Bench Alternator

[Kenny Pollock 10+ year member]

Alright, I'm spreading this question all over the forum so I figured I'd make a thread.

I'm getting my 200A Excessive Amperage alternator today, and because of the shady rep I'd like to make sure it not only works, but that it puts out 200A.

How would I go about doing it? No local shop has the equipment to do it, from what I hear. What do you recommend I do?

Click to read more...

 

[Twistid 5,000+ posts]

they dont come with bench sheets like new amps do?

 

[nVRuckus 5,000+ posts]

well lets just say excessive doesnt have the best rep around here. LOL Its really hit or miss whether the alt works right, and he got it for way cheaper than everyone else was quoting and a 4 day turn around time. So needless to say there is cause for concern.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Autozone or Advance Auto parts... you CANNOT do it yourself.

nG

 

[danteBirosel 5,000+ posts]

lol sorry brotha but autozone or advance auto parts will not give accurate readings.

http://audioforum.termpro.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/ubb/get_topic/f/22/t/003982.html

Straight from a test by Dom from iraqqi.

Your local "Autozone" or "Advanced"
I have taken my personal vehicle to both of these parts stores just to see why I get so many calls and emails stating "I had my alternator tested and it doesnt work or only does 20 amps". Both companies are improperly trained in how to test your alternator.

1.The first thing they do is roll out their tester and connect it wrong. They put the current clamp on the battery negative. Why they want to know how much current is going through your negative battery terminal is beyond me..... I personally like to know how much current is coming out the alternator OUTPUT terminal...which is the positive one.

While your sitting there at idle, before the test even begins, the tester is telling you how much current is going through the negative battery terminal. This is how much charging current your battery is pulling. They all confuse this with how much current your alternator is doing at idle. You need to first load the alternator down before you can determine how much current your alternator is capable of producing.

Just for example....I have 3-300 amp alternators on my Suburban. They told me I was doing 55 amps at idle and 168 amps max. He did admit tho after seeing under the hood, he didnt really know anything about setups like mine.

I would type more, but I gotta go. If anybody would like some explanation of other issues, let me know.

Hope this post helps.

Thanks, Dominick Iraggi

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Better than nothing. Also I agree that some employees are tards, but not all of them are.

Mine was done by a regional service rep, and he did it correctly. Load on the alternator, OF COURSE, that's why the test works. They ask you to let the car idle, they take a 30second reading, then they as you to keep the car @2k rpm for about 30seconds to take a reading. Then they let it idle again, and get a final reading.

1. It doesn't work well with multiple alternator setups

2. The max amperage is something like 300amps

3. Imagine, someone who sells alternators... telling you that shit Dante. I believe it tho if the employee is a tard.

It's not a 100% dead-on, write it in the books reading. But it is a good idea //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif.

Mine 200amp Mean-Green alternator was tested @218amps.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

nG

 

[Kenny Pollock 10+ year member]

Called my local AutoZone and they told me they could tell me if my alternator works or not, not what it's putting out.

 

[nVRuckus 5,000+ posts]

will autozone test it off the car or does he need to instal it first?

 

[danteBirosel 5,000+ posts]

Better than nothing. Also I agree that some employees are tards, but not all of them are.
Mine was done by a regional service rep, and he did it correctly. Load on the alternator, OF COURSE, that's why the test works. They ask you to let the car idle, they take a 30second reading, then they as you to keep the car @2k rpm for about 30seconds to take a reading. Then they let it idle again, and get a final reading.

1. It doesn't work well with multiple alternator setups

2. The max amperage is something like 300amps

3. Imagine, someone who sells alternators... telling you that shit Dante. I believe it tho if the employee is a tard.

It's not a 100% dead-on, write it in the books reading. But it is a good idea //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif.

Mine 200amp Mean-Green alternator was tested @218amps.

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

nG

Yea i guess it depends on how determine the employee is and the knowledge he has on alts. I'll go to my autozone, and ask them to test my alt, and see what they say. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/moon.gif.9d317aec3339ffe7fde0638df52c628a.gif

Dante

 

[danteBirosel 5,000+ posts]

will autozone test it off the car or does he need to instal it first?

Good question. When i recieve my alt, i would just want to go to autozone and see if they can run a quick test on it.

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

Install it...

Get a clamp meter.

Clamp it up to the output cable read it at idle.

Then idle the car where he said it would produce 200a (usually 2krpm) and read it again.

Mine actually produced more then it is rated for.

 

[QtrHorse 10+ year member]

I agree with ngsm. Dom is a alternator builder and I've read more than a few posts where someone stated that his alternators did not put out the correct amperage. It would be like a amplifier manufacture stating that his amp did not test high enough because everyone uses the incorrect method to test them and only his bench is the correct one.

I had my 200 amp alternator built at a local shop ($215ish out the door). They're not just some little hole in the wall place either. They bench tested my alternator for me after building it and stated that it put out 211 amps. I then took it to Autozone and had them test it just to make sure. They stated it put out 208 amps, not much of a difference there. My autozone actually connects the lead to the charge cable coming off the alternator and they do have you hold the high RPM's for about a minute to get an acurate reading.

I wouldn't think that there would be more than a 5% variance between the alternator manufacture and someone like Autozone testing them. It will give you a good idea to what the alternator is putting out. If there is a 15% or greater difference, then I would be concerned and contact the alternator manufacture. I guess if you call Dom, he's just going to say they tested it wrong. Does anyone know what Dom's recall percentage is? Another thing you have to look at, I'm sure he makes a ton of alternators and maybe his failure rate is only around 5%, which is acceptable.

 

[gl0ck 10+ year member]

good read

 

[phyphoestilic 5,000+ posts]

Oh no, im about to order mine from him cuse he's the only one that makes a 200a for my car.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Install it...
Get a clamp meter.

Clamp it up to the output cable read it at idle.

Then idle the car where he said it would produce 200a (usually 2krpm) and read it again.

Mine actually produced more then it is rated for.

That doesn't work //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

Your alternator DOES NOT put out it's rated amperage all the time, or when at 2k rmp, and DEFINITELY not 24/7

The alternator only provides amperage when it needs to, when it is under load. If it doesn't need to charge, it won't.

That's why the test works at those 2retailers, it puts a LARGE load on your system... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

nG