DIY 110 Amp Nissan Quest Alternator into KA24E - adapted from article

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onosqv
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I'm more of a visual person, so I decided to snap a few pictures and elaborate on this article:

Old Alternator: '89 Nissan 240sx KA24E 80 amp alternatorNew Alternator: '97 Nissan Quest (VG-SOMETHING?) 110 amp alternatorValid Applications: KA24E upgrade (verfied by me), KA24DE upgrade (verified by T66240 - aka Mike Lee)Will Not Work With: SR20 verified in February 2006. Friend tried to install one on his redtop, wouldn't fit because too large - need custom alternator bracket as well as custom pulley.

Benefits: 110 amp instead of 80 amp (or 90 amp for 95+ SE, I believe) - allows you to run electric fans, stereo, etc. Also costs anywhere between 100-200 less than a custom order 150/200amp alternator that must be shipped & then shipped back & forth if anything goes wrong.

My reason: I installed an underdrive pulley a while back, and even w/ my mild sound system it was fine. However, I have put on electric fans (dual altimas), bigger stereo system, and hid lights. Just the fans & regular bosch headlamps from pdm-racing would take up almost all of the alternator power (car would go down to 12.0-12.2 volts & lights would dim dramatically) during night time stop & go city driving. This was not even with my hid's & sound system yet.

Balance: underdrive pulley is estimated around 3-4 hp for n/a & 7-8 hp for turbo last time I checked. 110amp from 80amp is a loss of .77 hp from the freshalloy thread; so, it is still a benefit w/o too much sacrifice.

Install:

0) Disconnect negative battery terminal - take out the whole battery if you have it in your engine bay, makes it much easier (I have mine in the trunk).

1) First off, as per FSM, remove your pulley belts, then the alternator. There are 3 plugs that are attached to the back of the alternator: a small 8mm bolt holding the ground wire, and a 10mm nut holding down the power wire & some other wires, and lastly the electrical connector that needs to be pushed down then pulled out - I did so w/ a screwdriver since it was pretty stuck.

Then there are the 2 bolts - 12mm on top, and 14mm on bottom.

I navigated the alternator toward the radiator and put it down on the floor.



2) Prep the Nissan Quest alternator by drilling out the bottom mount holes to 3/8" - actually slightly larger.



3) Prep the electrical connector w/ a 3/8" drill also - pretty sure it was 3/8", haha - the one coupled w/ the power wire in the engine bay to that threading also so it will fit over the bolt on the alternator. This was the part that I finally understood from the freshalloy post after not being able to get it to fit. The nut that goes over these connectors is 13mm.



4) Install in reverse order. Install will be much easier if you can remove your fan & shroud to get them out of the way. The quest alternator is slightly larger. We were able to pull it up leaving the altima fans in after 30 minutes of trial & error, then pure luck.

5) Use the inside 3 ribs of the 4 ribs on the Quest alternator.

6) Start your new baby up.

Impressions:

Before: - 13.5 volts cruising w/ headlights on- 12.0-12.2 volts stop & go in city w/ headlights (dimming at low speeds) & 1 of 2 fans going @ 700-750 rpm, some stuttering in the car.- won't even handle headlights w/ both fans going (climate control didn't make much of a difference, raise in rpms but that was just enough to get the climate control running).

After:- 13.9-14.0 volts cruising w/ headlights on- 13.9 volts stop & go w/ 1 fan on & headlights bright as they should be- 13.5 volts w/ headlights normal & both fans going @ idle (700-750 rpm)- w/ climate control going & above, the volts do drop down to around 12.5, but idle was relatively low still (700rpm), something I need to fix - this test was done w/o driving the car around, just in the driveway.

This was only done today, so those are the best #'s/tests I can run @. No stereo was being played since it is currently stripped because of pending projects.

this leads to -> ability to install my hid's, hi-flow fuel pump, big stereo again, etc w/o power loss.

Not bad considering the quest alternator costs 25 dollars less than the ka24 alternator.

Comparsion (quest on right):



Hope this article helps some ppl like me.

Thanks.

Some Aftermath:

Left Arm:

Right Arm:

Tight clearances own me.

Modified by brokeAs240sx at 10:32 PM 8/20/2005

Modified by brokeAs240sx at 10:08 AM 9/22/2005

Modified by brokeAs240sx at 5:47 PM 2/21/2006


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Fenvy
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what about for the sr owners?

can you tell me what kind of alternator we got? and whether this project apply to us?

nice writeup by the way

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onosqv
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That's a good question; and considering the sr20 is harder to get parts for from auto parts stores around here, I decided to do a little search in hopes of finding something remotely similar.

Basically, the KA alternator will bolt up (the one tried in fresh alloy was ka24de alt) w/ some modification - drill out the top hole (bore through instead of threaded). However, the pulley needs to be changed from ka to sr. This is the step that worries me a little.

On the KA swap, you do not replace the pulley because the ka pulley will rub against the alternator, but that may not be an issue w/ the sr pulley. Plus, the KA uses the inner 3 ribs of the alternator of the 4.

So, this may still be a direct bolt on for the sr given that you can successfully use the outer 3 ribs or if the sr20 pulley works, which theoretically solves the problem. Hehe, one easy way to find out!

At the very least, you can find an affordable backup replacement by getting KA alternators as long as your sr pulley is fine.

If you feel frisky, you can also try what I did w/ the same steps above, plus bore out the top bracket & use the outer 3 ribs as opposed to inner 3 ribs. I love auto parts store return policies. I'll even help you work on it if you decide to do it sometime after Labor Day.

slipnfall
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Sweet! Thanks for the heads-up, I don't browse FA much('cept the classifieds). Anyways, is it just the angle of the camera, or is the Quests' pulley a smaller diameter? Or would it even matter?

This is one of those things I hope I don't forget when my alt goes out. Mods can you sticky this to my forehead?

slipnfall
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Oh wait, aren't 'E and 'DE alternators different? There's two p/n's from NAPA anyways. The FA thread wasn't clear if this same alt works on the DE as well.

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onosqv
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Quest pulley is same diameter. I was able to use the same belt in basically the same position - I am underdrive pulley too, don't know if that makes much of a difference. Anyway, there is plenty of slack/adjustment space to make up for a larger or smaller pulley.

I believe the E & DE are interchangeable, they are so damn similar, haha. Don't take my word for it though.

And just for reference about part #'s, autozone has 2 part #'s for the same (basically) alternator for the 97 quest. All s13's are 80amp, so I don't see why they would change anything (doesn't make sense from a manufacturing point of view).

Glad it's helping some ppl

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AZhitman
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Good stuff.

This one's going into an article for safekeeping.

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Chezedik
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Yes, the size of the pulley will matter, are you sure they are not different. By changing the pulley you change the drive ratio (and turn ratio) of the alternator. By adding mechanical energy to the reation, you get more electrical energy. So that is my .02

slipnfall
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The converse holds true also... If the Quests' alternator pulley is larger, you could end up with a reduced output.

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Chezedik
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absolutely!

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onosqv
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Chezedik wrote:Yes, the size of the pulley will matter, are you sure they are not different. By changing the pulley you change the drive ratio (and turn ratio) of the alternator. By adding mechanical energy to the reation, you get more electrical energy. So that is my .02
Ok, to clear things up for everyone, I talked to T66240 (Mike Lee).

His install was on a KA24DE.

Sooooo, basically here is what we have:

KA24E, KA24DE are tried and true swappable with Nissan Quest Alternator. Pulley size is the same (or very very very similar in dimension) w/ the exception of the 4 ribs.

SR20DE(T) is tried and true swappable w/ KA24DE alternator from several Fresh Alloy members.

So use the transitive property and you will see SR20DE(T) also will swap w/ the Quest Alternator (actual implementation details may vary w/ the pulley install part).

Now for the CA18 & RB & VG swap ppl, there's no love for you, HAHAHAHA .

slipnfall
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Thanks for the confirmation!

VitaminT
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I don't know if I had a non-OEM KA-DE alt. but when I swapped pulleys the SR pulley bound up against the KA alt housing.

What I did to get it to clear is behind the pulley there was a lip right around the outside of the bearing where the case was basically thicker there (poke out towards the pulley).

I just used an angle grinder to take the 1/8" or less lip off and now it clears without any problem and have been running it for 2 years with no schreded belts. This might be a solution if people have the SR pulley hit on the quest alt. This might be a have to do on some brands of alternators.

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Touchdown038
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Sorry to bring this old thead up again, but is the fit of the belt still good if you're only using 3 of the 4 ribs on the pulley?

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onosqv
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Touchdown038 wrote:Sorry to bring this old thead up again, but is the fit of the belt still good if you're only using 3 of the 4 ribs on the pulley?
I've driven on it for months now, and it's still fine. Been through one autox school day too, and I came out alive, hehe. The ribs don't jump or anything if your asking that - the 3 ribs are still on the main crank pulley, so that keeps everything in line.

Also an update. 3/8" drill may be a lil too small for drilling the connector... maybeee - another member did it and informed me you may have to use a 25/64" ??? I don't know tho, I just remember using 3/8... maybe different on diff cars.

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Touchdown038
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OK that's cool, just checking.... I just didn't want my belt jumping ship or anything =)

thekawaii
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It's 25/64. little larger than 3/8.

very important. Some of aftermarket Alternator (like one i bought) will not fit in unless you cut bunch of stuff.

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Jookmasta
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how much did the new alternator run?

foCk
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brokeAs240sx wrote:Now for the CA18 & RB & VG swap ppl, there's no love for you, HAHAHAHA .
*******! I have a KA alt on my RB20

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hek1620
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i heard u could just take ur alternator to a rebuild guy and tell him to beef up the internals. has anyone tryed this method?

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Heavy D
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That'll work, but it drastically cuts the lifespan of the alt. Haven't tried it, but I've heard this countless times on the car audio forums I frequent. Everyone says you're better off just getting a different alt.

xsblacksx
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learning

xsblacksx
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i went back over that and found what im looking for the search button does werk

S14KoukiMonster
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Good write up! I applaud your efforts!


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x240xdrifter
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I need to do this

thekawaii
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I copied his work did it last year, working fine.I got used one from ebay for 35 dollar shipped, 5 dollar for custom bracket.Very nice.

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Silvia007
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Update:

Does not fit SR20DET, without modification. Atleast not my S14 SR. After about 2 days of cutting, grinding, and welding, I ended up with a make shift custom bracket from the stock bracket. The Alternator required quite a bit of grinding in order to make it move properly to tension the belt. Not a mod for the novice.

However, the trade off is great. 14.2 volts at 1500 rpm. This is with defroster, heater full blast, headlights, and 12 inch FAL fan running... if idle with just heater, 14.6 volts. Before with the stock SR alternator, the max voltage I'd ever see is 13.6 volts, never higher regardless of what I do.

veovius
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Just a quick question : So the connector plug onthe KA24 (s14) alternator is the same plug that fits into the Quest alternator? I remember when I swapped an FD alt into my old FC, I had to splice in a new plug.

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Silvia007
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veovius wrote:Just a quick question : So the connector plug onthe KA24 (s14) alternator is the same plug that fits into the Quest alternator? I remember when I swapped an FD alt into my old FC, I had to splice in a new plug.
Yep, they are the same plugs.

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onosqv
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Good to see you got it to work w/ an SR.

Yea, I updated the thread a month or so back stating that we tried to bolt it up to an sr and it wouldn't work.

So you didn't have to use a custom pulley? We measured it and the quest one doesn't line up w/ the sr one - but I would guess your bracket took care of that... Making more of those brackets should rake in quite a bit of money from the sr ppl .

The only other thing is that 14.6 sounds kind of odd... mine @ highest is 14.2, usually 14.0-14.1 in the morning at idle.


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