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 Post subject: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 6:20 pm 
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What options do I have for my 1995 Bonneville Vin K 3800 Series II N/A as far as alternators?

I want a higher output one possibly...please post all available options.

Edit: Also, does anyone have an idea what "code" alternator this is, like CS-130, CS-144, etc....I found a great site that does HO alternators and want to see which one is the one for mine and look at the prices...


Last edited by ChilinMichael on Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2009 6:04 pm 
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Look at www.mralternator.com

I have a 160 from him on the Zilla. Been great for about 5 years.

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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 8:45 pm 
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Do you remember the part #?

Also, is yours chrome? I'd want mine to be....


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 10:57 pm 
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*bump*

They don't really list my car on their site so I'd like to know before I order which one is the right one for me...?


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:21 am 
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Sorry for three posts in a row.

Final update is I've contacted Mr. Alternator on my own and placed my order today. Waiting for it to arrive, 160amp.


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:23 am 
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Is there a part number for it? Out of general curiosity.

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 12:31 am 
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No,

When I talked to the gentlemen on the phone he advised me to place an order for the 97-98 or whatever it's listed as Grand Prix with the 3.8, and then in the box put my model, make, etc...

I gave him every detail of car, Vin K, Series II L36, etc ....and he still asked if it was supercharged :roll: scary....

I replied with no and again stated every darn detail I could and again (as I originally wrote) restated to please be sure it's right before shipping out....I can only hope now.. :roll:


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:04 am 
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Other than amp rating, I can't think of a difference between NA and SC.

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 9:21 am 
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For 95 you had the series I and II alternator... They have different mounting points... As well the stock L36 Alternator was a 125 Amp unit... They are not interchangeable..

this Alt was used on the 95-99 L36's in the Bonnevilles... Other models had already gone to the Delphi units


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:00 am 
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Ah. I was just thinking about SII alternators, NA vs SC.

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:51 pm 
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Ok, so.

Mr. Alternator sent a CS144, not the exact one my car has, it's missing the 90 degree bolt. No biggie.

She's in, works great, terminals were corroded to high hell at the battery and I cleaned them good again, car still in drive at a stop with lights and defroster on drops to around 13v-13.3v, is this normal or should I now go after new wires, etc?


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Wed Sep 02, 2009 8:45 pm 
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Update:

Mr. Alternator kindly sent me the correct replacement sent it was their fault on their own admittance, no biggie, great fast service.

The new one is like the other one, rather loud to say the least, I guess that's the way the high output ones work?
Upon looking what 4 gauge wire can handle in amperage, I'm laughing. I am def. replacing the wires with 1/0 gauge wire that can handle MORE than the amperage the alternator is putting out; less resistance = better.
Now I have to find wire that is correctly rated for the application due to extreme temperatures under the hood...


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:08 pm 
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**update**

Ok, so, Alternator bearing went bad on the 3-bolt correct alternator after a month...ugh..can't win. Mr. Alternator is immediately sending out a replacement as this does not happen often, once it gets here shipping old back, very good customer service on their part.

About the wires: I feel and know that the stock Pontiac power wires for my car are entirely inadequate for the factor alternator and power, not to mention my new 160amp especially taking into consideration future endeavors for the car that will require more power. Moderators feel free to split this to a wire post if you feel it necessary. I need to know how many feet I should get to do all main power wires, which from my understanding are: Battery - Starter, Battery - Alternator, Battery - Maxifuse, IIRC. Correct if wrong, and please tell me how many feet in total I should get. Also considering ground, how far does that go and where to?

Wire I am going to get:
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_136BCMW1O/ ... ailed_info

$9/foot, they have red.


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:35 pm 
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ChilinMichael wrote:
About the wires: I feel and know that the stock Pontiac power wires for my car are entirely inadequate for the factor alternator and power, not to mention my new 160amp especially taking into consideration future endeavors for the car that will require more power.
That's being a bit extreme, describing a relatively short, 4-gauge stranded copper wire as "entirely inadequate". For chassis wiring, 4 gauge stranded copper wire can carry anywhere from 135 to 200 amps, with a few dependent variables such as temperature, duration of current load, etc. Your general idea that using a larger diameter cable gives you greater current-carrying potential is accurate. -You certainly won't harm anything (other than your wallet) by changing from a 4 gauge to a 2 or 0 gauge cable, and you've already stated that your cable connections were badly corroded, so I think it's possible that your cables may be corroded as well, and not capable of performing to original specs.

But I think you're misunderstanding the basic principles by which an alternator charging circuit pushes current into your battery. Just because you put an alternator with a 160 amp rating in your car, doesn't mean that 160 amps are pumping from the alternator, through its rectifier and regulator, into your battery. The alternator (which includes the rectifier and regulator) and the battery work together as a rather complicated chemical & electrical system. At times your vehicle's electrical load will draw an excess of current from your battery & charging system, which has the effect of discharging the battery. At other times your vehicle's electrical load will not draw an excess, and there will be a surplus of available current from the charging circuit, which will have the effect of charging your battery, to the extent that the battery contains any lead sulfide that can be converted to lead and lead dioxide. In general, as long as the charging happens more than the discharging, you're good to go. If you run huge audio amplifiers with a bunch of inefficient speakers, you can easily discharge more than you charge, and run down a battery. In that case your higher output alternator will help. Having a second battery will also help.

But I see you making a lot of assumptions. You're assuming your vehicle's electrical & charging system is inadequate; you're assuming you're drawing more than they can supply. You might be right, but you might be very wrong. It's possible you may never draw 160 amps from your high-output alternator. It's possible you may never try to push more current through your stock battery cables than they can effectively handle. It's possible that you're wasting your money on these upgrades.

It is extremely educational to observe your vehicle's charging system being tested. With a tester connected to your vehicle, you can see what your charging system is REALLY doing under the actual loads you can apply with your car: Turning on the headlights, the air conditioner, the rear window defroster, and the stereo; while observing the charging system while idling the vehicle at various RPMs. I'd really love to have you SEE THIS for yourself, as it will give you a real understanding of the actual charging and discharging dynamics of your car. Maybe the next time you're at a shop, pay them for a few minutes of time to slap a charging system tester on your car, so you can see exactly what goes on in your car's system. Just slapping larger cables in your car won't hurt, and it might make you feel good about your car, but it could very well be completely unnecessary. You're kind of doing a "shotgun" approach to your electrical upgrades, and while that doesn't really hurt anything, it's kind of like buying a bullet-proof car when nobody is shooting at you.

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Last edited by Bugsi on Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:46 pm 
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I went to the parts store and got an alt for a 96 SSEi. I ended up with a 140 amp.

Also, do the Voltage sense mod it will really help out.

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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:55 pm 
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Bugsi, very good information....I do appreciate it and while I didn't know every single bit of what you said and some is new information, I think you assumed I knew a little less than what I do :wink:

95naSTA, Voltage sense mod is already done on my car.

The new, new alternator I got actually holds 14v no matter what now for the most part. Wire change is being done soon.


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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:45 pm 
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ChilinMichael wrote:
Bugsi,...I think you assumed I knew a little less than what I do :wink:
That's certainly possible. I don't mean to knock what you know or don't know. More than anything else, I want to suggest to you and anyone else who has thoughts of "bigger is always better"; is that while basically true, there's a point where you can be upgrading components to a degree that you'll never actually use the extra capacity. To that end, observing a charging system test on your car where you can play with the loads and the RPMs and see the actual charging and discharging rates can be very eye-opening.

Additionally, I found the statement "the stock Pontiac power wires are entirely inadequate for the factory alternator and power" to be misleading. It's not as though General Motors built our cars with a giant defect that all Bonneville owners should rush out and correct by changing the 4 gauge battery cables out for something like 00 gauge. To the contrary, I think they're completely adequate for the application in which they're intended, and I wouldn't want to endorse misinformation to other users of the forum. Certainly if your cables or terminals have corrosion, a person should consider replacing them with OEM or equivalent or better cables. Certainly if a person is adding electrical loads, especially lots of amplifiers and inefficient speakers, then one should consider upgrading the vehicle's electrical capacity.

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 Post subject: Re: Alternator options?
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:14 am 
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Very true.


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