Don't let the fact that this is a Imperial site fool you, There's tons of good info here for all Mopars. http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Elec ... arging.htm

I am utterly baffled that this thread is so long and persistent. The steps to install an '89-up alternator in an early car are as follows:

1. Remove old alternator.

2. Install new alternator. Make minor bracket mods as necessary for physical fitment.

3a. On a '70-up vehicle, connect new alternator the same way as old alternator.

3b. On a '69-down vehicle, ground one of the new alternator's two field studs, then connect the new alternator the same way as the old alternator.

4. Upgrade the main feed wire in any of several good ways (or the half-baked MAD electrical way). Our cars' wiring and ammeters were designed for original alternators that didn't exceed 40 amps in the 1960s and 50 amps in the 1970s (60A or 65A units were available by special order by the end of A-body production; cars so equipped had somewhat heavier wiring). So, to run a higher-amperage alternator safely in an earlier car, you need to upgrade the charging wire that carries the full current produced by the alternator.

See this thread and this one for info on the involved & fully-functional charging wire upgrade. The easy/right-now way is simply to run a 10ga wire from the alternator's B+ (output) stud to the battery positive terminal. That done, your ammeter will no longer show charging current, but the system will be safe from overload.

Four steps. Very easy. Why do we need a 3-page thread for this...? :shrug:

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Trust me, i'm the first one to admit I need a FSM for my 71 Dart. The problem is they are super expensive when I see them on ebay

I think I am finally grasping all this. I'm going to borrow my friend's 69 Charger FSM and take a stab at this conversion.

H'mm. No, let me try again to get through to you: You really need the three books described in the linked thread. The two non-FSM books are extremely cheap on the used-book market, and you really need them, so please go get them now.

As for the FSM, the '69 book might give you a better general idea of how a charging system works in general, but it won't do for understanding your car. The '69 charging system is different from the '70+ system.

The FSM is really not an optional/maybe-someday-might-be-nice item to buy eventually if you get around to it. It is the necessary first tool to buy before you start working on your car. There is no substitute, including asking questions on this board, no matter how many you ask. I usually buy my FSMs used, and not on eBay — again, please actually go and read the link I supplied above. Don't guess at what it might contain, actually go click it and read.

I have to admit, I find it a lot easier to help those who show some inclination to help themselves, and so far you're really not doing that. Your posts so far show you don't have even a faint notion of how your charging system works. That's perfectly alright. None of us is born with that knowledge; each of us has to seek it out and acquire it. But what you're saying here is "I want to understand and fix my car, but I don't wanna buy the FSM and I can't be bothered to read the link you posted". If you think about it for a few minutes, you might come to realise why that kind of a message makes me a good deal less interested in helping out when you post "Help! I tried to upgrade my charging system and it all went wrong and nothing's working!" after trying to forge ahead without understanding what you're doing. Others may feel differently, so you stand decent odds of finding someone who'll hold your hand step-by-step through the process as you ask questions that are answered in clear detail in the books.

If you do it the ask-lots-of-questions-and-get-lots-of-hand-holding way, you might eventually wind up with a recollection of the steps you went through, and that'll be enough until the system breaks and you're faced with trying to fix it.

If you will get the books and read them, you'll end up understanding how the various components work and interact, and then not only will the swap be an easy cinch, but the odds are much greater it'll work right the first time and stay working, and if it does eventually break you'll be able to fix it.

Which sounds like the better overall deal to you?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Patience pays off, as do flexible searching techniques.
FSM's for my '64 were running pretty high. Local sources for such are nonexistent. I looked at all the magazine ads and websites offering manuals and CD's, and kept searching Ebay. More than I wanted to spend.
One day, an Ebay search yielded a factory manual which was advertised with different wording. Well used but complete, a little greasy, exactly what I wanted. $16 shipped, IIRC. Best money I've spent on the car.
I will say that an old multi-make Chilton's that covers models up to '63 has some better photos of a few things.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

C'mon Dan, don't kill my buzz

The idea was so that people would know the exact work needed to first upgrade their charging system, and second, the best alternator to upgrade TO once the system is ready to handle it.

Plus, the way I'll be upgrading my charging system will differ greatly from what most other folks have done in that it'll be completely "modernized" (for lack of a better way to put it) and set up to use a voltmeter (for those who would prefer to go that route, of which I'm one of 'em), with the ammeter circuit completely eliminated and interior/dash power re-engineered and still using the external Mopar dual field voltage regulator.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

Since we're on the topic, has anyone measure the nominal inductance of the field winding of a Mopar alt?

Seems simple enough to me. If I were to do this to my '73 duster (using the easy method you described) I assume all other wiring can be left as is and will be fine, including the stock style voltage regulator right?

I saw that "'89 and up" was specified, and I know this may sound a little weird, but can I get some specifics? I need them to track-down a ND alternator...hoping I can get one from one of the local electrical places.

Is it ALL '89 and up Chrysler vehicles? Cars? Minivans? Jeeps? Trucks? They all mount the same except for pully config and being either 90a or 120a? Or is it specific vehicles for certain model years?

I posted this last year (on page two). I think this was the last year for the Nippondenso alternator with the V-groove pulley. I think, don't quote me.. If you want a V-groove this is the part number. I believe the cases were all the same, so they mount the same way; again, don't quote me. You can also get a 90 A, or thereabouts. Check your favorite auto parts supply website for the above truck w/90 A.
Good luck,
Bob

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Robert Troy
69 slant 6 OD4 Barracuda conv
68 383-S 4 speed convertible

Thank you Dan. This is what I did.

The new wire carries most of the current because electricity follows the path of least resistance (new 10ga wire, correct?)


The easy/right-now way is simply to run a 10ga wire from the alternator's B+ (output) stud to the battery positive terminal. That done, your ammeter will no longer show charging current, but the system will be safe from overload.

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65 Barracuda

Nothing like resurrecting a thread to make me realize that I need to get off my butt and and get moving on this stuff.

I have at least gotten motivated again. I'm hacking through restoring the heater box. Have the metal parts in being powdercoated as I type, and I scored a large sector manual steering box that I can hopefully put my 20:1 worm gear in that I bought from Josh last year. Heat and upgraded steering and hopefully I can drive the car until the snow starts this year. While I'm driving it I'll (finally) get cracking on the alternator conversion as well.

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'74 Duster w/ HEI ignition, beat to snot suspension, A904, 8.25" 3.55 SG rear, still being tuned up and gets 17 MPG

Know how they always build a better idiot? That's me

Is there a simple way to determine whether the output of the alternator is 90 or 120 Amps while cruising through a junk yard?

I would guess that the 90 Amp alternator was probably more common. Which vehicles were typically equipped with the larger alternator?

OE alternator rating depended on vehicle equipment. Housing is the same size and shape. Look on the alternator's data tag.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I have a question about this retrofit that I do not believe was answered in this thread.

Is it possible to use a serpentine belt ribbed pulley equipped alternator on a slant by swapping out the pulley to a v-belt pulley?

And a follow up, if it is possible to just swap the pulleys, must anything else be changed besides the pulleys or is it just swap pulleys and go?

Thanks.

Reed