95 AMP ALTERNATOR CONVERSION USING PA PERFORMANCE UNIT Before we start with the nuts & bolts of the process, here are the inventory numbers & prices of the accessories used and purchased from PA Performance. I’ll include the address & phone at the end. 1614-6B1 Alternator kit, 95 amp 3G, plain finish $169 462802C 3G conversion kit/OEM-restoration applications $26.95 9904-A Alternator power wire kit, 31” standard short w/fuse & holder (200A) $31.50 Any pulleys are extra. My 2 v-belt pulley was a whole $8. You can reuse your original. Shipping & handling from Boyerstown, PA to here was $8.34. They do offer powder coat and chrome cases at extra charges. Check with them for what you may desire. NOTE: The manufacturer strongly recommends using a new and heavy gauge main power wire with all alternator upgrades due to the increased voltage. You do not have to use their part, but they make a very nicely made replaceable fused wire. I recommend it. THE CONVERSION PROCESS First, obviously, you need to remove your original alternator and voltage regulator. If you chose to reuse your original pulley, install it on the new alternator at this time. This is a good time to check the condition of your belts. You will not need to use a different belt than the one your car calls for. MARK WHICH WIRE IS THE BATTERY, FIELD, & STATOR WIRES FROM THE HARNESS ATTACHED TO THE REAR OF YOUR OLD ALTERNATOR!! Later you will see why this is very important. If you are not sure, check the markings on the back of the original alternator before you remove the wires. It is marked on the case. In your kit, you will find a gray plug harness with three wires. This plugs into the regulator in the new alternator. You can do all the alternator connections now. One of the wires has a gray small plug. It goes into the appropriate connector at the back of the alternator. The yellow wire goes to the red screw connection at the back. This is the “B+” (battery hot) connection. You should now have only one wire left to connect, the green one. The new main power wire with fuse also goes to the “B+” connection. The two lugs on the wire, if you choose to buy their part, are different so make sure to connect the smaller lug to this connection. Install the new alternator in the car making sure that the adjustment bracket is positioned correctly. I had to tweak mine about 1/8th of an inch. You cannot use the original adjustment bolt from the old unit. They supply a new bolt. You can tighten the belts at any time you choose. If you decide to do it now, it won’t affect any of the upcoming steps of the install. Now to the original 3 wire hookup mods. I hope you marked which wire is the battery, field & stator wire. This is important! Battery wire> To “B+” connection on alternator Field wire> To green wire from alternator. Cut off the clip on the Harness wire and use the included crimp connector. Stator wire> Cut off clip and insulate. This wire is not used. Ground clip? Not necessary to reconnect. That’s what they said. Ok, now you can install the “fake” regulator in it’s original position. The wires can be reattached via the original clip. Make sure to reconnect the grounds that are attached to the top bolt. The new main power wire attaches to the battery side of the solenoid. Check your connections, fasteners, and belt tension and YOU’RE DONE!! I’d advise checking the output with a hand held voltimeter now with the car running at idle both without load and with full load. The alternators are fully guaranteed and tested, but it always pays to check. I tried to post the pix I took with illustrations, but they won't post due to the size restrictions on the forums. If anyone has problems, which is not likely, I'll be glad to e-mail them to you on request. I'll also be glad to help anyone with this install. POST NOTE: Prior to installing, I did notice a confusing step on the install instructions in reference to the changing of the 3 wire harness to the new unit. I called the manufacturer and he stated that up to '85, Ford had several variations of the 3 wire setup and they genericized the instructions. The info was clarified and I addressed this in the step above. They are going to review the instruction sheet to make the step more clear in the future. The manufacturer strongly suggests that if anyone has any questions on the install or something is not clear, please call them on the toll free number and they'll be glad to explain it in detail. The techs are great about answering questions and will take all the time with you that is necesary. PA Performance 704 E.4th Street Boyerstown, PA 19512 1-877-471-8010 www.pa-performance.com
As a final chapter to this conversion, the big test was last week when we took the car to DC for the Police Week activities. The car was in a parade and several other events where all the electrical items needed to be on at slower speeds. The alternator performed beautifully as it was designed to. The lights were bright at idle and the battery stayed charged. As far as I'm concerned, this unit passed the test and gets a 5 star rating for ease of installation, reasonable cost, great customer service, and performance as promised by the manufacturer!
Good to hear Wes. Myself, I was a bit premature in wanting to upgrade my 100 amp chrome 10si. The Black Magic fan didn't over tax my system after all. I have the skinnier Jeep version (-475) and it only uses about 8-10 amps unlike the regular -150 that uses 14-16 amps. I can idle in traffic with the fan, lights, stereo, and blower fan on....with still some juice to spare. Only draw back with the less powerful fan is it pulls 2000 cfm vs the 2800 of the universal unit. I'll know this summer if it will be enough.
Just curious... I converted my FE truck over to a 1 wire setup using a factory ford alternator... Bolted right on, was cheap, and was 95 amps also... So why spend that much money? Im sure this setup will work on a 302/I6 car also
Here's an article from Mad on the advantages of not using a 1 wire. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/onewire-threewire.shtml
The 3rd generation alternators (fan inside case) generally create more amps down low than the older 1st generation hopped up alternators. Usually having more amps around idle to 2.5 grand is more beneficial than having high output upstairs (3-6 grand.) That's one of the reasons I went the 10si over a re-worked Ford 1st gen. ....good output from idle and lower speeds.
You should be fine then. Yes, the 3 wire with the remote voltage sensing is still the best system, but the 1 wire will work ok on Fords because the main junction/buss bar is nearby.
How do you figure the 3 wire is better? The internal fan/internal regulated fan I got from a 91 Tempo worked a lot better. Charged better, and looked better Just curious
The Mad Electrical article in post #6 does a great job of explaining the difference. Please read it through.
Excellent article on remote voltage sensing, something the 1 wire can't do. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/remotevoltagesensing.shtml
The bottom line is finding a setup that does what you want to do and do it well. This setup does that. I am quite satisfied and am one that never likes to overspend. I will spend a bit more for quality and a company that backs up what they sell. I'm quite sure that there are good alternatives like were stated. The biggest advantages to this particular setup is good low rev voltage, quality construction and great customer service, and ease of installation. The OEM kit makes a stock 3 wire appearance for those that want to maintain the look. The kit is not essential to use, but makes installation even easier at the same time. Use what works for you. This post was informational for those that chose to purchase this particular alternator to help with installation.
I wasn't trying to argue. Just curious. The alternator I used charges great at low RPMs, easy to install, and looks good also. Thats why I was asking. maybe someone wanted to use my idea also. Cheaper also. I have a wiring diagram drawn up and stuff also. Just wanted to throw out the idea. Never meant to mean it was better
Andy; do you have the procedure and part# available? Just want to compare and see which is better for me to use. Thanks,
