alternator

I purchased the 100 Amp Alternator from Hall Pantera. At the time it was $170. In my Opinion, worth every penny!! You get rid of the "Antique" External Voltage Regulator. And not only do you move to an Internal regulator, but also, an internal Cooling fan (Much more Efficient!) And just looks cleaner. The wireing Instructions are clear and pretty straight forward if you can read and understand color coding and can recognize where the wires are coming from. WHAT is not in the instructions, and they will tell you this when you telephone them (because you amp gauge will NOT show a charging state) IS THAT you must eliminate the "GEN" light in the Speedometer; Just disconnect the two wires from the light and connect them together, Voila!! Positive Charging!. I can recommend it, as one year I had to leave Las Vegas for home with a completely DEAD battery. I was charging 90 AMPS for over 4 hours, Yes! The amp gauge was "Pegged", I mean Slammed all the way to the right! Little wisps of smoke were coming out from under the central dash, the anp gauge glass was HOT enough to burn your hand upon contact, but I bit the bullet and "Pressed on Regardless". The Alternator never let me down, it performed more than expected, and ever since has never had a problem. I WAS Lucky!! The moral, never try to charge a dead battery in the car; and buy the HALL Alternator! Regards, Marlin

You might want to consider the 100 amp alternator in addition to upgrading your amp gauge. I believe Hall has a 100 amp gauge to replace the lower rated stock one and it looks like it is OEM. Others have advised replacing the amp gauge altogether, as that system is somewhat prone to electrical fires and instead using a voltmeter instead of an amp gauge as a better choice. I went with a 140 amp single wire.

[This message has been edited by phill1 (edited 04-20-2004).]

Dont forget that you can shunt some of the current through a 10 gauge wire across the terminals. I did that as Jack has described in past posts and my amp gauge actually worked better(less needle fluctuation)and was cooler. I meant shunt the terminals of the amp gauge. I also had bought a PI 100amp alternator and it just went out. About 1 year and 1000 miles of use. I relaced it with my old ford oem 62 amp alternator. Works just fine with no charging problems but I dont tax it much with night driving.

[This message has been edited by David (edited 04-20-2004).]