PA Performance 95A Alt. Q's?

[craig gaines]

I bought a 95a alt. and it seems to charge about the same as my stocker. But, I noticed that the pulley on the PA is LARGER than the stock one. That would make it turn slower than stock right?? Now, is there a reason I coun't swap over to the smaller pulley. Is there any other wires i need to beef up to help the charging? Thanks.

 

[super302]

whats that alt. supposed to put out at idle...thats what really matters

the larger pulley does mean it turns slower, i dont see why you cant switch back to a regular(smaller) pulley

 

[TRWXXA]

The stock, 75 amp alternator only puts out something like 22 amps at idle. Your 95 amp alternator probably puts out 30 amps at the same speed, but with the larger pulley, you're knocking that down a little bit -- 28 amps maybe. Not a real big increase from stock.

As long as your not running a big audio system, or a lot of lights, the 95 amp alternator is fine. But for big power-draining items you should go with a 130 or 150 amp, 3G alternator upgrade. I think the 150 amp alternator put out almost 60 amps at idle.

 

[HISSIN50]

Did you upgrade the wiring? I would do it REGARDLESS of what anyone says. You might have a voltage drop issue going on if you are using old wires and they are resistive.

Good luck.

 

[craig gaines]

Thats what I was wondering, what wires do I upgrade, do they make a kit or something?

 

[HISSIN50]

Did you have to do any rewiring for your current alternator to work (cut any wires, not use any plugs, etc)?

How and if you can rewire it would depend upon that. If you dont have a lug on the back of the alternator which contains the charging cable (going to the solenoid), there is probably not a whole lot you can do.

 

[04sleeper]

Thats what I was wondering, what wires do I upgrade, do they make a kit or something?

If it has the same connectors as the 3G then you could buy this for $20. From Here.

And just buy some 4 gauge and some lugs from a local place for the main cable.

Thats what I ended up doing.

Good Luck.

 

[Insane3D]

The stock, 75 amp alternator only puts out something like 22 amps at idle. Your 95 amp alternator probably puts out 30 amps at the same speed, but with the larger pulley, you're knocking that down a little bit -- 28 amps maybe. Not a real big increase from stock.

As long as your not running a big audio system, or a lot of lights, the 95 amp alternator is fine. But for big power-draining items you should go with a 130 or 150 amp, 3G alternator upgrade. I think the 150 amp alternator put out almost 60 amps at idle.

A coupe of things. The output @ idle with the 95A 3G is much higher than the stock "75A" 2G.

Look here..

Stocker @ 900RPM - 24A
PA 95A 3G @ 900RPM - 64A

Also, the 95A is a 3G...I've seen people refer to it as a 2G upgrade which is incorrect...it's just in a smaller case.

 

[Insane3D]

I bought a 95a alt. and it seems to charge about the same as my stocker. But, I noticed that the pulley on the PA is LARGER than the stock one. That would make it turn slower than stock right?? Now, is there a reason I coun't swap over to the smaller pulley. Is there any other wires i need to beef up to help the charging? Thanks.

You should be able to switch the pulley, but PA did tell me that changing the pulley would void the warranty. I would just keep the old pulley in case you go that route.

You really might want to upgrade your charging system wiring as the stock wiring is BARELY adequate for the rated output of the stock alternator, and it's shoddy at best. Also, one big thing people often forget is to check/upgrade the grounds. If you have all new beefy power wire, and crappy grounds, it won't operate at full potential. You could also try to up the stock idle from 750 to 900...the stock idle tends to be a bit low for proper charging.

I noticed to the biggest effect on my voltmeter with the PA 95A is the headlights, and the resistance in that wiring straight to the switch is a big reason imo. I'm probably going to convert it to relay based sometime soon...

Good luck!

 

[04sleeper]

Also, the 95A is a 3G...I've seen people refer to it as a 2G upgrade which is incorrect...it's just in a smaller case.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Insane3D]

If it has the same connectors as the 3G then you could buy this for $20. From Here.

And just buy some 4 gauge and some lugs from a local place for the main cable.

Thats what I ended up doing.

Good Luck.

All the connection for the 95A 3G come with the PA's, so he shouldn't need that. He just needs new power wire and a fuse holder/fuse.

You can get some higher quality wire than PA uses in their harness @ Car Domain. I got their lighting audio 1800+ strand 4ga, and it was cheap, looks good, and works great. Pick up a fuse holder and a 150A fuse and you are good to go...

Regardless...thanks for the link. That's a nice harness for a good price.

 

[04sleeper]

All the connection for the 95A 3G come with the PA's, so he shouldn't need that. He just needs new power wire and a fuse holder/fuse.

You can get some higher quality wire than PA uses in their harness @ Car Domain. I got their lighting audio 1800+ strand 4ga, and it was cheap, looks good, and works great. Pick up a fuse holder and a 150A fuse and you are good to go...

Regardless...thanks for the link. That's a nice harness for a good price.

No Problem. Thats why I bought it. My 3G did not come with a plug.

I was unaware that the PA 95A came with the new plug.

Thanks again for the input. I learn something every day.

 

[craig gaines]

So which one is the main power cable that I can use 4 ga. wire on? Anybody have a diagram?

 

[Insane3D]

So which one is the main power cable that I can use 4 ga. wire on? Anybody have a diagram?

Ok, there is an easy way, and a more involved way.


First, the stock power lead consists of two ~6" leads of black/orange 10ga, which are spliced to a main 8ga black orange lead. The two 10ga black wires are probably what you have on your 95A's charging post now.

That 8ga lead goes across the engine bay in front of the radiator, meets up with a brown wire, and both are spliced to a 8ga green lead that goes to the starter solenoid.

The brown wire is connected to the yellow sense/switch wire from the voltage regulator.

You can just connect a ~9foot length of 4ga from the post on the 3G to the solenoid, and put a fuse/fuse holder near where it connects to the solenoid. That is the easiest way to upgrade the wiring.

The other way you can do it, if you want to do a complete replacement of the crappy stock wires is to pull out the whole lead from the post to the solenoid, as well as the the yellow lead from the voltage regulator. You would then just need to put a ring terminal on the yellow wire coming off the voltage regulator, and connect it right to the charging post of the PA unit, and connect the 4ga lead from the post to the solenoid.

Personally, I took the time and pulled the whole stock lead and redid everything. It takes a little more time pulling those leads out of the bundle that runs in front of the radiator, but it's worth it IMO. You could also just cut them off by the battery, and by the alternator, and leave them in there if you wanted. The most important thing is to make sure you connect that yellow/white sense/switch line from the voltage regulator to the charging post on the PA.

 

[Insane3D]

Oh, I almost forgot...here's your wiring diagram.

http://www.veryuseful.com/mustang/tech/engine/images/fuel-alt-links-ign-ac.gif

 

[04sleeper]

Maybe this will help.
View attachment 510203