After a year of sitting on the shelf I opened the box for my complete car wiring harness from American Auto Wire and I'm thinking about getting rid of it. Apparently the harness is for a modified car and one of the things it didn't support was the original style alternator. They suggested a single wire gen III Ford alternator capable of running up to 100 amps. I know you can get any of those things from a parts store but what do you think would be the car and engine to get one for? I looked up one for a 2000 Mustang gt and the brackets looked different. Maybe something from the 90's or is that too old to work with the harness?
Any info is appreciated. Thanks.
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If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer.
I believe (but cannot be for sure) that a Ford 1994-2000 3.8L v6 is the engine that has the 130A alternator that will bolt up to our 66'ish 289's.
I was just looking into this last week... I just purchased a 130A chrome alternator for 94-95 mustang gt.. should be the same as the above mentioned later model years.
I hasn't arrived yet so I can't say but I'm pretty sure it will fit w/o issues.
I believe the Ford Part number is F4SU-10300-AA or something like that. The one I bought was made by PAPerformance and Eastwood as an OEM for another company to sell under their brand... but still had lifetime warranty with PA Performance (supposedly).
coming in less than $200 was still 100+ less than buying direct from PA Performance for same thing.
__________________ 1966 Mustang GT RestoMod Project: 307c.i.d.,Holly 600 4brrl, TrickFlow Heads, Power Disc Brakes, Integral Power & Tilt Steering, AOD, 9" 3.50 posi rear end & a bunch of other stuff.
Project start date 1999. Completion date... fagidaboudit!
I got mine from a 1995 Ford Mustang 3.8 which is the larger 130a case. You can also use the smaller 95A case unit from a 1992 Ford Aerostar 2WD 3.0L. I highly recommend this alternator upgrade 14amps at idle all day long.
What year is your car? You don't need a 3G alternator, just a one wire. I got my Tuff Stuff 100 amp from Summit for about $90.
It is a 67 289 with the two barrel. It also said it wouldn't work with a points distributor or the ammeter in the gauge cluster which means I would eventually need a volt meter but nowhere to put it. I may look into a dash face from Classic Instruments to fix that. So what was supposed to be a year old purchase that shouldn't cost any more just became a money pit.
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If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer.
It is a 67 289 with the two barrel. It also said it wouldn't work with a points distributor or the ammeter in the gauge cluster which means I would eventually need a volt meter but nowhere to put it. I may look into a dash face from Classic Instruments to fix that. So what was supposed to be a year old purchase that shouldn't cost any more just became a money pit.
Correct, it does not support an ammeter. I had a Pertronix Ignitor under my distributor so that wasn't an issue for me. Hate to see you sell the kit. It's a good one. With a few of those upgrades for the kit, it will make the car more enjoyable to drive....trust me.
The 95 amp 3G is smaller than the 130 amp 3G. I got my 95 amp off of a 1995 F250 with a 460 at the Pick & Pull for $25. The 95 amp has 4 holes in between the 3 pairs of ribs. The 130 amp only has 2 holes between the ribs.
I may or may not end up selling it. I will have to look at all the costs. This project was going to be something to fill in time after getting laid off this past week. Financially I'm pretty good with a severance package but I'm not big on making any unnecessary purchases at the moment.
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If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer.
I may or may not end up selling it. I will have to look at all the costs. This project was going to be something to fill in time after getting laid off this past week. Financially I'm pretty good with a severance package but I'm not big on making any unnecessary purchases at the moment.
Sorry to hear the news. Parts are expensive, I understand. I just ordered a polished one wire alt....if you want, I will sell my existing Tuff Stuff one wire cheap. Unless my new one turns out to be crap. Whatever you do though, you DO NOT need a 3G alternator. Let me know.
"you DO NOT need a 3G". "Need", probably not. But I wouldn't trade my 3G's for anything. I've never been terribly impressed with old style (10si, 12si) GM alternators. Changed a whole lot of them back in their day (1970's-early '90's). Less impressed when they are overstressed outside of their designed operating parameters to produce twice as many amps as original. For the record I've never much liked Ford 1G or 2G alternators either. 3G's are designed to put out their rated amps. And they do it well. Better cooling and bearings than old-school alternators and they can put out more amps at idle than many old 1G Ford alternators put out on their best day.
Those Delco 1-wires don't charge initially. You have to rev the engine up to about 1500 rpm or so to get them "kickstarted". Bothers many folks not at all but annoys heck out of me.
Downsides of 3G's are that they aren't very pretty. NOT one-wires, quite. And some folks have had minor troubles mounting them. But if/when you need a new one, it's close as your local parts store. (I don't have any extras, sorry.)
On the upsides of the GM's, they can be prettified. Chromed, smoothed, etc. If you're after the clean and simple hotrod look they are hard to beat. The ones reworked to fit Fords are direct bolt-ons. Hard to beat the simplicity of hooking up a single wire.
Hey there mtill, true.. you do not need a 3g, but it is a better unit than a GM type one wire and certainly better than the barely adequate original alternator...
if you ever plan on running any additional electrical items like fans, amps, lights, stereo, a/c.. etc and you don't want your lights to dim at idle, it is recommended that you upgrade to 3G. A simple resistor on the line allows it to 'fire' when key is in start position. This type of application will elminate the original voltage regulator and you can easily utilize the modern benefits of the 3G and it is still Ford.
If you want your original gauges to work, then you can use PA Performance's voltage regulator replacement part which contains the proper resistor inside so it basically plugs and plays with your stock wiring... that is about $29.00 at cj's or direct from PAPerf. the alternator can be had, as stated above, from a pick and pull for less than $40.00.
so for less than it costs to purchase a brand new 3G alternator, you can get what you need and still retain your stock wiring.
You will also need a fatter (4ga) cable with fuse from your 3G alternator to the starter selenoid b/c the newer alt puts out so much more power than the origiinal, it will burn up the original wire to the selenoid.
Additionally, & just for fun, a 1-wire cannot be made into a 3G alternator, but 3G alternators can be made into a one-wire for simple hookup... but you lose your gauge functions
__________________ 1966 Mustang GT RestoMod Project: 307c.i.d.,Holly 600 4brrl, TrickFlow Heads, Power Disc Brakes, Integral Power & Tilt Steering, AOD, 9" 3.50 posi rear end & a bunch of other stuff.
Project start date 1999. Completion date... fagidaboudit!
Hey there mtill, true.. you do not need a 3g, but it is a better unit than a GM type one wire and certainly better than the barely adequate original alternator...
if you ever plan on running any additional electrical items like fans, amps, lights, stereo, a/c.. etc and you don't want your lights to dim at idle, it is recommended that you upgrade to 3G. A simple resistor on the line allows it to 'fire' when key is in start position. This type of application will elminate the original voltage regulator and you can easily utilize the modern benefits of the 3G and it is still Ford.
If you want your original gauges to work, then you can use PA Performance's voltage regulator replacement part which contains the proper resistor inside so it basically plugs and plays with your stock wiring... that is about $29.00 at cj's or direct from PAPerf. the alternator can be had, as stated above, from a pick and pull for less than $40.00.
so for less than it costs to purchase a brand new 3G alternator, you can get what you need and still retain your stock wiring.
You will also need a fatter (4ga) cable with fuse from your 3G alternator to the starter selenoid b/c the newer alt puts out so much more power than the origiinal, it will burn up the original wire to the selenoid.
Additionally, & just for fun, a 1-wire cannot be made into a 3G alternator, but 3G alternators can be made into a one-wire for simple hookup... but you lose your gauge functions
Funny that you mentioned about the wires burning up. I used a breaker for mine but I read that some people didn't. Also I just got done reading mustang monthly from a few months back on the 3G alternator install that the oem harness can hold up to 60 amps safely.
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Dave
2004 Nissan Titan Crew Cab
1966 Ford Mustang Original 289
Edelbrock RPM Performer Heads; bored .30 over
Weiand Stealth Intake, Holley 600 CFM Carb.
Comp Cam 268H 9.5:1 Speed Pro Pistons
Patriot Tri-Y Headers w/ 2.5" H Pipe, Flowmaster 40S
620 1" drop in front, CSRP Front Disk Brakes.
Ford 8 3.40 trac-loc rear end
If I looked at the directions correctly there is a fusible link in the kit for the alternator to the solenoid. As for a pick and pull, there is a salvage yard near my house I may check out tomorrow. I only plan on upgrading the car slightly, maybe fans and a secret audio system. I really wish AAW would have put all this on their website rather than the little disclaimer at the bottom of the page. Oh well.
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If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer.
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100 amp alternator?
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