Alternator puzzle solved

[Mike Self]

2 hours ago, SydneyTii said:

Thanks Jim, bugger we don’t have those cars here but I bet there’s something similar!

I'll bet there's another GM car (US or Aussie) that uses the same alternator.  Look on a US site like Rock Auto to see what the interchange is for that alternator, then match the engine up with one used in a Holden...I'll bet the same Delco part numbers are used for all applications of that alternator.

 

mike

[TobyB]

but....the Delcos tend to saw themselves open on an M10 in the stock mounting location.

 

Mine had one from a mini-truck on it when I got it, and it lasted a few races...ish.

 

At 7200 rpm.

 

t

alternately...

[ray_]

4 hours ago, SydneyTii said:

Thanks Jim, bugger we don’t have those cars here but I bet there’s something similar!

Don't alternators spin the other direction down there?

 

[SydneyTii]

Mike I reckon one of the Holdens will have something, you’re spot on there, tbh I have a 5 series alternator in my shed that just needs a clean up and a spacer and it would be fine, I used it before but it was a bit of a bodge tbh😜 I will do it properly when the engine goes back in🙄

[Einspritz]

I have two thoughts on this subject.

 

First, give the shop his due for doing what probably amounted to hours of research, and just purchase the alternator from him.

 

Don't be a cheepskate!

 

That said, the 2002's problem ISN'T the alternator, the amperage is sufficient to run the car, auxillary lights, stereo etc. Okay, if you have 4 Super Oscars with 100 watt bulbs, it might not. But I digress....

 

It's your 50 year old, nasty, corroded, high restance wiring harness.

 

Higher amperage into that system is not going to push the electrons any better than its capacity to receive them.

[John76]

On 1/27/2024 at 3:37 PM, TobyB said:

it lasted a few races...ish.

 

At 7200 rpm.

What was the ratio between the crank and the alternator pulleys on your racecar?

Most alternator output is generally rated at 2 times crank speed, approx. 6000 rpm on a typical car cruising at 3000 rpm.

You may have blown it up by continuous 2 x crank speed (7200 rpm). 

 

But ... Watt do I know?  Ample knowledge is truly lacking at my reVoltingly advanced age. 

 

[TobyB]

It had a pretty big pulley on it,

with the smallest of the standard crank pulleys,

but it was still a bit over crank speed.

However, it sawed itself in half- the rotating mass was ok, it was the housing construction

that couldn't handle the vibration.  The first bracket I made to hold the ND onto

the thing had the same problem- I'd left the pivot bolt unsupported in between the ears, and

that milled its way free, too.  2 separate bolts got me through the weekend, and I then went full 

billet on the thing thereafter.

And yep, I did my darnedest to keep the alternator revs down, for durability 

AND less parasitic drag.

 

t