240: ‘88 Volvo 244 Alternator Advice/Recommendations

[Elvolvito]

I recently bought an alternator for my ‘88 244 & it came non-functional. It’s a Remy brand remanufactured alt & I’ll be returning it within a few days. With that being mentioned, what alternator would you fellow forum members recommend? I have this one currently on my watchlist & was wanting to know if it would be a good purchase? (https://www.ebay.com/itm/140-Amp-Vol...-127632-2357-0)

Thank you.

[Fa182]

Why do you need an alternator with such high amperage? Unless you have loads of accessories installed and really need it, that's way too much.

Are you sure everything else in the circuit is fine (grounds, exciter circuit etc.) before ruling out the alternator?

[Elvolvito]

Originally Posted by Fa182

Why do you need an alternator with such high amperage? Unless you have loads of accessories installed and really need it, that's way too much.

Are you sure everything else in the circuit is fine (grounds, exciter circuit etc.) before ruling out the alternator?

Yes, everything else has been ruled out. Days of electrical testing & an alt bulb replacement has led me to the decision. As well as my mechanic also saying it’s my alt. I tried replacing the regulator as well & it didn’t change my situation. My previous thread explains the entire situation. I also wasn’t really aware what having an alternator with more amps really means, does it put more strain on the electrical system?

[dl242gt]

That's a fair price imo for a 140 amp alternator. The stock alternator is 80 amps for your car. With all the extra amperage you'll be able to run some extra lights and more accessories. If you want to afford it that's a good upgrade.

[JohnMc]

Pick-n-pull 940 100A Denso works pretty well, and is really cheap. If you can find one, that is.

[VolvoScout]

Would the + and - cables need to be upgraded to a larger gauge to support a 140 amp alternator?

[Elvolvito]

Originally Posted by VolvoScout

Would the + and - cables need to be upgraded to a larger gauge to support a 140 amp alternator?

Don’t believe so judging by what the pictures demonstrate.

[dl242gt]

The need for upgrading the cables is based on what accessories you plan on adding to the original current load. If you are going to add a lot of high power stuff then yes upgrade those cables. If you aren't going to add much you'll be fine.

[spock345]

Originally Posted by JohnMc

Pick-n-pull 940 100A Denso works pretty well, and is really cheap. If you can find one, that is.

I got one for $20 from the local yard. It worked great.

[bobxyz]

The big cables directly off the battery to the starter/engine are already sized to start the car (hundreds of amps). If you really have 140Amps of accessories (efan, search lights, A/C, earthquake stereo, arc welder), you might want to upgrade the smaller battery+ to junction box cable, the alternator-to-starter + cable, and the short alternator- to ground cable. They're probably ~10 gauge now, and going to 8 gauge would keep the voltage drop under a volt. Just make sure you crimp them really well.

[Elvolvito]

Originally Posted by bobxyz

The big cables directly off the battery to the starter/engine are already sized to start the car (hundreds of amps). If you really have 140Amps of accessories (efan, search lights, A/C, earthquake stereo, arc welder), you might want to upgrade the smaller battery+ to junction box cable, the alternator-to-starter + cable, and the short alternator- to ground cable. They're probably ~10 gauge now, and going to 8 gauge would keep the voltage drop under a volt. Just make sure you crimp them really well.

I don’t even have 140amps worth of accessories currently. I just figured it wouldn’t be a bad investment to have all that extra power in case I wanted to add some decent speakers & a light bar in the future.