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140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 1:07 am
by AMeZo RaCiNG
CS144 alternator from My 1996 GMC Savana van that had a rear a/c unit. 140 amp unit. I had to take it to the local alternator shop to get the front plate and pulley swapped for one I think that's from a LT-1 Impala/Roadmaster/Caprice iirc. Regular V belt pulley. Spectre alternator pulley brackets for a short water pump. Love this swap, I had planned on crazy stereo system with 6-8 10 inch subwoofers when I had planned on building a road racer. Now that I've switched over to a street/drag racer, weight is the enemy. Don't plan on taking it off anytime soon. Just thought I would share :th:

Re: 140 amp CS130 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 6:39 am
by spencerforhire
I'm a firm believer in having a robust charging system; no such thing as "too big". I used to build high end competition sound systems, a decent alternator was pretty well the most crucial component of the whole package. But even on the street or strip, a healthy charging system is important.
I see way too many track only drag cars with tiny or non-existent alternators; big mistake. A typical 10-sec or quicker drag car will have a big fuel pump, electric fan(s), electric water pump and an ignition box. All of these parts work more efficiently, run cooler and last longer when fed 14 volts instead of 12(or less). I see them every weekend; it's a mad scramble in the pits after every pass- Start the generator, hook up the battery charger(usually set way too high, but that's another rant), and hope they can get the thing started for the next round.
I have a 105 amp C-130 from a 1997 Cavalier on my Vega drag car- I can return to the pits after a pass, flip on the 5-minute timer that runs my fan & water pump after I shut the ignition off and walk away. I know it will start before the next round because the battery(Spiral-Cell AGM) was fully charged when I parked it. And this is with a 5" underdrive pulley on the alternator; it doesn't produce full voltage until the engine is up over 1500 RPM, but I don't have to worry about blowing it up at 7500. It also doesn't matter how long the car sits in the hauler between races; there's a big solar panel on the hauler that acts as a maintainer, charging both the car and hauler's winch/lights batteries.

Re: 140 amp CS130 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 9:22 am
by chevyart
spence sounds like you were describing my electrical situation on my race car(only ran on 2 batteries and no alternator). I took your advice and installed an alternator, and now dont even have to go back to pits. went 5 rounds non-stop last year, and won the race. got plenty of juice now. art

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 1:35 pm
by AMeZo RaCiNG
Thanx for the replies guys. It was a CS144 alternator My Badd. I've been on this forum for some years now just paying attention from afar never feeling I had anything to add, but had almost every question answered I needed to know by just paying attention. Priceless so I thank everyone. But Yeah My Van had a killer audio/video system so I upgraded to a 2005 Cadillac Escalade 160amp Ad244 alternator witch was a bolt on swap. So when it came time to pick an alternator for the Vega I looked in The parts pile corner and BINGO!! I do have a MSD 6A ignition box hidden under My dashboard and I'm sure that helps light My fire. I messed up and put My ported/polished/shaved Corvette 58cc chambered heads on My flat top 383 because the Corvette short block was stolen. A couple ERC (local race gas station..) 5-gallon 110 octane barrels later and it's finally detuned for 91 cause $9.00 a gallon sucks. Thats was why I wasn't on the gas too much on the video in My sig. I'm sure the robust charging system and the ignition box is a big help. The Big 3 is next with welding cable to round out the charging system. Battery in the rear.

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2016 2:04 am
by zeke
The cs144 is a powerhouse! There was a liquid cooled version of it as well.

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Fri May 13, 2016 5:15 pm
by AMeZo RaCiNG
I love the fact that it's a stock part that can be had at A junkyard for change on the dollar or at the local parts store with a lifetime warranty :mrgreen: for not too much makes it well worth it. Kind of big tho.

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Tue May 17, 2016 12:52 pm
by EVL VEGA
When i used to have two batteries and a smallish alternator it wasn't as bad. But when it came time to replace them and i saw how much they were i went to one battery.

Recently I upgraded my old sub 100amp alternator to one of these summit 140amp alternators. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-810344
For $120 I should have done it years ago instead of biting my nails while driving at night...watching the volt meter creep slowly down to 11ish amps.
In addition to upgrading the alternator power wire I also took the time to change the wiring a little.
The previous owner had wired the sense wire incorrectly to the alternator power output lug. It works that way but doesn't accurately adust the voltage as needed to charge battery and run everything. (plus my battery is in rear)

It has made a huge difference in the charging system. With an electric waterpump, 16" spal pusher fan, nitrous heater and nitrous solenoids, MSD ignition, LC1 wideband, 2 electric fuel pumps, the bevy of gauges and warning lights, plus driving at night with lights on..it's nice to not worry about that anymore.

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 5:59 pm
by jim327monza
I am reading through old post while working on my alternator issue. I had come down to a 100 amp 12si or 130cs . when I went to my starter/alternator shop to get the 12si built with the 100 amp set up and v pulley, the shop owner suggested using a wye wound stater as opposed to the more common delta wound stater. This allows for more current at lower rpm while maintaining a high amp level. this sounds good but is something that I have limited knowledge about. I don't kneed a bunch of amps, 2 electric fans ,ac and HEI with near stock sound system. Anyone have any experience with this set up? thoughts? This could be good , bad or just throwing money down a rat hole

Thanks Jim H

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:32 pm
by spencerforhire
Those old 12 si's are dinosaurs. Big,heavy and not as efficient as the newer cs 130. I have a brand new 100a 12si that's been sitting on a shelf in my garage for 25 years; I can't seem to find a use for it. I've put cs case alternators on just about everything I've built lately.

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:38 pm
by Kenova
EVL VEGA wrote:Recently I upgraded my old sub 100amp alternator to one of these summit 140amp alternators. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-810344


I have a similar alt. in my Nova. Even after just starting the engine the battery would put enough load on the alt. that the belt would scream (not squeal, scream). After swapping out the 2 1/4" pulley it came with for a 3" pulley the screaming stopped and seems to be charging just fine.
It's nice to have a car that attracts attention but a screaming alt. belt isn't the way I want to do it. :oops:

Ken

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 9:11 am
by zeke
Y wound 12si stator coil will only add a few amps over delta config. Better off with the cs130 for low speed output.

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:41 pm
by Monza Harry
Jim if you can fit/mount the higher output alt. [the newer style (CS)] that is a "No Brainer" "Go BIG or stay home" as the saying almost goes, in most situations the bigger alt. will have a higher output at lower RPM's than the same alternator with a lower output overall, so more everywhere. Your old Alternator will supply enough for most situations if it is spinning fast enough but 4K in Drive in traffic does tend to be somewhat problematic! [Captain Obvious Here]. What Spencer [and I'm sure Chris(Zeke) will soon chime in] are telling you the newer style Alt. will still exceed the old ones output [high output or otherwise] at lower speeds this will be very helpful in a large cruise [or a traffic jamb] where you are almost at parade speed and those fans start running full time! And you start running the A/C [if you have this] even more power is no called on. Harry

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 8:05 pm
by jim327monza
Thanks for all the replys ! Yes, bigger is ALMOST always better. How ever , with PS and AC the alternator is sitting on top of the water pump and their is not a lot of room to start modifying the mounting brackets. The mounting tabs for the cs 130/144 are approximately 1 inch longer than the SI series . In addition this set up has 2 brackets (one front -one back) on the the tension side. Hence my quest for a bolt in solution. All this having been said, if the bolt in wont provide the necessary power then out with the saw, drill and scrap metal to make new brackets. I should hear something from my alternator guy on the power curves for the wye wound alternator with in the next day or so and will make a decision then.
Again, thanks for all the input! Jim H

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 10:10 pm
by spencerforhire
I was pretty sure a cs130 would bolt into a 10si location, so I did some checking and found this chart-
http://www.hotrodhotline.com/md/assets/ ... _pic_2.jpg

Re: 140 amp CS144 Alternator with V-Belt and short WP

PostPosted: Wed Aug 17, 2016 8:08 pm
by zeke