6.2 alternator upgread!!! part numbers 84 cucv

[tacomuncher]

hello i would like to upgread my alernator, my 6 lights elctric wintch and radio are a little much for it. haveing problems with getting a good charge.i would like to run a bad ass high power alernator. any part numbers or ideas would be great. i had two alernators one took a dump. converted to 12 volt and i am still running two batterys. are their any high powered alternator that would blot in.

 

[Dallin]

The CS144 is a great high amp alternator found in many early to mid 90's Chevys. They put out 124 to 140 ampa and can be found cheap at junk yards.

 

[6.2Blazer]

I upgraded to a 140 amp CS144 style alternator on my 6.2 engine. It requires a swap from the typical serpentine belt pulley to a standard V-belt pulley, slightly increasing the size of the adjuster notch on the bracket to accomodate the larger bolt of the CS144, shimming the upper bracket up some to make up the difference in size with the CS144, and either some slight wiring modifications or a simple connector harness that's available from several places.

The biggest issue I had was the factory water outlet from the pump to the heater hose did not allow me to shim the bracket up far enough. I had to trim a decent size portion out of the bracket and remove the "straight" fitting in the pump and replace it with a 45 degree angled one.

 

[crawlink5]

What kind of part number is that? If I go to the autoparts store and ask for a cs144 will they know?

 

[randy88k5]

They came in Pontiac Trans Port minivans and I believe some heavy fullsize cars like the Buick Roadmaster. Definately make sure you get the 140A versions. In one of the websites below, it is listed or linked to Lester part numbers of the alternators and pictures so you get the right mounting design.

I just picked one up from the junkyard for $20 + $5 core. Not a bad deal considering they are ~$150 at Advance IIRC.

This is what I have bookmarked from my searches, and of course what you can find here on this site...


http://www.extreme4wheelin.com/tech/alternators/tech.htm

http://tech.oldsgmail.com/echa_140a.html

http://www.novaresource.org/alternator.htm

http://oljeep.com/gw/alt/edge_Alternator_Theory.html#Section_3

 

[crawlink5]

Thanks for the info - I'll just go buy a new one as I'll never make it to the junkyard due to work.

What I'm wondering is just how swappable is the pulleys? I have a lower amp chevy alt on the 4BT. It has a 8 row serp belt. what are the chances of this pulley fitting the 140a?

 

[afroman006]

I'm not positive but I would suggest sticking with GM as far as pulley swapping goes.

The best souce for CS144's are cadis. They started putting them on in 85 on up until 99 or so. The earlier ones are only rated for 120 amps, but they are still the "good" cs144 and not the inferior cs130. Somewhere around the time when they switched to the northstar engines, they started coming with the 140 amp version. They did come in pontiacs and chevies but I dont know exactly what years or models.

You are going to have to unscrew the back half of the case and rotate it a little like 90 degrees I think, but thats no big deal at all. I did the swap on my 6.2 equiped trail truck because my electric fans drew too much power for the stock alternator and am 100% happy with it. Not to mention I got the one I'm using and a spare for $20 each off of ebay.

 

[ccatlett1984]

the issue with those alternators is that they don't use the same brackets as the CUCV's.

My alt's don't look anything near the way that those woulf have to mount.

 

[afroman006]

IIRC CUCVs use the same size alternator as civi trucks dont they? As said before you have to take the back half of the alternator case off and rotate it 90 degrees so the mounting ears line up properly. After that, you have to leave the mounting bolts/studs/nuts for the top alternator bracket loose while you tension the belt because the CS140 is a little bigger than the 12si, but it will fit in the stock brackets without modification.

 

[dremu]

Uh uh uh ... I thought *both* alternators on the CUCV's (except the 1010's) were floating-ground, which is a big issue right there. Seems like you'd hafta disassemble any regular alternator to remove any ground connections, at the least ... never mind mounting issues.

-- A

 

[afroman006]

What the f' is a floating ground?

 

[dremu]

What the f' is a floating ground?

Ground not connected to the shell.

See, the CUCV's are mostly 12V ... but some 24V. Except for the M1010's which are weird. Or normal, really.

The lights are stuff are all 12V, but the glow plugs, starter, and radio hookup are 24V.

So they split the alternators... one goes from ground to 12V, and hooks to the first battery.

The other alternator goes from 12 to 24V to the second battery.

Said another way, the batteries are in series (of course) as are the two alternators, and they're both paralleled ... with a jumper halfway, between the battery set and the alternator set.

Weird, huh?

So a normal alternator can't be used for the #2 spot, as its "ground" (the negative side) is the 12V circuit...so its case is disconnected from the negative, unlike every other alternator you've ever seen.

Make sense now? (The explanation, not the system )

-- A

 

[afroman006]

Sounds expensive.

 

[dremu]

Sounds expensive.

Sounds goofy is what it is. This is one reason to convert CUCV's to 12V, if you're actually gonna do stuff with them.

Mine is essentially bone stock, as I have a sixpack for a towrig and a full-vert K5 as a 'wheeler ... but lordie, the electrical would be the first thing I'd change if I was gonna mod it.

To the OP, since we've veered a bit off topic, check out these links

http://www.roscommonequipmentcenter.com/news_notes/nn10.pdf

http://experts.about.com/q/Military-Vehicle-Repair-823/12-volt-conversion-CUCV.htm

or just google for 'CUCV 12V conversion' as it's a popular topic.

-- A

 

[ccatlett1984]

The passenger alternator bracket is a military only item. The drivers side bracket might be the same as the civvy model, but I'm not sure.

The quasi-24v system on the trucks is not prone to failure. the only thing is that when stuff wears out its more expensive to get fixed.

ANY good alternator shop is able to build/repair an alternator with an isolated ground, its really a simple change inside the alt.

 

[ccatlett1984]

The Glow Plugs are 12VOLT, the big resistor bank on the firewall drops the voltage from 24 down to 12. This is done so that if you are jumping the truck (using 24v from another Military Truck) the Glow Plugs will still receive power.