anyone think of a backup alternator?

[lostforawhile]

I just removed my dead ac compressor and it's associated boat anchor, it looks like the alternator will fit right into the ac bracket,all i need to add is a universal adjusting arm. If this works I can cut off the entire bottom half of the bracket,and still have four mounting holes. i happen to have a brand new alternator in my "junk" still in the box, so i'm going out in a bit to see if it fits. it shouldn't require much horsepower to turn if the field is disconnected, I would just need to build a switching system .

[labeledsk8r]

the question is why.... why load more crap into the engine bay... alts hardly fail and if it does it normaly gives some warning to it... not to mention you can get a good 2 hours of drive time out of a good batt without an alt as long as your not blasting music or useing alot of electrical...id say slap the new alt into your car and then not worrie about it

[lostforawhile]

the question is why.... why load more crap into the engine bay... alts hardly fail and if it does it normaly gives some warning to it... not to mention you can get a good 2 hours of drive time out of a good batt without an alt as long as your not blasting music or useing alot of electrical...id say slap the new alt into your car and then not worrie about it

it's just an idea is all and some people who have huge stereos might want the extra one also. just something i was looking at after removing the bracket. also if there was a way to add an idler pulley where the alternator is now, it could just be moved up front and much eaisier access

[labeledsk8r]

moveing it up front might be a good idea... it is lower so water and such might get on it easyer.. why would you need an idler pully? each accesory is on its own belt

[lostforawhile]

moveing it up front might be a good idea... it is lower so water and such might get on it easyer.. why would you need an idler pully? each accesory is on its own belt

alternator and water pump share the same belt

[lostforawhile]

here's what it looks like on the bracket, with the alternator all the way to one side it sticks out past the ac pulley,but there is plenty of adjustment, just have to get the spacers right. as fas as the bottom it almost lines up with the adjuster where the bolt would go through,but not quite. so a little fabrication needed. it's completly able to be done, I see no reason why it couldn't be. the last obstacle is the alternator pulley, the ac has three ribs,and the alternator has five, just have to source a three rib pulley somewhere.

[labeledsk8r]

forgot about the waterpump lol damn im allready getting used to the civic running the water pump off the timeing belt... soon i will have forgoten everything about the 3g

[AccordB20A]

i was thinking of doing the same on my b20a since i keep blowing them, two alts should be able to keep up with large bass hits but i dunno if i can be bothered maybe ill go try it on my b18 tomorrow i would laugh if i can get it to work.

If i can get it to work and a belt long enough to fit properly ill probably install it, hell maybe ill install a battery at the back specially for the sound system and run it off a totally independing charging system, Ill hook up the catalic converter light in my dash as a 2nd battery light, WIN mean i might do that.
More weights but hey i dont care

[Ichiban]

the last obstacle is the alternator pulley, the ac has three ribs,and the alternator has five, just have to source a three rib pulley somewhere.

Why should the pulleys be a problem? Does the A/C bracket line up the alternator with the inside (large) pulley, or the small one towards the framerail? If you line up with the same pulleys to begin with, you'd just be simulating the system that the 1st and early 2nd gen cars had, Alternator in front and water pump in the back. No idler needed.

[lostforawhile]

Why should the pulleys be a problem? Does the A/C bracket line up the alternator with the inside (large) pulley, or the small one towards the framerail? If you line up with the same pulleys to begin with, you'd just be simulating the system that the 1st and early 2nd gen cars had, Alternator in front and water pump in the back. No idler needed.

no i mean the belt for tha ac is more narrow, it's a ribbed belt, the ac has three and the alternator has five. there plenty of area to move the alternator back and forth on the bolt to get the pulleys lined up,some heavy duty washers would make it work fine,myself i would have to machine a spacer for each side. that bolt i pulled out of junk is actually an 81 civic head bolt lol. if you moved the alternator from in back you would still need an idler for the water pump. water pump and alternator share one belt, power steering is the outside non ribbed belt, and the other belt is the ac

[Ichiban]

no i mean the belt for tha ac is more narrow, it's a ribbed belt, the ac has three and the alternator has five. there plenty of area to move the alternator back and forth on the bolt to get the pulleys lined up,some heavy duty washers would make it work fine,myself i would have to machine a spacer for each side. that bolt i pulled out of junk is actually an 81 civic head bolt lol. if you moved the alternator from in back you would still need an idler for the water pump. water pump and alternator share one belt, power steering is the outside non ribbed belt, and the other belt is the ac

I see what you mean about the 3/5 ribbed belt, but what I meant was, if you stayed aligned on the inside pulley, you could get away with using all the same parts, even the same belt probably.

[lostforawhile]

I see what you mean about the 3/5 ribbed belt, but what I meant was, if you stayed aligned on the inside pulley, you could get away with using all the same parts, even the same belt probably.

i'll look at some honda pulleys at the yard next time i'm there, just to see what there is, chances are if i find something it would probably fit on the shaft, i've found a lot of honda pulleys interchanable over the years. you other option is to install a larger alternator with this setup, all you have to do is find one that rotates in the correct direction, swap a pulley, nearly anything would fit in there. i really wondered about taking the ac clutch and pulley off and seeing if it could be fitted to an alternator, that way you could have a back up that frees spins unless you engage it.

[Ichiban]

I'd actually like to go with an AC-Delco one wire alternator, but for some reason the ECU for the B20A needs a wire from the alternator for some purpose. Does anyone know how to fake the ECU into thinking a 4 wire Honda alternator is plugged into it?

[AccordEpicenter]

I had this idea about 10 years ago when i was running a high powered stereo, what i ended up doing was getting a rewound alternator. The rewound one is good for 140 Amps when cold, but you must have the engine turning about 1750rpm for max output. Stock is about 60 amps so right there youll make more than 2x a stock unit

[lostforawhile]

I had this idea about 10 years ago when i was running a high powered stereo, what i ended up doing was getting a rewound alternator. The rewound one is good for 140 Amps when cold, but you must have the engine turning about 1750rpm for max output. Stock is about 60 amps so right there youll make more than 2x a stock unit

well the reason i was looking at this,was to possibly attach the AC compressor clutch to one,as a backup,the original is so hard to get to, if i was on the road somewhere,i could flip a switch and engage the back up if needed until i got back home. i think as far as weight i could cut almost half of that ac bracket right off. i really would have liked to have found something like an early honda one or something like a metro one,much smaller and lighter and plenty of emergency power. i just happened to have this one.

[2oodoor]

intreguing idea

For those that want one, may as well have another battery too I guess.
I can tell you work with small aircraft, you always are thinking of being out there somewhere in time of need.
I like the USDM alternator idea too, just using one of those though.

[MessyHonda]

i need one...my alt does not charge at idle

[cygnus x-1]

I used a Nippon Denso alt. out of a Toyota for my diesel Suzuki project. Most people use Delcos because of availability but I found plenty of NDs at the junkyard. The NDs are smaller and plenty easy to wire up so I used one of those. If you look around they come in lots of different clocking configurations too.

C|

[Hauntd ca3]

i'd go wit the denso alt as well.
they are prob one of the better ones out there

[lostforawhile]

looks like i'll have to move it to the front, the fuel bowl for the SU sits right over it, and it's a bottom outlet,one small leak and instant fire. i think i can just run a longer v belt around the crank pulley the water pump and the alternator, seen v belts longer then that before. it will mount pretty easy to the ac bracket.

[lostforawhile]

ok the alternator is moving to the front,have it all figured out,but i need some suggestions on finding a ribbed pulley that matches the one on the ac compressor, only issue i haven't figured out yet.

[cygnus x-1]

ok the alternator is moving to the front,have it all figured out,but i need some suggestions on finding a ribbed pulley that matches the one on the ac compressor, only issue i haven't figured out yet.

You want a pulley the same size as the one on the compressor? That won't give you the right speed for the alternator. Alternators usually spin much faster than the other accessories. Since the AC groove on the crank pulley is smaller than the alt/water pump groove, you actually need a smaller pulley on the alternator as well to keep the ratio the same.

Or do you mean matches the number of ribs? As long as the alt pulley has more ribs than the belt it should be ok. You can use a 4 rib belt on a 5 rib pulley.

C|

[mushroom_toy]

If I was you instead of an alternator....I would put a belt driven compressor on there. then you could pump up tires, use tools, etc, etc. Lots of jeeps and lifted trucks with em but not many cars if any.

[lostforawhile]

If I was you instead of an alternator....I would put a belt driven compressor on there. then you could pump up tires, use tools, etc, etc. Lots of jeeps and lifted trucks with em but not many cars if any.

i would consider that but it sucks horsepower. maby for a future idea. what i figured out is a 91 civic alternator pulley is the exact match for the keihin belt. the alternator even looks the same although slightly smaller. i think it's still 68 amp though. it's going to be pretty easy to do this conversion. the top of the alternator fits on the top of the ac bracket with spacers on the bolt, the bottom i'm cutting off the slotted cast in part on the bracket,since it doesn't match up. i'm going to modify one of those universal alternator arms for small blocks. this would actually be a pretty easy swap for anyone who might want to move the alternator.i will do a full write up.

[lostforawhile]