upgrade alternator to Ford Contour 2.0L 130 amp alternator
 

Just swapped out the weak stock alternator with the Ford Contour 130 amp alternator per the thread below (the Contour alternator starts on page 11 of the thread) for my 1991 S5 vert. Pretty straight forward. The Contour alternator clears the front strut bar and its pulley lines up perfectly. Now at night with my lights, AC, radio, etc...the stock gauge will hover right at the 14v mark. Close enough since I was lazy to measure the exact voltage. I did however burnt out the 100A main fuse once :wallbash:. I didn't notice how that happened :dunno:. The alternator B+ terminal was probably touching the hood because the stock boot was too small to cover the terminal up I guess. I'll need to do something about that later.




https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generati...etness-785082/

I just put in a 302 and that fixed the problem..lol!
It came with a 130 amp alternator!

Is the 302 the boot that came with your alternator? Mine didn't have that. Probably easy to source a bigger boot at Autozone or other part stores.

No, the 302 is the size of the Ford engine that the alternator was on.

:lol:. I missed it there. :scratch:

I've been running for quite some time without a boot on my Taurus Alt with no issues. If your alternator is moving enough to come in contact with the hood, I'd say you have MUCH bigger problems like a torn passenger side engine mount (constantly being stretched).

Waytek Wire has cable lug boots in many styles and sizes for cheap. Or visit your local salvage yard. Auto parts stores will have them in the battery section.

Also, LittelFuse makes 140A versions of the FC/FD main fuse. I can't recall a target application vehicle for this style, but 2000 Rams have the flat tab version. A little tweaking on one might do the trick for you. For reference, Ford runs the 130A Alts through a 175A mega fuse in stock applications such as on my 97 Expedition DD