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Important: Improvements on Saturn Alternator Swap

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I have read through the all 15 pages and still confused. Seems as though there is more than one way to wire this thing. One wire, two wire, and three wire route. Which is a better method?

Can somebody post a diagram of how it needs to be wired? I am more of a visual learner and If I can see it I will have a better understanding on how to do this thing. Some of the old diagrams are outdated and can't be seen anymore so if we have the latest map it will be great for everybody to look at.
 
I heard this....is this right?

"Red wire from pig tail - battery
black wire - yellow wire
brown wire - black and yellow wire"

Also this....


"Registered: August 15, 2007
Posts: 4777
Loc: Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

So I have this hooked up right now:

Large Yellow - Black
Black and yellow - Brown
And I'm going to run a 10G wire from the red wire to the battery. Just to see how this will work out. I will also try wiring the red one into somewhere that sees voltage drop, like a fan wire or something like Rob said. And then see how it works from there.

I am just hoping to avoid the battery draining issue that some people had mentioned on DSMTuners. I will try it out and if it works then great, if my battery gets drained over night, then I'll re-do the wiring and let everyone know how it turns out."
 
I have read through the all 15 pages and still confused. Seems as though there is more than one way to wire this thing. One wire, two wire, and three wire route. Which is a better method?

Can somebody post a diagram of how it needs to be wired? I am more of a visual learner and If I can see it I will have a better understanding on how to do this thing. Some of the old diagrams are outdated and can't be seen anymore so if we have the latest map it will be great for everybody to look at.

On a 1 wire setup it has a built in regulator. I assume it increases or decreases resistance within the regulator depending on the amp draw. If im not mistaken its as simple as 1 hot wire running from the alternator to the battery positive. It frame grounds just like everything else on the car by being bolted to the block.

On the other versions, there is a pigtail you purchase that has 3 or 4 wires coming out of it. These use a voltage source to regulate voltage. On the dorman part, the red wire is the "sense" wire (should be the thickest on any pigtail you use). This wire is ran to any 12v source you choose. Assuming you use the 3 wire pigtail, of the 2 other wires one does nothing and one (labeled pin "L")runs to the black and yellow wire on the factory Mitsubishi harness. If you hook the black and yellow wire to the wrong wire on the 3 wire dorman pigtail the alternator wont charge. It will also get VERY hot. I wired mine up incorrectly due to the fact that it was dark outside at the time, and it got hot really fast and flat out didn't work. That is literally all there is to it.

One misconception people have with the sense wire is the belief that putting it at a place like a junction block is the best place to obtain a higher voltage output from the alternator because everything branches off from there. While its not a bad place ( I actually have mine on my junction block), it is somewhat pointless. In a DC system, like our cars, wired parallel, the voltage is the same before any object with resistance. Its after the object that the voltage drop the sense wire uses to raise the alternator output occurs. So rather than going through all the trouble of wiring the sense wire back to the junction block, you could just loop it 6 inches to the positive terminal of the alternator in theory. A better place would be near something that draws a lot of power like a fuel pump rewire or something to that nature.

That sums it all up to my knowledge and it can literally get no simpler than that.
 
Ok just to recap....

Assuming I want to use 3 wire pigtail.

Red wire from pig tail - battery(positive)
black wire - yellow wire? (Harness)
brown wire("L"wire) - black and yellow wire? (Harness)

Dose it also matter what model of Saturn alternator you use?
 
I just put a Camaro alternator in my Colt. It's like a new car. I'm logging 14+ volts for the first time ever. Even my rewound "140A" POS never charged that well for the lousy month that it lasted.
 
What year camaro alt did you use? Did it have to be ground down/modded to fit?
 
I see these ebay alternators and i question them. THIS is the way to go. I would run that sense line right to the fuel pump rewire relay or thereabouts. Thats where it really counts(and drops). A stock or SPAL fan would be a good place as well. It kicks the VDC up when it sees a drop. Whatever you do, dont run to a regulated 12v source. That would cause the alternator to work way to hard to achieve a voltage it simply cant. I think the battery would be toast after a few days of driving. Cant lay 17+ volts on a battery for too many hours before it simply wont hold a charge anymore.
That info has been stated before in a write up i read. Possibly earlier in this thread as i did not go through all 15 pages.


Edit: Plus 1 on the camaro alternator. Details please
 
I did an alternator swap, on my colt vista. I pulled the unit out of a mid to late 90s Chevrolet lumina.
I think it was a 105-115 amp unit.
I made a custom bracket out of steel stock.

I wired the wire in to the switched + source.
I then wired the sense wire to my head light switch, and I ran a fused wire to the battery directly, I'm now running around 13.5 volts at idle [with no lights] ,and around 14+volts with the lights on, so far I like the upgrade.

stock alternator amperage on the colt was... I think like 65 amp ,but I need the extra volts cause my vista has all the optional power accessories on it.
 
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Not here to threadjack, and coming in very late, I learned a new trick the other day for anyone who ventures here (to this thread) just looking to upgrade their 1g alternator. The "trick" used to be, for a 1g m/t car, order the 1g a/t car's alternator, which boosted you from 65 amps to 75 amps. Now here's what I learned, the gvr4's had an optional equipment 90 amp alternator, same frame and all. They're quite rare, but I found a reman'd one at one of my local Advance stores, and grabbed it. Plus you can't beat that lifetime warranty, and if you're lucky grab it on a special deal weekend with 20% off, or retailmenot coupons for 25% off.

So anyone looking for a quick bolt-on boost in amperage, that's another option besides the a/t alternator.
 
Lol, I know they might tell you they don't carry it, but then you give them a part# and oh I do have one I can get. But good info either way, still interested in the ymm of the camaro alt.
 
Post #341. http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/important-improvements-on-saturn-alternator-swap.344794/page-14[DOUBLEPOST=1410364501][/DOUBLEPOST]Update.

Just to clarify, you don't use the black wire on the Saturn connector, you only use the Red and the brrown wires, also you don't need to run any extra wire,.

On a 2g (95/98) just hook up both wires to the stock wiring, the red will get the signal (volts) from the headlights at the fuse box and the brown will go to the alternator resistor (alternator charge light), I don't know about the 1g's though.

Hope that helps.
 
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I recommend making the bracket posted here: http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/im...alternator-swap.344794/page-15#post-153401112

It's probably worth having a couple of belt sizes on hand. I actually ran to the local parts store to get a couple of shorter belts after my first tensioning attempt. The specific length will be somewhat determined by exactly how long you make that tensioner and the size of the pulley on your alternator.

With that simple tensioning bracket, everything works great.
 
I followed the installation instructions as well as I could, but I must be missing a step or not seeing something. With the bracket installed, when I go to adjust the bracket, the two arms just move since both are just attached with a single bolt (stock arm to the block; custom bracket to the alternator) and then to each other. What have I missed?
 

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I followed the installation instructions as well as I could, but I must be missing a step or not seeing something. With the bracket installed, when I go to adjust the bracket, the two arms just move since both are just attached with a single bolt (stock arm to the block; custom bracket to the alternator) and then to each other. What have I missed?

Make sure all the bolts are tight or it will swing back and forth, also try maybe putting a regular washer and a split washer on the swing arm you made, and then lightly torque it down that might help keep the tension on it, so it wont move as much when its on there.
 
The top arm (to the engine block) should not be swinging. You set that one to the best position and tighten it. Once that's set you never move it again.
Then you drop the adjusting bolt into the slot and tighten it until the belt is the right tension. After that tighten the bolt on the triangle block piece. Finally, do a final tightening on the alternator pivot bolts.
Once you have that top arm (to engine block) tight and not moving around, it will make a lot more sense.
 
How about the part number, you know those boys from Advance.
ToughOne Alternator - Remanufactured - 90 Amps
Part No. 14877
Product Application(s):
1991 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4

  • Remanufactured; w/ Opt Elec Equip; 90 Amps
 
.. the gvr4's had an optional equipment 90 amp alternator, same frame and all. They're quite rare...

Not really that rare. I went through 4 of the 90 amp Mitsu' alternators from Checker (Kragen) Auto Parts. They had a lifetime warranty but just aren't able to last and changing them got old real fast. There are some who have been OK with the Mitsu' alternators but most have had continuous issues with them.
I finally got fed up, bought the 1-wire GM alternator, and never looked back. 14.2v right at idle and all the amps you'll ever need.
 
I ended up getting the relocation kit. Is anyone else having a hard time getting the power steering pulley just right. I used a straight edge to align the pulleys, and they seem good, but it keeps throwing them off when I'm driving.
 
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