I think everyone shoud throw out our sorry *** FB alternators and put in either a S4, S5, or maybe even an S6 alternator in instead.
Now my lights are brighter. My windows go up and down a lot faster. When I turn on my lights, AC, and fog lights on, the voltage maintains as 14Volts.
I am glad I did the swap.
I would like to give thanks to all those before me who did the swap and provided their experiences in the write ups.


Jeff

 

damn, i better jump on the band wagon....and do that, i've heard so much about it....

:AA:

 

is there alot of wiring to do on this swap???

 

someone tell or post a link how to do this.

 

just do the gm alt. swap in the thread next to this one.
more amps and cheaper.

 

Here is the how, courtesy of another member:

 

You can get a harness plug off an alternator from almost any Mazda in the junk yard. I got my harness plug off an 626. Or you can just use two female spade connectors.
Good luck...............

Jeff

 

Makes a big difference doesnt it? its nice to be able to have everything turned on without the voltage gauge drop to below 12 like the stock pos alternator does.

 

to do the 2nd gen swap all you need is some washers to space it out. it bolts right in

 

Pay close attention to the diagram posted above and you should be fine.

I have an FD alt with dual belt pulley and I couldn't be happier with it. 100amps and it looks kickass! Was a simple install, same wiring as the S5.

I was amazed at how simple an alt install is. The wiring is no problem at all. The stock "large positive" that does the charging goes in basically the same place. I had to cut the o-ring off the end of mine because it was too small, but that's nothing.
One of the two wires from the existing connector was used, and a new wire was run to the battery's + terminal (so that it isn't switched, but rather constant. This is shown in the diagram above and is necessary so that you don't get battery drain).

That simple. Mounting it wasn't hard either. I needed to buy a bolt, a nut and two washers because the upper "ear" on the alt isn't threaded like the FB one is. The bottom part mounted no problem, though I'm still looking for a spacer, it's not entirely necessary.

The dual belt pulley makes up for the fact that I don't have an air pump, AC, or power steering or any of those other wonderful accessories. At least this way my water pump won't slip even though I don't have an air pump.

I've gotta say, it's been one of the better mods I've done.

For everyone out there reading, upgrade your alt. Whether it's an S4, S5, S6 or some GM alt, nothing beats having a good electrical system

Do your battery cables too. Max you'd spend on the materials is $20 for both positive and negative cables, the connectors, etc... Just replacing our old corroded aluminum core cables with new copper ones makes a helluva difference.

Jon

 

with a s5 alt should i replace the main fuse?
i was thinking i would run the new + wire to an xtra terminal on my 2nd gen fuse block, what amp fuse should i use for that ?

 

If you have a 2nd gen fuse box, you should have either an 80 amp or 100 amp as the main. I think I am running an 80 amp as the main. I believe the S4 used 80 as the main and S5 used 100 amp as the main. I ran a new 8 ga wire from the alt to the 2nd gen fuse box. I got the wire for an audio shop. The battery connects to that center point on one side of the box. The alt output and the main power to the car should be on the other side of that fuse.

 

where can u get a 100 amp fuse

 

You should be able to get them at autozone. They are a little different than the regular 2nd gen fuses. The lower current values are plug in, but the 80 and 100 anp one are the same on top, but they have copper plates that extend out the bottom with notches in them. They only work in the center section on the 2nd gen fuse box. They will not fit in the 1st gen fusible links block.

They look like this:

 

so if i use the 105 amp alternator and just running a electric fan and sotck stereo shouldi be fine with the 60

 

i just sent money for my S5 alternator today, I hope this is as good as everyone says!