10 replies to this topic

[Pavel]

Okay after a few calculations I have come to a scary figure.

With electronics on including all the lights i'm up around 80 amps!!!

What's worse? I think my alternator puts out around 35

Plenty of japanese techno-faddy cars seem to have these awesome alternators which are the size of a matchbox (well not quite that small) and put out 70 amps!

I've found one off a mitsubishi that seems very nice, but unfortunately can't take it (customer who's engine it is at the garage might not approve ;p). Might try it out on the mini if its still there next week though just to see if it fits (and then buy one).

But has anyone had any luck fitting japanese alternators to their minis without much modification?

[SCURVY DOG]

the lucas alternator from a xr31 is the same fitting as a mini and is a 65 amp

ouput

[sandfly]

sorry to sound dumb but whats an xr31

ah sorry was being dense do you mean an xr3 i read it to quick and my brain was not in gear

[Alex1380]

u can get ones off a later metro (still with the A-serise engine) which put out 55amps.

[Pavel]

Woops! Chucked one in the bin a few weeks ago lol!

55 aint that much anyway though :\

[Alex1380]

works for me, i got a wacking grate sound systerm and these days always have the lights on and its fine, but i have a big battiey in to boot which mite help.
if you find one that fits let us all know.
i heard a rummer that one of a landy fits

[dklawson]

There have been numerous threads on the Mini Mania / Mini Spares site about alternative alternators. In the U.S. a common conversion is to a General Motors unit. There are also various Bosch and Motorola units that are used. I have seen a few threads about Japanese alternators, but for the life of me I don't remember which one was used. You may want to use the search engine on the Mini Spares site (set to search back 365 days) looking for keywords like "alternator" in the "body". Good luck.

by the way, how often do you actually drive with everything turned on that you think you need 80 Amps? It's extremely unlikely that you'll really need all of that power at the same time. (Stereo cranked wide open while making a turn, driving at night with your high beams on in the rain in the dead of winter with the heater blowing and honking your horn?) Think of the battery as a gas tank. Bigger is better in general, but if you don't drive long enough with high enough output from the alternator... it's going to get "empty".

[Guess-Works.com]

Don't forget you wireing system to the alternator is not designed to take 80 amps either, you'''ll have to re-wire that part of the loom, well, infact most of the loom, unless you install a new loom for the additional items, which I assume is ICE for that amount of demand...

80 amps, thats nearly 1 Kw of power, what you got, a electric bar heater in the foot well ? :grin:

[TimS]

around 1080 watts if u take that an alternater puts out around 13.5 volts! that a huge amount, both bulbs on high beem would be 120watts, stereo around 25-100watts, heater im not sure about, indicators around 25watts but they are flashingwhat else have u got running?

if the heater and internal lights were on that would be a max of 150 watts so all together i make it to 395 unless u have a HUGE sound system thats only 30 amps at 13.5 v or 33 at 12v

[sandfly]

if it is a huge sound system think about a seperate battery like the sound off guys do they do have to recharge it every night though the other advantage is you lights wont dim everytime the music hits a beat

[TimS]

or just a yellow top should be fine, then no need for new alternator