Yes, but I still have low voltage at idle. Back to the shop tomorrow to see what can be done about this.

 

get some new seats!

 

I like the center console, it looks great

 

I think an overdrive pulley is going to be your best bet; & perfectly safe to do.

Curious to see what the shop recommends ... .

 

Agreed. This may not help explain what the actual cause of the low voltage at idle is, but should safely resolve it.

Could the pulley from the 20b (just by design) have a lower output than what the US FD's system considers normal? This of course is if the alternator is from the 20b.

Just trying to throw out the simple stuff. I often fought the big battles in my FD without looking at the little ones. Half the problems were simply things I overlooked because I was rushing, or just skipping steps.

Again, good luck.

 

The main pulleys on the car are FD pulleys, not 20B ones. The current alternator is a rebuilt FD one and the pulley is stock. I have a set of 20B pulleys and they are slightly smaller than the FD ones. I also have a smaller alt pulley.

Think I will give these a shot unless the shop thinks otherwise.

 

David try a jell filled 1st and 2nd gen Miata battery. They are designed to be placed in the interior. That's what I'll be using. In the Miata they are placed in the trunk.

 

I would swap the pulleys David. It's not gonna hurt anything. Think about it. The 20b alternator has 10amps less peak than the Fd alternator (100 vs 110) yet the cosmo has more electrical load with all it's eletronics when compared to the Fd. The smaller pulley will only benefit you.

 

ooh im waiting to see how this turns out... i was considering the same thing myself David.

 

So the shop did additional testing today. After the installation of the Hyper Ground Kit, amps are now normal on the car and at load (everything on) and at 4,000 RPMs, total a little under 50 amps. This is very good.

They then did a comprehensive test to see if voltage was spiking somewhere in the system - it isn't. So they recommended installing the smaller pulley drive on the alt and it has helped a little increasing voltage. I am now at about 12.4 volts with everything on. Turn the fans or ac off, and I shoot to about 13.4, but with both on, headlights etc., 12.4.

Prior to the alt pulley change, they noted the battery was not charging under load. With the pulley change, the battery is now charging, even with the drop in voltage. So they believe I am good to go, and feel I'll have no problems even if I leave the car running at idle for a while.

They do want to do one more thing after I get back from the Chris Carlisi event this weekend. They want to send the alt to a person they know in town who is able to ramp up voltage at idle through reconfiguring diodes or something like that. I'm going to take the car tomorrow and railer it up to PA for the event and then bring it back next week for this final step. The mechanic working on the car has a history of working on hot rods and says he's seen this a number of times and the ramping up of the alt through the diode reconfiguration works in his opinion.

So, that is it for now. I won't eat anymore alts and I should be good to good until I take the final step next week.

 

Did the swap on Sunday and it turned out fantastic. Much much brighter than before, even with the brake lights. Am waiting on a few replacements that I didn't like (center stop lights) and will post a complete write up then, including part numbers for ordering. I am also trying to get the superbrightleds.com guy to do a group buy for the forum.

 

out of curiosity, is there any difference between a longblock 20b's alternator and the FD alternator?

 

Other than the peaks amps of both and the pulleys, they are both virtually the same.

 

Just curious..
Your post says Kilo Racing.
But you said your going to Pettit for the 20B swap..
Just wondering if you had the 2 places mixed up.
Camron Worth owns Pettit & he usually goes by Cam ..
Kilo works for CFT Central Florida Turbos which is in Orlando

 

^^ He started at Pettit and ended up at Kilo. For the record, Kilo does not work for CFT.

 

Wow, you are behind the times, my friend! As posted above, the conversion started at Pettit about 4 years ago and was finally completed (correctly and with high quality) at Kilo Racing in Orlando. Read the thread for what happened to me along the way.

Kilo is owned by Jesus Padilla who does not work for CFT.

 

My bad.
I didnt read the full post & my mistake I was thinking of Rolo @ CFT, not kilo, LOL .
My mistake, I just read the heading & seen Pettit & Kilo in the same title..
Sorry ...

 

No problems.

Jesus = Kilo Racing =

 

Hey David... post up those LED pics. Can't wait to see how the setup turned out.

 

Will do. It will be next week though as I am all loaded up and ready to go to the Chris Carlisi memorial event. Leaving tomorrow morning and coming back Monday.

 

Cool. Post up pics from your road trip up there. Can't wait to see the turnout. Multiple 3 rotor cars at the same event. Should make for some incredible visual eye candy!

 

If you're looking for a sealed battery, I highly suggest Exide Orbit batteries. Below is a link to a thread I put in the FB section about my experience with them.

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...ht=exide+orbit

Good to see that you have the voltage issue resolved David. Have fun this weekend (I'm missing it because of a broken FB).

 

i agree

 

Just posted up my LED exterior light replacement project, including the bulbs I used here:

https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...82#post9451182

Also wrote a review of my PLX Devices gauges install here:

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/plx-gauges-install-review-859426/

Finally, some new shots of the car:

Exterior