He said he would like to not sell the adjustable setup because it is junk. He sells it because some people have to have it and no other options.

quote:

Originally posted by Brute Torque:
Call Mark at House of Payne Performance. He will get you fixed up.

Call Powermaster and ask for a 90 amp at idle model which is a 140 amp alternator. You might have to purchase the V pulley separate. You want the ampacity to be as great as possible at idle. You need a 2 gauge wire for best results also. Tie it directly to the starter cable terminal.

You couldn't hold a gun to my head and make me run a 2ga wire from my alternator.

Is you car drawing over 75 amps when it's running Mark?

I have a #2 wire from alternator to the battery, same on the ground but just goes to the block.
The guys at powermaster say they don't want to sell me another one because they are afraid it won't work and I will lose my ****.

quote:

Is you car drawing over 75 amps when it's running Mark?

My car has Holley EFI, Digital dash, MSD Grid, relay board, dial in boards, delay box, radiator + trans fans, water pump, electric fuel pump, headlights like many. It can / has doubled multiple rounds and I can leave the fan and pump run 4- 5 minutes between rds if necessary. It always cranks (multiple times doubling) and it’s NEVER on a charger between rds. I drive it back with the engine running never shutting it down and coasting like others I see. Car is wired #2 from battery to starter and continues with #2 to the alternator on a 12 volt single battery system.

The larger outer wire size of #2 is small when compared to #4 or 6, but the difference in what it can carry for charging load is much greater especially if over 10’ in length.

The alternator I use is rated to provide 100 amps at idle on the output terminal. If my battery was run down for any reason during competition, I want as much of those 100 amps if needed when running at idle. If I don’t need it, so what. The battery is always greater than 14 volts at idle which is max charging.

I’ve viewed DA from racers with undersized alternator wiring and seen batteries that aren’t charging and barely being maintained. To me #4 for an alternator is minimum. The cost of an alternator with 90- 100 amp at idle output and #2 wiring compared to using a wimpy 75 max amp alternator with #6 wiring isn’t $100 difference at Most. I understand if you are limited in space to mount and need a smaller model.

Mark, are you saying the 2ga wire is smaller od than my 6ga?

I also never charge and have made 13 runs in a day with zero problems. I can only run a 55amp mini and am on alcohol.

You are correct about my space issues. I have 10lbs of cr@p in a 5lb bag. LOL I also try to keep an eye on weight though because it's easier on everything. I'm 1989lbs total at the line. Sorry for the derail Inferno.

^^^^^ As I wrote in my prior post, I understand the space limitations of some using an alternator and along with that their power needs. Super Mini is an excellent choice/ replacement for this. If one has mounting room, moving to greater charging output at idle is a good option for same costs.

6 GA welding cable measures 0.370” OD. 2 GA welding cable measures 0.430” OD, or 0.060” larger. The difference in charging can be very noticeable given the length of the cable and alternator.

The OP was looking for advice and is probably moving to 16v. Even he is presently using 2 GA for alternator wiring which could have been recommended by Powermaster.

No derailing here, just good opinions by all.

quote:

Originally posted by inferno camaro:
I just talked to the guy at HOP and he says the adjustable regulator is a giant POS so looks like I'm going 16v.

This was our experience trying to use one with a lithium battery....Went back a few times finally just took it off.

quote:

Originally posted by markemark:
^^^^^ As I wrote in my prior post,

When you really want to say, "do you have a comprehension problem"?

Good info and good discussion.

quote:

When you really want to say, "do you have a comprehension problem"?

Although I make reference to your post, I’m also writing to all (other than You) viewing. Sometimes repetition can be very good. Some will read and miss (or misinterpret) some of what has been written.

I always envy the person that is able to use the least amount of words to get a point across accurately.

Jones racing products is a great choice for alternators. His stuff works, ask for Chris. If you are changing batteries and don't mind buying battery+charger at the same time, swap to 16 volts. You won't be sad you did that.

I ran Powermaster alternators on 3 different cars for a couple years. Their service is awesome and products seem to fit great inside the engine bay. I never was able to keep alternators living on my 16 volt systems and had similar troubles on a 12 volt system in a street car. I sent a couple powermaster alternators back to have them rebuilt and (12v converted to 16v, rebuild on 16v), quick turnaround, cost was reasonable, customer service was excellent.... BUT the alternators didn't last. I really wish the alternators would work long term but I wasn't successful with that.

One thing to think about is: if it's a one wire alternator and you have it wired direct to the battery not the switched side of the master kill, the power is always on to the alternator and it will draw amps ALL the time. This could lead to premature failure of alternators. The fix is to swap to the switched alternator or install a continuous duty 100+ amp solenoid in the alternator charge wire to kill power to the alternator but maintain full functionality of the master kill switch.

Mine has always been hooked to the power cutoff switch. They told me to run direct to battery last time to see if it made a difference, it did not. 8 passes later, junk.
My charge will do 12 14 or 16 volt battery.

quote:

Originally posted by Triple Nickel:
Jones racing products is a great choice for alternators. His stuff works, ask for Chris. If you are changing batteries and don't mind buying battery+charger at the same time, swap to 16 volts. You won't be sad you did that.

I ran Powermaster alternators on 3 different cars for a couple years. Their service is awesome and products seem to fit great inside the engine bay. I never was able to keep alternators living on my 16 volt systems and had similar troubles on a 12 volt system in a street car. I sent a couple powermaster alternators back to have them rebuilt and (12v converted to 16v, rebuild on 16v), quick turnaround, cost was reasonable, customer service was excellent.... BUT the alternators didn't last. I really wish the alternators would work long term but I wasn't successful with that.

One thing to think about is: if it's a one wire alternator and you have it wired direct to the battery not the switched side of the master kill, the power is always on to the alternator and it will draw amps ALL the time. This could lead to premature failure of alternators. The fix is to swap to the switched alternator or install a continuous duty 100+ amp solenoid in the alternator charge wire to kill power to the alternator but maintain full functionality of the master kill switch.

If you have it connected to the switched side of the master kill switch, how does master kill switch actually turn the car off when its running and alternator charging? If connected to the switched side of your master kill, the alternator would keep the car running even after you flipped the master kill to off position. I've seen some switches with an extra post but assumed here you were using a regular 2 pole switch.

You are correct, I just looked and at it was hooked to the hot side of the switch not the side that shuts off. Which if I would have thought for a second I would have known that because the alternator would run down the battery when the switch was off.

quote:

Originally posted by Triple Nickel:
If you have it connected to the switched side of the master kill switch, how does master kill switch actually turn the car off when its running and alternator charging? If connected to the switched side of your master kill, the alternator would keep the car running even after you flipped the master kill to off position. I've seen some switches with an extra post but assumed here you were using a regular 2 pole switch.

quote:

Originally posted by inferno camaro: I just looked and at it was hooked to the hot side of the switch not the side that shuts off. Which if I would have thought for a second I would have known that because the alternator would run down the battery when the switch was off.

If you presently use a Cole Hersee switch, consider changing to a 4 pole switch. I like / use this one. Cole Hersee 75912-BX DPST Master Disconnect Switch.

Cole_Hersee

https://www.colehersee.com.au/...ttery-master-switch/

You are correct, I just looked and at it was hooked to the hot side of the switch not the side that shuts off. Which if I would have thought for a second I would have known that because the alternator would run down the battery when the switch was off.
being hot all of the time is what is killing the alternater,i think that is what yall are saying i i know is true

Being hot all the time is not a good thing. No matter how you wire a 1 wire alternator, just make sure it doesn't sit in the trailer with everything off for weeks at a time and have power going to the alternator. You only want the main post of a 1 wire alternator connected to the battery when the car is running.

Another thing to consider is charging with a battery charger or battery tender in the trailer. If you can't break the circuit between the 1 wire and the battery it will see charge voltage just like the battery. Chargers send higher voltage to the system to bring the battery up to target voltage. I'm not real sure how this affects alternators.

I have been told to be sure to disconnect your battery charger before you start your car if equipped with an alternator.

There’s a master cutoff with 4 terminals , one for the alternator lead. But the make and or pn escapes me. Maybe some one will chime in with the info . Hope this helps .

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Frizie:
There’s a master cutoff with 4 terminals , one for the alternator lead. But the make and or pn escapes me. Maybe some one will chime in with the info . Hope this helps .

That’s the cole hersee 75912-bx that markemark mentioned above. Currently $76.25 on Amazon, Moroso sells the same thing branded with their name for more $$. I have one on both cars, works good!