H.O. alternator made me LOOSE voltage?

[OoMesKoO 10+ year member]

Well... after 180 bucks, I bought a brandy new alterstart 180a alternator for my tahoe. Well, after i installed it, I have worse voltage than i did with my stock 100a alt. I dont get it. I got the big 3 done, on a stock battery.

Its like... when i pull up to a stop light, with foot on the brake, the voltage just drops.... no music or anything. As soon as i drive it shoots right back up though. Someone have an idea?

Thanks!

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[docutech 10+ year member]

sounds like a defective alt. Bad voltage regulator mabe?

 

[nickf rom ROE 10+ year member]

my Ohio Gen alt dose that I believe that every alt dose that aswell even stock ones

 

[docutech 10+ year member]

Wouldnt a smaller pulley make a difference too? I think I remember a guy from mean green telling me that with a smaller one (a pulley) you can kick up the output at idle...? WTF do i know tho //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[Mat Dope 10+ year member]

my alterstart alt does that. just get a good battery to hold you down at idle and it will charge when your driving.

 

[OoMesKoO 10+ year member]

my alterstart alt does that. just get a good battery to hold you down at idle and it will charge when your driving.

Ahha... i hope that'll solve my problem. I start up everytime... so i know the alternator is charging. but my battery def. does **** ballses..

 

[Omarvelous 10+ year member]

I'd check the alt see what the amps are at different revs.

You could have a 180a "HIGH OUTPUT" alt that gives out less then your oem 100a Alt at idle....

ALWAYS check the charts when buying, if the manu has one. Most of the OEM ones are great because they give out no less then what they are rated at. Now i'd pay a pretty penny for an alt that does 160+ all revs.

I can see how a smaller pulley would work, basically will cause the alt to turn more, fooling it to act as if it was in a higher rev then it really is, therefore puttin out more amps.

Then again, i'm talkin sort of out the ***.... no expert, but i'm pretty sure my logic is right on.

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

its all in the rpms. at idle sitting at a light the rpms drop low and the alt doesnt charge. smaller pulley should fix it.

 

[OoMesKoO 10+ year member]

http://superpageshosting.com/4alterstartcom/pages/store/skudetail.nhtml?profile=highoutputalternators&uid=10999&returnURL=http%3A//superpageshosting.com/4alterstartcom/pages/common/sitesearch.nhtml%3Fquery%3Dtahoe&catuid=10013

Thats the one i bought... Also... i just noticed i only really did half of the big 3. The alt. wire is 0awg... the engine ground/battery ground is 4 gauge... Think thats my problemo?

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

what does your vehicle idle at in gear?

 

[Omarvelous 10+ year member]

http://superpageshosting.com/4alterstartcom/pages/store/skudetail.nhtml?profile=highoutputalternators&uid=10999&returnURL=http%3A//superpageshosting.com/4alterstartcom/pages/common/sitesearch.nhtml%3Fquery%3Dtahoe&catuid=10013
Thats the one i bought... Also... i just noticed i only really did half of the big 3. The alt. wire is 0awg... the engine ground/battery ground is 4 gauge... Think thats my problemo?

highly doubt that is it. At such a short distance, dont think much diff bet 4 n 0. Especially doesn't justify the decrease at idle.

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

my alterstart alt does that. just get a good battery to hold you down at idle and it will charge when your driving.

no offense to you, but that is unacceptable IMO. what happens when you get stuck in traffic that is hardly moving? are you gonna rev it while you wait so your car doesnt stall?

a HO alt should easily keep your voltage up at idle. even a big 250 amp one considering some stock alts put out 65 amps MAx (at cruise) and are still sufficient enough to charge the battery, run the electrical system of the car (coil packs, radio, high beam lights, interior lights etc etc) while the car is idling. so just imagine how much amps its putting out at idle...using a battery in this case is like using a capacitor for a 4kw system IMO.

i agree with the smaller pulley remark.

 

[ghart999 10+ year member]

But would a smaller pulley cause too much voltage at higher rpms?

 

[4frogger 10+ year member]

If you go with a smaller pulley you run into the chance that at high rpms it spins too fast which would be a bad thing.

My HO does the same thing and its annoying, but its not like my car is going to stall at idle or anything.

No HO alternator produces much power at idle. When you look at all the alts out there you will see a common issue and thats power produced at idle.

 

[Qbenjamin 10+ year member]

The alt that I got from DEBELCTRICAL does the same thing. I will be returning it also. I sit at the light, and the voltage just droppped and dropped. My stock alt charges better than the "HO ALT" that I received. I am not interested in buying another alternator again, as I think that I am just going to put a Kinetik HC2400 in the trunk next to the amp, and call it a day. I am very dissatisfied with the alt that I received. How is the alt helping out at all if it only put out 105amps while idle?