to clamp firmly into the side post with just one 4AWG wire. Hope this helps if you decide to go that route.
yeah I'd maybe do this solenoid in future image of how your's is connected would be nice. I know the 4th gens have grounds everywhere BC of all the electronics.
attempted to install new powermaster, when removing the alt.s mount bolts found the alt. bracket wasn't attached to block dam. how could I have missed that bracket bolt it is kindof deep inside bracket dam. heck I mite not even need a new alt. dam.
where can I get alt. bracket bolt? it's shorter than the alt.s bolts. I assume the threads are the same as the alt. mounts w/ 15mm head.thanks for bolt advice
edit: the folks at the dealership have this bolt $7.99 + tax
I'd rather get a used one at the junk yard of course they never have f-bodys is there another type GM vehical that uses the same type bracket an bolts. not that I cheap but have been wanting some other used stuff.
Call the dealership back and get the specifics on the bolt then go to Home Depot or a local parts store and pick something up that's close to the size slightly shorter but not longer or you will have to grind off some of the threads.
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