Rembrant Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 That's great you two! Mine too. I was just out today trying to rehab some of the harness on mine: It's a fair bit knackered (the harness that is, the alternator still looks new). Both are still doing the job and the alt spins along giving a steady 14.7v. I keep looking for a replacement harness at the yard, but no luck yet. I'll see what to do with my alternator when it finally fails. The original 40amp unit seems to work fine and it runs smooth, so I figured I'd just leave it as it is for now. The truck still has only 39,000 original miles on it, so a lot of things like the alternator and starter, etc are still the originals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 I'll see what to do with my alternator when it finally fails. The original 40amp unit seems to work fine and it runs smooth, so I figured I'd just leave it as it is for now. The truck still has only 39,000 original miles on it, so a lot of things like the alternator and starter, etc are still the originals. I don't think you can even buy a 40 amp alternator anymore. The stock 60 amp alternator I am running is a direct upgrade and replacement for your 40 amp unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I don't think you can even buy a 40 amp alternator anymore. The stock 60 amp alternator I am running is a direct upgrade and replacement for your 40 amp unit. My 1986 [with factory A/C] was "born" with a 60A unit. I took it to a local shop to be rebuilt. They were busy and said it would be a few days unless I was okay with swapping for an alternator they had rebuilt for someone who never returned. I said "fine" and they swapped my pulley. Guess what? The "new" alternator is a 75A unit! All for $65!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 My 1986 [with factory A/C] was "born" with a 60A unit. I took it to a local shop to be rebuilt. They were busy and said it would be a few days unless I was okay with swapping for an alternator they had rebuilt for someone who never returned. I said "fine" and they swapped my pulley. Guess what? The "new" alternator is a 75A unit! All for $65!!! Which may explain why your ammeter swings pretty quickly. But 75A is about the max I'd want to put in. I say that because it is my expectation that the ammeter's shunt is rated for about 70A since that's the biggest alternator that they put in these trucks. However, the only way you'd hurt the shunt is if you were to have a failing battery or some humongous load that caused the alternator to go full-till for an extended period of time. And that's a very unlikely situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 I don't think you can even buy a 40 amp alternator anymore. The stock 60 amp alternator I am running is a direct upgrade and replacement for your 40 amp unit. The 40amp would have been because my truck is a bare bones stripper with no radio, and not even a cigarette lighter, or extra bulb anywhere... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hstrymkrs Posted January 24, 2019 Share Posted January 24, 2019 It is my understanding that the V8 equipped engines depended on the starter to bell housing connection to provide the starter/engine ground. The six bangers routed the cable from the negative post to connect to one of the two bolts for the starter motor. Approximately midway, that cable had a tang which bolted to the frame. This is how my inline 6 was routed on the Bronco as well...minus the squirrel carnage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 My 1986 [with factory A/C] was "born" with a 60A unit. I took it to a local shop to be rebuilt. They were busy and said it would be a few days unless I was okay with swapping for an alternator they had rebuilt for someone who never returned. I said "fine" and they swapped my pulley. Guess what? The "new" alternator is a 75A unit! All for $65!!! Good deal! The 60A unit works fine for me, but I would go for the 75A if given the chance. And I like the fact that you are doing business with your local rebuild shop. I do the same with my vehicles. I have had nothing but bad experiences whenever I purchased a "rebuilt" component from a parts house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LARIAT 85 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 The strap is to hold the starter hot cable off the frame so it doesn't chafe, or get pinched in the engine mount, or get baked by the exhaust. It's NOT supposed to "clamp" to the wire loom - it should be open & round so the cable's loom can slide freely on the rubber, but it's common for them to be bent. OK, I'm using wrong words again...lol. I didn't mean that you would necessarily clamp the bracket on the cable forcefully although I'm sure lots of them left the assembly line flattened out a little bit. I just meant that this style clamp is usually referred to as a "cushion clamp", and to close it would be to "clamp it". Mine was flattened out a bit, but not so much that it would bind the cable and prevent it from moving a little bit. I forgot to thank you two gentlemen for answering my question about the starter cable bracket. If it serves no other purpose except to hold the starter cable out of the way, I think I can find something to secure it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbill Posted April 26, 2019 Share Posted April 26, 2019 Good deal! The 60A unit works fine for me, but I would go for the 75A if given the chance. And I like the fact that you are doing business with your local rebuild shop. I do the same with my vehicles. I have had nothing but bad experiences whenever I purchased a "rebuilt" component from a parts house. The ground cable is under the starter bolt on my 83 300. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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