i havnt seen a thread on this anywhere, my alternator recently went out, and im trying to find out the amprage on a stock alternator, cuz kragens 50amp alternator listed under 79 rx-7's didnt seem to fit, or even have the same plug in the back, but they had a 35 amp that they said is the same(ill be picking it up tomorrow)but the alternator that was in my 7 said 55amps, can anyone help?

 

I am almost positive that the '79 came with a 50amp alt stock. Some of the later 1st gens were 55amp. It could be that someone upgraded your alternator. The '79 alternator had an external voltage regulator, while all of the alternators after had built in regulators. Do you have a pic of the alternator?

Does it have makings showing an 'L' terminal and an 'R' terminal? Does the plug on the back look like the letter 'T' with a horizontal pin and a vertical pin? If it has these, it is most likely a post '79 alternator with a built in regulator. DO NOT get the 35 amp one, it is too small. If we can determine yours is a later type, then you can either get another 55 amp ('81-'83, I think) or upgrade to a 60 amp (84-88 non-turbo). If they will let you use yours alt as a core for a higher amp alt, you could get a 87-88 turbo alt, which output 70 amp. It is pretty much a drop in if you do indeed have an alt with a built in regulator. Let us know so we can get you the correct alternator.

-Kent

 

The '79 alt should look like this:



The later ones, look like this:



Just to give you some idea if you do not have pics.

Kent

 

mine is the 79 alt, it has the 4 prongs, but it says 55 amps, ill go tomorrow and tell them the 35 amp is too small, i think i just need to go through autozone or something, cuz the alternator they first gave me that was wrong, was listed under 79 rx-7, and i dont understand how they could have the wrong alt listed for a car and not do anything about it,

i brought in my old alt, and they read the model number, and like, in their book of alternators, it skipped that one O_o and im pretty sure when my friend called autozone to see how soon they could have an alt for my car, they had the exact model, so ill have to try them next,

 

and thank you both very much for your help

 

ive got another quick question i was afraid to ask how do i tell which model my 79 rx-7 is? when insurance asked, i didnt know, so they just chose whichever one was cheaper =/

 

No problem as far as the help goes. I checked autozone online, they also list the '79 as a 50 amp. It is $55 and at least our local autozone doesn't stock it. I did see several sites online while I was doing some checking for you that had '79 alts for about $28+core, but then you would also have to pay shipping and they probably don't have the limited lifetime warrenty that autozone has. You could still consider upgrading to a later alt, but I don't know how the stores would handle the core charge. Also, I am not sure how you feel about a little wiring . It is a nice upgrade, but it is easier just to get the '79 alt.

As far as telling what model you have, what options do you have? Sunroof, power windows, etc. I am not an expert on the '79, but maybe someone else can tell you what you have if you list the options. I used to have a 1980 and I too never found out what model it actually was.

Kent

 

damn, thank you again very much for your help

as for upgrading my alt, ive done some wiring before, it doesnt seem too hard, but i just wanna strengthen up my engine and get it running just right before i start upgrading things,

i bought it as a beater, and the first thying to go was the alt ;x ive only got maybe 3 hours driving experience in it

as for options =/ well, i dont think i have any lol no sunroof, no power anything, my back window is tinted so dark i can only see headlights at night? lol i need to fix that

but yeah, tomorrow ill go to kragens, tell em its too small, let them down gently ya know and then go to autozone and place an order, should have went to them in the first place, but kragens is right down the street =T

 

Sounds good. You probably have the S model (little to no options). Your car is desired by many for racing as it is the lightest model (no sunroof, no options). I can understand how you might want to put off upgrading things for now. It is best to first get everything clean and operational and then you can worry about upgrades later. Here are a couple pretty good site that will tell you a bit more about your car:

http://www.rotorhead.ca/ref_1979.php
http://www.iluvmyrx7.com/

Good luck.

Kent

 

thank you very much and i feel special that my car is desired ;x

ill deffinately check those sites out