How good are 1G alternators?

[AntiZeroTrip]

Today my alternator went to hell. I unsterstand kind of, It looked old. However, In my friends laser she has gone through 3 alternators in a short time period. Granted she has a big system in the back and a huge amp, which is what I figured was killing her alternator. but now that mine has gone out it got me thinking. I am only running a 12" sub on a smaller amp, shouldnt lead to the destruction of the alternator. I have my heat shields on, so its not going from that. Has anyone else had chronic alternator failure? is there anything around to help the alternator out in cars that pull more juice? Just thinking ahead.

 

[oldman]

Stock is 75 amp, they also have one at 90 amp.

 

[heppm01]

Stock is 75 amp, they also have one at 90 amp.

Ugh, I hate having to, um, "clarify" a Wiseman, but:

Manual 1G's have a 65 amp alternator.
Auto 1G's have a 75 amp alternator.
All Canadian 1G's have a 90 amp alternator.

No idea about 2G's.

Yep, rebuilds are hit and miss. In my experience, however, the biggest caust of alternator failure is fluid (usually from the power steering hoses and pump) dripping on/into the alternator.

M

 

[oldman]

Ugh, I hate having to, um, "clarify" a Wiseman, but:

Manual 1G's have a 65 amp alternator.
Auto 1G's have a 75 amp alternator.
All Canadian 1G's have a 90 amp alternator.

How dare you?...... There is nothing wrong with clarifying a wiseman at all as the purpose of this forum is to provide factual information, I think most of us are mature enough to swallow our pride when we're wrong, mostly....

With that said, when I pulled my manual 1G alternator, it was a 75amp. I've called dealership, Autozone.....etc. and they all said my car came with a 75amp, this is the first time I even heard that the 65amp unit existed. I'm not saying you're wrong , just going by my experience. I now have the 90 amp unit in the car.

 

[heppm01]

With that said, when I pulled my manual 1G alternator, it was a 75amp. I've called dealership, Autozone.....etc. and they all said my car came with a 75amp

It's fairly common for previous owners to "upgrade" when the original craps out - I know I have.

Interesting comments re: dealer and Autozone. My experience has been just the opposite. Of course, the day I blindly trust what a dealer or Autozone employee tells me is the day the pry my metric wrenches from my cold, dead hands.

M

 

[94mitsuGST]

I am on my 3rd alternator since buying my car. The first that came with the car was just covered in oil from dipstick popping and didn't last too long. The second was a bad rebuild. After all of this I installed a voltmeter because both times my alternators failed I was 25+ miles from home.

 

[ChicksDigBoost]

Heres a link to some info on the higher amp alternator:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81118&highlight=canadian+alternator

 

[steve]

Ugh, I hate having to, um, "clarify" a Wiseman, but:

Manual 1G's have a 65 amp alternator.
Auto 1G's have a 75 amp alternator.
All Canadian 1G's have a 90 amp alternator.

Small correction since it really is common to misread this part of the service manual but Turbo 1G's and all automatics got 75A alternators. Canadian N/T MT's also got the 75A while the Turbo MT and all autos got the 90A like you said.

Steve

 

[AntiZeroTrip]

Thanks for all the good information. getting an alternator with a higher ampage will be better for a car running more electrical components (stereo, TV screen, PS2 etc) and not cause the alt to die out? as quick as a stock amp alternator replacement? Im just a little confused but logic would denote that the higher amp alternator wouldnt have to work as hard as a stock amp alternator and therefor last longer. Right?

 

[heppm01]

Small correction since it really is common to misread this part of the service manual but Turbo 1G's and all automatics got 75A alternators. Canadian N/T MT's also got the 75A while the Turbo MT and all autos got the 90A like you said.

Steve

So I'm sitting here thinking to myself, "Gee, these Wisemen don't seem all that wise to me". And misread the Service Manual? Heck, my five-year-old could figure that chart out. So I pull out my 1990 Service Manual, and sure enough, it's like I remembered. But then a little thought interrupts my reverie of smug self-satisfaction. "Well, they are Wisemen, after all. Maybe I should look into this more closely."

So I took a look at the Service Manual on CD, vintage 1991, (do you see where I'm headed?) and lo and behold! Not only is that chart completely reformatted, but the amperage values are different!

So mystery solved. The '90s have a slightly different alternator lineup than the '91-'94s.
For the 1990 2.0: USA MT - 65A, USA AT, Canada MT - 75A, Canada AT - 90A. Other 1Gs are as Steve said.

And now that I've spoiled the thread with my foot-stamping, I-just-hafta-be-right hissy fit, I'll slip back behind the curtains, and make a promise to myself that before I post next to make sure I give due consideration to whether what I'm about to say may in fact be something peculiar to '90s.

Don't even get me started about throttle bodies.

M

(Note to original poster: Yep, generally speaking bigger is better)

 

[steve]

It's really too bad that Vineet didn't have a '90 FSM to scan when he made the Manual CD. There are so many got ya's when it comes to '90 cars and finding docs on them is difficult. Now I can add another one to my list. Thanks for the info.

Steve