Post by
onosqv »
https://forums.nicoclub.com/onosqv-u507.html
Sat Aug 20, 2005 7:01 pm
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