Important: Improvements on Saturn Alternator Swap

[ECLEVO4G]

What is a potentiometer? My fuel pump isn't rewired just got the wally in there right now, but I am going to get a external pump.

how would you do the potentiometer mod to our cars, that seems to be very useful to have. If i can control the voltage coming from the alt it would be great

 

[turboglenn]

Just get the self exciting regulator and call it done. 4 gauge to battery, no wires from the harness needed.

All the saturn CS style alternators are self exciting.... but a better degree of of voltage consistancy can be had when the unit is powered on with a line with at least 35 OHms to 300 Ohms resistance (the dummy light provies the resitance along with out charging relay that's on 2g cars byt the BCS), and then with the "S" wire ran to the point where the alternator, battery , accesorries (meaning CDI boxes, radio, fuel pump etc..) andstarter all meet up you get the most consistant voltage to all aspects of the electrical system. I posted diagrams in the fist pages that explain how to getthe best performance from our alternators (well our saturn swaps anyway)

 

[ECLEVO4G]

so I should run a 12 guage wire from s -wire to where I connect the battery, starter and fuse box at? Should I change the wires coming from the fuse box to another gauge wire? I know in an early post it said 4 gauge from fuse box to battery and 4 gauge from alt to battery as well. So everything is going with the battery?

 

[turboglenn]

Yes, connect it where everything major comes together.. I ran 4 gauge from the alt to fusebox, then from fusebox to battery and from there i have a distributiob block that houses the leads for the starter, fuel pump MSD, and all the car's normal accesories... This is where i tied in the "S" wire (I also have 4 gauge running from the starter to dist block and from the accessorie fuse (underhood) i also added 4 gauge instead of the 4 other wires that were there (the white ones)

If you read through it all the "S" wire should hook to a block where all of the major current draining leads join up, and yopu'll most likely need to use your own dist block

 

[Logue]

Hey Glenn,

I just read through the whole article here lots of good info, my old alts. on its way out charging 12.9-13.0. So i picked up a Saturn Atl. last night 16 bucks at the U-pull it. I haven't gone out to the car yet and inspected all the wiring colors but do you think you make a quick diagram of the wiring you did matching color to color and such. Just as an extra reference. I'm not really in the mood to fry my whole system

Now I just need to go out and pick up the pigtail.

Thanks.

 

[My1GLaser]

Well, I had a chance to wire in the potentiometer and do some testing this weekend. I got it all hooked up and even with it turned all the way up there is very little to no voltage increase from the alt over just having the sense wire run straight to the batt.

I have a 1M ohm version and when I hook it up straight to the batt and check the voltage, it reads 12.7 and when I turn the resistance up it reads 5v at the lowest. So I figure I only need to reduce what the alt sees by about 1-1.5v and this will work great.

I don't know what I am missing here? This should have worked. I rebuilt the alt with a 150amp stator and replaced the brushes/bearings and even bought the HD regulator??? The f_cker should be putting out more voltage than the 13.8v I get, which quickly turns to 12.8 with the lights and fans running.

 

[seminoles2005]

I knew the person on this forum who told me how to wire this when I started installing and putting my car back together wasn't right after I finally started my car and my distribution block only read 12.8v at idle.

At first I didnt think much about it as I had a lot of other things going on with the car, then one day i tried to turn the car on and it wouldnt turn over.

I have the same plug as My1GLaser for a saturn alternator which has the brown solid and brown w/white for the "f" and "l".

The person told me to run the stock alternator black w/white wire to the "L" and leave the other stock wire that was thicker and yellow in color alone to hang. They told me to run the "F" wire to my ignition. I also have a 4 gauge wire to the power of my alternator that attaches with a nut and this wire goes all the way to my battery in the trunk. I have a 0 gauge wire to my distribution block in my engine bay which is how i monitor the voltage.

I'm still not 100% sure of where to run my wires but it looks like i should either buy a new plug that has the "S" pin.

Can someone tell me how my wires should be ran? I'm going to be upset if the way i had it previously set up blew my new 200 amp alternator....

 

[seminoles2005]

After reading this entire thread slowly I figured i should attempt to re-wire my plug but this time with a new plug that has the "s" wire in it.

The black w/yellow wire should go to the "L" wire on the plug and the "S" should go to a place that will monitor voltage the best. Any main power wire basically.

I just wanted to know is the "F" wire is needed at all? And do i leave the other original wire off the stock alternator plug i clipped off just to hang there?

Or would it be best if I run "F" to a switchable power source, one that turns on when the key is on and off when the car is off?

 

[My1GLaser]

I just wanted to know is the "F" wire is needed at all? Or would it be best if I run "F" to a switchable power source, one that turns on when the key is on and off when the car is off?

No. As long as the L wire is hooked up its fine. Thats how mine is.

And do i leave the other original wire off the stock alternator plug i clipped off just to hang there?

Yes. I might have taped it off or something.

 

[seminoles2005]

Are you guys using the original pulley off the saturn alternator or did you put the stock dsm alternator pulley on the saturn alternator?

I have the two wires hooked up properly but my voltage is extremely low and i cannt not figure out why.

 

[knochgoon24]

The Saturn pulley.

 

[ECLEVO4G]

Ok this is weird! I wired everything up according to this thread, but when the black/yellow wire from the 2g harness is connected to the L wire on saturn plug. My alternator makes a buzzing sound when the car is on, it won't make it if the key isnt in the on position. When I messed with the wires sometimes the buzzing will stop but now it came back!

 

[ECLEVO4G]

I am back again with the same problem! I have the wires hooked up correctly but my alternator humms only when the ignition is on. i followed the diagram in this post but to no luck it still hums

 

[turboglenn]

Unhook the "F" wire that's causing your humming... all you really need is the "L" wire (but it must ahve a dummy light connected to it or it will fry the regualtor in the alternator)

The "L" and "F" do the same thing and that's activate the unit (or excite in alternator terms) the "S" wire is for improved charging and better voltage stability.

I have been so busy with work that i haven't had the time to get on the net lately, so sorry for all the alte replies to PM's and such.

knochgoon.... I'll have them pulleys by mid october.. I got a broch of the correct size and have everything else i just have to finish up this huge paint job on a mansion that one of my builders lives in (hoping this wednesday..raining today and can'twork) so i'll be hitting you up soon for the trial run pulley for you.

i'll try and draw up a diagram here soon as well for the wiring since i've gotten a lot of requests over PM, email and here in the post.

as for adding a third wire to the plug... just go to autozone/o'reillys and ask for apigtail for a GM CS style alternator...they will say they don't have it if you ask for one for a saturn... man some parts people are just a bit tooun-informed to work at a parts store, but hey everyone starts some where

 

[knochgoon24]

knochgoon.... I'll have them pulleys by mid october.. I got a broch of the correct size and have everything else i just have to finish up this huge paint job on a mansion that one of my builders lives in (hoping this wednesday..raining today and can'twork) so i'll be hitting you up soon for the trial run pulley for you.

Works for me. I've been busy with several other side projects lately anyways.

 

[ECLEVO4G]

turbo glenn I have it wired correctly but it only humms when the key is on! I only have the L wire hooked up to the black/yellow wire! Also the sense wire is hooked properly but when I disconnect the L wire from the black/yellow wire the humming stops. But only humms when key is on

 

[talondsp1]

turbo glenn I have it wired correctly but it only humms when the key is on! I only have the L wire hooked up to the black/yellow wire! Also the sense wire is hooked properly but when I disconnect the L wire from the black/yellow wire the humming stops. But only humms when key is on

I have had a lot of these hum when the regulator is excited.(has power to it) They always worked fine though. Is yours charging good?

 

[Blurred Talon]

Great info here Glen, thanks!
I will be doing the Saturn upgrade in a couple weeks to take care of my charging issues.

What size grounds should I use?

 

[ECLEVO4G]

I have had a lot of these hum when the regulator is excited.(has power to it) They always worked fine though. Is yours charging good?

I must be doing something wrong or using not so good wires! when i start the car it goes up to 14.1 then drops all the way down to 13.0. It stays between 12.8 to 13.1 and I have the sense wire going to where the battery, starter, fuse box, and alt cables go!

 

[turbosax2]

APEX..... ONLY RUN THE BLACK WITH yellow stripe to the "L" wire it stands for "light" as in the dummy light and if it doesn't have at least 35 ohms resistance you will fry the alternator on the spot... ( THIS is why we have the "alternator relay" it's not really a relay but a resistance box to add some more resistance over the dash bulb) The "F" wire is the one that does not need a resistor and both the "L" and "F" serve the same purpose and that is to activate the alt.

Glenn, I'm curious about this part. Where did the 35 ohm number come from? My car, being a '99, has no generator relay from the factory. I have a lifetime warranty on my 200A alternator but I obviously don't want to fry it right away when I try to start the car up. I'd have to check, but I doubt I have 35 ohms on the L wire, unless the factory compensated for this in another way when they chucked the generator relay. If what you are saying is true, then I could either add an inline resistor on my L wire, or just remove that wire and run a switched 12v to the F wire. I already have my car wired up per the old directions so I'm trying to confirm before I go changing it, but I would like to have the dash light functional.

 

[chanley talon]

Okay this is completely new to me. Can someone explain what i need to run a Saturn alternator for a 1g. I get confused reading cause it goes from 1g to 2g.
I need to know what has to be done to make it fit then what i do with the old wiring? 2 white wires and the ground. I am tired of having dying alternators and need help on this all steps from begening to end for A 1g. Thanks so much for your time and help.

 

[Logue]

I'm getting p1500 CEL "generator circuit malfunction" coming on. I have voltage between "13.5-14.5v"

I wired as follows.

Stock Black/yellow wire to terminal "L" on GM connector
Terminal "S" of GM connector wired to distibution block at B+.

Other 2 wires from stock harness are not hooked up. Should they should be, some say no. What's the haaps? I'm guessing one of these wires needs to be hooked up. But to what?

 

[knochgoon24]

Do we have a part number for the plug from Advance or the likes?
When I pulled mine from the junkyard, it just has a 2 wire plug. F and L.

I have to weld a new flex section into my exhaust next week so I can pass inspections by the end of the month. I'm putting my car up on my buddy's lift, so it's a prime time to get this swapped in, especially before the winter when my A/C - Defroster will be running full blast at idle to get the windows defrosted.

EDIT:
I finally found the part number on my alternator

Delco: 21023702
It's 96 Amps

I that should be a bit better than the stock POS.

When looking for an alternator, try to clean off the part number. The Amp rating is printed just below it. There seems there may have been multiple Amp versions in different S-series. The older (91?-93?) have the 96Amp ones. Newer ones have 90Amps.

 

[talondsp1]

Do we have a part number for the plug from Advance or the likes?

I got a 3 wire plug from Oreilly's, and the brand is Dorman. the number on the package is 85854 it says use with GM regulators 1116411 and 1116408.

Hope this helps you find it easy.

 

[black_gst]

Do we have a part number for the plug from Advance or the likes?

I got a 3 wire plug from Oreilly's, and the brand is Dorman. the number on the package is 85854 it says use with GM regulators 1116411 and 1116408.

Hope this helps you find it easy.

awesome man... thanks for getting the part # on here. i just got my saturn Alt and im gonna have it built to approx. 180 amps for about $100 they even said they could have and adapter harnees made to go from the gm plug to the mitsu style. would anyone else be interested in a adapter harness? pm me if you are and maybe i can get a few made.

and a diagram would be great!