Alternator Questions

Notoriou$

Notoriou$

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Stuck in the middle
So my new subs and amp are too powerful for my sh!tty walmart battery :mad: and my factory (i think?) alternator. The guy at Autozone says they have one for $105 that should do the trick. I wanted to know what amperage should I be looking for. Running a 1000 watt (500 rms) kenwood amp. Plus I'll be adding more electrical in the future (replacing factory speakers, adding small amp, keyless entry, remote start, better alarm). Also what are good brands/brands I should stay away from?
 
Here we go again.

Honestly this has been covered so many times........ you should learn to search.

Some will tell you to go to autozone and get the lifetime alt they sell.

I would go to Max at five star and get a 130 amp croba unit....I mean I did when mine went to hell.
 
I would say it is a bit of a cash issue.

The alternator is quick and easy to change out and the lifetime warranty alternators from autozone are cheap. However, when they go out (and they will) it may take a few days to get a new one in, and if you don't keep an eye on the state of the alternator, if could leave you stranded. However, they are significantly cheaper then the ford ones.
 
autozone price



That 12/12 warranty alt from ford is a P/N F6LY-10V346-ARM and (knock on wood) have not had a concern with one yet. Retail is $209.07 and LVC is $163.07 plus 60.00 core and frt. This the the gen2 alt. There is a cobra one for slightly more but you would have to extend the harness.
Max
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Its about the same price, so I would think its a no brainer.

I would double check with Max....not sure if pricing is up to date.
 
Cobra 130amp is what you should get.
It will cover what your doing just fine.
Stock is 120 amp
 
Get the battery from AZ. They are made by Johnson which makes Motorcraft and many many other names but the battery is made by the same company. You need the 1000/850 battery. With tax, it should be around $115 with a core.

I can't speak for the alternator from AZ yet because I haven't put my system that was in the 94 into the 95 yet and I'll be pushing more wattage but real close to the same.

Before you ask, caps do not help one bit with saving the alternator. A cap will smack a little harder punch to the subs but it will not save the alternator from abuse. You might wanna listen to the others and go for the 130 amp OEM.
 
ford nut said:
autozone price

Its about the same price, so I would think its a no brainer.

I would double check with Max....not sure if pricing is up to date.
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What part of lifetime warranty is so hard to grasp? Sure it may be inferior but something that is easy to change like that is worth getting the lifetime warranty unit.

If you want quality with a lifetime warranty go with a Pa performance alternator. The mustang guys use that brand and being that we have the same alternators it should be a no brainer. Btw, they put out higher amperage than Ford or other aftermarket brands do. Check out the link and read up on them.

http://www.pa-performance.com/Scripts/default.asp

You'll need to call them for the right part number. Their search says there isn't one available for our car, but they said on the phone they absolutely have a slew of them for our car.

Hope this helps.
 
I was mistaken, I have an O'Reilly alt, that has a lifetime warranty, but it's only 120 amps. Thanx for all the suggestions. I've definitely decided not to use a cap, but looking at prices of High Output alts. probably 200 or up. If anybody has more links post them up.
 
Those "lifetime" warranties are worthless. After your 2nd replacement, they, amd most other parts stores will dispute the funcionality of your charging system & deny you further replacements unless you can prove(by replacing all supporting connections & wiring) that your system is working properly. & if you have an amp & subs, forget about it. They'll politely tell you to go fukc yourself.
 
Advance Auto have 130amps alternators for our Marks

and they are much easier on returns if you get along with one of them

I was good with a guy at the one near by and he took $150 flat without tax for the alternator with no core charge
 
ripped camel said:
What part of lifetime warranty is so hard to grasp? Sure it may be inferior but something that is easy to change like that is worth getting the lifetime warranty unit.

If you want quality with a lifetime warranty go with a Pa performance alternator. The mustang guys use that brand and being that we have the same alternators it should be a no brainer. Btw, they put out higher amperage than Ford or other aftermarket brands do. Check out the link and read up on them.

http://www.pa-performance.com/Scripts/default.asp

You'll need to call them for the right part number. Their search says there isn't one available for our car, but they said on the phone they absolutely have a slew of them for our car.

Hope this helps.
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WTF are you babbling about?

What does a PA alt have to do with autozone?

If you took the time to read any of my posts I have never said anything bad about PA's alt.
I am sure it will cost a lot more then Max will quote you.

You sure come out of left field sometimes.
 
ford nut said:
WTF are you babbling about?

What does a PA alt have to do with autozone?

If you took the time to read any of my posts I have never said anything bad about PA's alt.
I am sure it will cost a lot more then Max will quote you.

You sure come out of left field sometimes.
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They're $400+
 
cadillackman said:
DB Electrical, 200 amp, $200 The most affordable hi amp.
http://www.dbelectrical.com/Items/h... Output 200 Amp Alternator 4.6L 96 97 98 7781
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+1-
I got one of these three years ago, and have had no problems with my charging or electrical system since-bought a 1000/850 CCA battery when I installed this, and ran a 4 ga wire from the pos post to the back of the alternator (as they recommend, and they sell a setup if you don't want to install your own, I used a battery cable and installed an end for connections).

Earlier marks were 120 amp, starting in 96 they were 130-fact is, everyone that I know sooner or later replaces the OEM, sometimes with another OEM, but they and the aftermarket ones seem to go eventually, the 200 amp from DB is a better match IMO for the heavy demands especially on startup of the mark. DB Electric is in Tennessee and with shipping and the battery cable I think I spent about $220 total.
 
I've never had these problems with alternators. Once I bought one, it lasted. I have the 130amp Alternator from O'Reilley's.

Also, if your amp is too powerful, you should consider upgrading your power wire to 0 gauge wire. Or buy a dry cell battery to run your audio.
 
I know from previous experience, do not buy a refabbed alt. Ray told me to just go and buy a brand new one from Max and I didnt listen to him. After the 5th/6th alt within 2 weeks I bought a new one and it worked like a charm from there on.
 
cadillackman said:
Those "lifetime" warranties are worthless. After your 2nd replacement, they, amd most other parts stores will dispute the funcionality of your charging system & deny you further replacements unless you can prove(by replacing all supporting connections & wiring) that your system is working properly. & if you have an amp & subs, forget about it. They'll politely tell you to go fukc yourself.
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That is not the policy at Autozone... Not saying it can't happen, but if someone tells you to F off at Autozone, it's probably going to be a douchebag store manager who's more concerned about an extra ten cents on his bonus than customer service. Ask for their district manager's number and they will change their tune immediately. Or just go to someone wearing a red shirt rather than a gray one (gray = manager.)
 
I am pushing 1200 continuous watts (RMS) in my stereo with a stock alternator. However, I replaced all the battery cables, lines to the alternator, etc. with 4 gauge or 0 gauge stereo cables.

No need for "capacitors". Not a good idea anyhow, IMO.

Not a big fan of dry cell batteries (except as secondary batteries) either.
 
The pa performance alternator for our car that is 200 amps is $259.99 if you get the unpolished unit. I know because I was going to get it for my car. Polished is an extra $60. It's absolutely not $400!!

cadillackman said:
Those "lifetime" warranties are worthless. After your 2nd replacement, they, amd most other parts stores will dispute the funcionality of your charging system & deny you further replacements unless you can prove(by replacing all supporting connections & wiring) that your system is working properly. & if you have an amp & subs, forget about it. They'll politely tell you to go fukc yourself.
Click to expand...

They legally can't do that. I had advanced spout off about warranties with me about a battery that wasn't even 2 weeks old that gave me issues...I quickly informed them of some terms within their policies that aren't admissable and they exchanged without any questions. If you know your rights they can't take advantage of you...if you don't know your rights companies always try to give you the wooden spoon ;)

ford nut said:
WTF are you babbling about?

What does a PA alt have to do with autozone?

If you took the time to read any of my posts I have never said anything bad about PA's alt.
I am sure it will cost a lot more then Max will quote you.

You sure come out of left field sometimes.
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You were dogging the Autozone alt...they suck ass which we all know though they do have a lifetime warranty, but I was stating the Ford alternator isn't lifetime warranty so why the hell would anyone buy stock? The alternator is easy to change so I would go with the lifetime one over the stock one any day of the week.

PA has nothing to do with Autozone, what I was stating was that PA is also lifetime and if the OP wanted a high performance, high amperage alternator that also had a lifetime warranty PA offers that. I didn't say you said anything bad about the PA alternator, but a few months back a good portion of people trashed them and bulked them in with the likes of autozone and advanced alternators without even having any facts on them.

The only reason my car doesn't sport a PA is because the one that was already in the car was autozone and I managed to get them to warranty it out so it cost me zero dollars.

I do come out of left field though....:D
 
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