new alternator

[kottonmouth 10+ year member]

well here is the deal......whenever i come to a stop now my car's voltage goes down to 9 volts and when drivin it is at about 11 volts and the lights are always dim. the car almost shuts off when i stop. i want to get a 180 or 200 amp alternator. would 180 be enough so i can power everything? and what is a good website for alternators?

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[Rampant_Racoon 10+ year member]

you have caps in there?

 

[taylor 10+ year member]

you could get just a new stock alt. and that would probably fix that...

 

[zane 10+ year member]

Sounds like either an alternator or voltage regulator is bad or close to it.

First of all- what type of car is this? Engine Size? Stock Alt rating?

Then- what does your system consist of?

This will help us better determine the best logical choice to correct this issue.

take it easy,

-zane

 

[Rampant_Racoon 10+ year member]

yea. is it doing that all the time or only when your system is pumped?

 

[kottonmouth 10+ year member]

this does this all the time....and the car is a 1990 Dodge Dynasty and has a 3.3 liter engine. i cant find what my stock alt rating is. my system is just a Profile 800SX with 2 JBL GT's. i dont have caps. but with a couple months i am gooing to be buying 2 JL Audio W6's with a JBL 1200.1 amp.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

i definatly would recomend getting a new alt. should solve that problem....good luck

 

[taylor 10+ year member]

my dad works for chrysler and he replaced his in his acclaim which has the mitsubishi 3.0 liter and his was about 90 amps i think and he has A/C, if you car has A/C that is what yours will have close to i'm guessing. Although the 3.3 isn't japanese so it could be a little less...but close i'm guessing.

 

[kottonmouth 10+ year member]

how much is 140 and/or 180 amp alternator

 

[taylor 10+ year member]

tough to say because you would have to buy one from stinger or another company like that....but id imagine it would be cheaper just to get yours rewound.

 

[natem33 10+ year member]

I'd say get a new stock alternator and have it rewound before you installed it. This is assuming that you have pinpointed the alternator as the problem. Many places will test it for free if you don't know how.

 

[Rampant_Racoon 10+ year member]

or you could go to an auto wrecker and pick up a used one for cheap. really simple to install them. not sure what u wanna do though

 

[zane 10+ year member]

should be internal regulator if memory serves- so replacing the alt is the best bet.

check out any local auto parts store or junkyard as allready mentioned. Also may want to have a look here:

http://www.mralternator.com

http://www.summitracing.com

http://www.nopi.com

http://www.carparts.com

http://www.jcwhitney.com

take it easy.

-zane

 

[kottonmouth 10+ year member]

thanks everybody for your help but we found the problem. the rectifier (dont know how to spell it) went bad and the stock alt. is 140 amp. so theyare gonna rewind it for $70.