so for the very first time after 6 years of owning this FC, it finally broke down on me...and i think it's my alternator..?...my battery won't hold charge when my friend was giving me a jump, it only held power when the jumper cables were on. so i was wondering...where can i buy a new one?...i was looking into the Bosch Alternators for the 86-88...does anyone have any inputs on this item? or does anyone have any other suggestions on a different one? a link or webpage would really help. thanks! btw. i own a '88 TII.

 

go to the parts store.

 

i have the local place rebuild mine

 

Make sure you get a Good Brand new alternator.not Remanufactured.they break down.according to One of the Big guys on Forum..Autozone is crap..Look into Revamping your electrical system with a Higger amperage alt(like from s4 to S5 or s4 to FD.).The battery?.that is your Choice.,My Suggestion is OPTIMA,as it is durable and is Good to know that you can also relocate the Battery to the INSIDE of the car if you desire to do so.(the conventional batteries give off Fumes,and are not safe because the spill acid)

 

thanks for everyone's input. yeah i'm looking into upgrading to an optima, probably next week when i get paid for the alternators, the S5 and FD, would they bolt right up to my S4? no custom brackets needed right? thanks!

 

S5 alt should be an exact fit physically, but you will need a wiring change. The FD alt will need a pulley change and the same wiring change.

Regarding the Optima: unless you are intent on moving the battery inside the car, I wouldn't do it. They are expensive and there has been much discussion that the quality and performance no longer lives up to the original reputation. Apparently the company was bought out and the battery cheapened down.

Good Luck.

 

oh man, now you made my choices even harder lol...but thanks for looking out with the FD alt, what type of pulley would you need? and what's the wiring change consist of?...thanks!

 

I presonally would go with an Odyssey battery instead of optima...i have had much better luck.

A PC680 would be enough to start a 13B...and if you are into over kill like me, you could get the PC925. (150 or thereabouts for the PC925)

You know, you could always just run another S4 alternator and not need to do anything.

Just my .02

 

Your choices are not getting harder. You just now have enough information to make a decision. Pick one and make it work!

The pulley from your old alternator won't work on the FD alt because the hole is too small. You can have it drilled out, or you can go down to the parts store. Ask the guys to pull an old pulley off from a Chevy core alternator. They will only charge you a little bit or might even give it to you for free and it should work. They might even pull the pulley off the FD alt and put on the Chevy pulley for you. Don't go asking for these favors when they are really busy. Go there when they have 5 guys with nothing to do but restock inventory. They would all rather help you with a freebie than restock parts...

Basically modern alternators are three wire. You need to change one wire from the S4. One wire charges (big and fat), one wire goes to the gauges. These are the same on your S4. The other wire in your s4 goes to the ignition switch. This is the one to change. It merely needs hooked up so that it has 12v all the time. If you don't change this wire, the alternator will work just fine, but the battery will drain when the car is off.


Here is a picture.

 

Odyssey huh...mmm...now that you mention it, i remember, my friend's FD had that...that thing was hella small lol...is it expensive? i'm not really into relocating my battery inside, and i was thinking about that too...just stick with the S4, no hassle, and get a descent battery.