1986 F350/460 ambulance reprovision

[Weberman]

Doesnt look all that beefy. Didnt see identifying marker, here is side view: ( noting washers?)

Thats a GM 10si alternator. Max was 100amps and that was usually just on tractors..I think the biggest on cars was 63 or 72 amps. As you can see the mounting ear is shorter than a Ford and the bolt hole is smaller too, so its probably drilled out or something else is going on.. It at least doesn't look like a one wire so it'll turn on immediately but has horrible idle amps.. its been a couple years since I worked at the alternator and starter shop but I dont think the 100amp ones put out over 15 at idle on the bench.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Thats a GM 10si alternator. Max was 100amps and that was usually just on tractors..I think the biggest on cars was 63 or 72 amps. As you can see the mounting ear is shorter than a Ford and the bolt hole is smaller too, so its probably drilled out or something else is going on.. It at least doesn't look like a one wire so it'll turn on immediately but has horrible idle amps.. its been a couple years since I worked at the alternator and starter shop but I dont think the 100amp ones put out over 15 at idle on the bench.

Thanks for that expert and concise information.

Obviously a 3G would be much better in this application.

Maybe somebody went with a GM alternator because the Leece-Neville is $600 or more.

[Weberman]

Thats a GM 10si alternator. Max was 100amps and that was usually just on tractors..I think the biggest on cars was 63 or 72 amps. As you can see the mounting ear is shorter than a Ford and the bolt hole is smaller too, so its probably drilled out or something else is going on.. It at least doesn't look like a one wire so it'll turn on immediately but has horrible idle amps.. its been a couple years since I worked at the alternator and starter shop but I dont think the 100amp ones put out over 15 at idle on the bench.

I would definitely do a 130 3G here. As stated I'm sure the Leece is expensive and anything above stock alternator amperages start to get shakey. Like a 200amp 3G for example. They made stators we could buy that would indeed do 200 amps, but the idle would start to get worse which is mostly what they wanted it for(stereo builds and the such). Unless you start paying for a good one which is usually $1+/amp, the idle amperage starts to go down. And especially on these trucks where demands aren't high and if you're going to take a lot of the lights off I think you said. Even if not, LED ambers and reds could go in place and reduce the power draw a lot.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I would definitely do a 130 3G here. As stated I'm sure the Leece is expensive and anything above stock alternator amperages start to get shakey. Like a 200amp 3G for example. They made stators we could buy that would indeed do 200 amps, but the idle would start to get worse which is mostly what they wanted it for(stereo builds and the such). Unless you start paying for a good one which is usually $1+/amp, the idle amperage starts to go down. And especially on these trucks where demands aren't high and if you're going to take a lot of the lights off I think you said. Even if not, LED ambers and reds could go in place and reduce the power draw a lot.

Plus it fits.

It's a known quantity.

It's $70 delivered to your door.

For about $100 all in you'll have an alternator you can replace anywhere.

That will put out up to 100A without straining the belt.

That will put out more at idle than any 2G and most 1G can at redline.

That doesn't need a stack of washers to cobble it into place.

 

[Gary Lewis]

Plus it fits.

It's a known quantity.

It's $70 delivered to your door.

For about $100 all in you'll have an alternator you can replace anywhere.

That will put out up to 100A without straining the belt.

That will put out more at idle than any 2G and most 1G can at redline.

That doesn't need a stack of washers to cobble it into place.

Amen!

When I got Big Blue it had a Powermaster on it. But it was making noises and I pulled it to find the bearings were bad. When I got to asking around it was based on a 10si and Powermaster said I'd have to send it in - they don't sell parts.

Fortunately had left the 1G's wiring harness and regulator in place, so I popped an old 1G in and put the Powermaster's parts in a box. I've been trying to give the piece of junk away since, but haven't found anyone dumb enough to take it.

There's no a nice 3G sitting on there, courtesy of Jim. Will give me lots of power and can be replaced anywhere.

[Weberman]

I would definitely do a 130 3G here. As stated I'm sure the Leece is expensive and anything above stock alternator amperages start to get shakey. Like a 200amp 3G for example. They made stators we could buy that would indeed do 200 amps, but the idle would start to get worse which is mostly what they wanted it for(stereo builds and the such). Unless you start paying for a good one which is usually $1+/amp, the idle amperage starts to go down. And especially on these trucks where demands aren't high and if you're going to take a lot of the lights off I think you said. Even if not, LED ambers and reds could go in place and reduce the power draw a lot.

A good place to get starters and alternators from is DB Electrical.. its the same supplier we used for our brand new units. Obviously if you're stuck on the side of the road somewhere you don't have too much choice but if you can, thats where I would go. The box stores did some very..interesting things to say the least on some builds. Most of the aftermarket 3Gs seemed pretty solid though so that is good. Other ones weren't as good. There was a GM alternator series that for whatever reason anytime they came in from Autozone or O'Reillys, they were always built with burnt parts. The stator would be painted but whenever we would be cleaning them up and blasted the stators to make them look nice again, the wires would just be black and bad. Bit different on new units from them but some of the wires got close to the case without having any covering for the "just in case"

[Gary Lewis]

A good place to get starters and alternators from is DB Electrical.. its the same supplier we used for our brand new units. Obviously if you're stuck on the side of the road somewhere you don't have too much choice but if you can, thats where I would go. The box stores did some very..interesting things to say the least on some builds. Most of the aftermarket 3Gs seemed pretty solid though so that is good. Other ones weren't as good. There was a GM alternator series that for whatever reason anytime they came in from Autozone or O'Reillys, they were always built with burnt parts. The stator would be painted but whenever we would be cleaning them up and blasted the stators to make them look nice again, the wires would just be black and bad. Bit different on new units from them but some of the wires got close to the case without having any covering for the "just in case"

Take a look at the tab here (Documentation/Electrical/Alternators) marked DB Electrical 130A Tests. Those are Jim's documents that came with his $70-delivered alternator.

We agree, DB is the place to go.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Plus it fits.

It's a known quantity.

It's $70 delivered to your door.

For about $100 all in you'll have an alternator you can replace anywhere.

That will put out up to 100A without straining the belt.

That will put out more at idle than any 2G and most 1G can at redline.

That doesn't need a stack of washers to cobble it into place.

Amen!

When I got Big Blue it had a Powermaster on it. But it was making noises and I pulled it to find the bearings were bad. When I got to asking around it was based on a 10si and Powermaster said I'd have to send it in - they don't sell parts.

Fortunately had left the 1G's wiring harness and regulator in place, so I popped an old 1G in and put the Powermaster's parts in a box. I've been trying to give the piece of junk away since, but haven't found anyone dumb enough to take it.

There's no a nice 3G sitting on there, courtesy of Jim. Will give me lots of power and can be replaced anywhere.

I'm really glad I had a narrow mount 3G in good shape to send out to you.

Check the number on that regulator.

I usually stock a couple of the white LRC regulators, but some are grey.

.... I know I have them!

So if it isn't, just drop me a line, I'll get it right out.

[Gary Lewis]

I'm really glad I had a narrow mount 3G in good shape to send out to you.

Check the number on that regulator.

I usually stock a couple of the white LRC regulators, but some are grey.

.... I know I have them!

So if it isn't, just drop me a line, I'll get it right out.

I'll check, but I'm not too worried about it. With a 460 and a serpentine belt (sorry, Bill - polygroove) I don't think rapid startup will be a problem. But thanks!

[Westerj]

Welcome JW!

Did you have any comment on things we could do better, here on the forum?

I imagine you have that great big 200A Leece-Neville alternator and a 460 in that rig?

Or is it a diesel?

What are your plans?

Hi Jim.

things to improve.. .I have 20 threads of action for my truck... How best to provide for parallel project tracking? ... like subcategories under this project? One for Exhaust, one for interior.

How about a listing of Salvage yards near my home base that match my vehicle? That'd be kinda neat.

Plus, we all have location, and vehicle information in our signature files!

Mouse catchin ideas... I might be making up a peanut butter bucket of death in place soon!

A car coil, mercury switch and a dangling bait come to mind...