Alternator Pros, check this out!

[Maxim]

I love the pics of the rebuild of the alt! Good job throwing that thing back together on your own man! I'd be pretty lost if I opened it up and saw all that. But that's what the internet's for, I guess

Hahaha! And I love how it's just the "big spinny thingy."

[audiofanaticz]

Once in a while, all alternator builders will have an occasional defective component. Sometimes a brush lead can break off, that is just one of those situations that is rare, and cannot really be helped. Glad you were able to fix it yourself, of course we would have been more than happy to repair it for you under warranty.

while the alt still charged but only at low voltage it was easy to trouble shoot the problem ( and DC Power Kyle confirmed my findings). IMO If I voided warranty by doing it myself whatever, it saves everyones time and money so IMO its a win all around.

But Im still curious on these dual rectifier units.

[Iraggi Alternator]

Here is the deal with the MLA and anyone running higher voltage by any means..

Under normal conditions and batteries being good. higher voltage is not a problem. Now when batteries are drained or bad now the MLA or higher voltage is a multiplier for destruction. Higher voltage like from 14.2/14.4 up to 15.2 is way overrated. Its really not that big of a deal as far as performance. It does pull alot more charging current tho. And if your batts are bad, weak or drained, its exponentially worse.

Well the one wire for the brush was stuck between the spring and the ceramic housing, after the brush worn down Im the spring didnt push it out farther to make a complete circuit..

I just went to my buddies junkyard and grabbed a working reman off the shelf, going to replace the burshes.

Orginonally it was a dominator series, after talking to you via phone you said for another said amount of money I could get the amputator for better output and a longer warranty. Hence the 2nd paypal payment which was at the time the difference in price between the 2 alts for my 93 caddy sts.

Maybe misleading, maybe not. At the time of purchase there was no such thing as a MLA module (however your correct a regulator is cheaper then MLA). However I paid $240 shipped for my 250amp rhino series mechman with the same external voltage regulator. Either way Ive read that you dont warranty your alternators that where used with a MLA unit, so Mr Meades alts have no warranties Im assuming correct?

Ive had no problems with mine either, it ran and ran fine, however when I went to sell it since it didnt fit my truck someone tried to buy it for a 100$ and said they can get it recased to fit there surburban for $70. I then called and spoke with Dom and he said it couldnt be done and wanted me to buy a new alt.. At that point I got to wondering and checked other companies and got it tested, and was told it wasnt worth spending the $60 to recase on such a low output unit, and got my mechman.

At that point, I would of felt bad selling it to anyone as a 300amp unit which didnt even do 250 amps. Im sure Dom may have shipped me the wrong alt, which could of been why It didnt do said 300 amps max. Honest logical mistake we both could of over looked.

[keepinitloud]

Here is the deal with the MLA and anyone running higher voltage by any means..

Under normal conditions and batteries being good. higher voltage is not a problem. Now when batteries are drained or bad now the MLA or higher voltage is a multiplier for destruction. Higher voltage like from 14.2/14.4 up to 15.2 is way overrated. Its really not that big of a deal as far as performance. It does pull alot more charging current tho. And if your batts are bad, weak or drained, its exponentially worse.

could you explain more dom about this and what kind of damage your talkin about

[audiofanaticz]

could you explain more dom about this and what kind of damage your talkin about

Im pretty sure what he is getting at is your alternator (no matter the brand) is going to work double time to charge your drained batteries. It is going to make as much current as it can until the batteries are full. While using your MLAs or even external regulators to improve your voltage is now going to make your alternator not only rapidly charge your batteries but do it at a much higher voltage. In return could "cook" your battery (blow it up).

In a way it would be like taking a drained battery and putting it on a charger that has a 60 or 75 amp engine start mode (usually around 15 volts), and letting the battery charge for periods of time. the battery will get noticeable warm and may start to bulge if its done for too long.

This is why I prefered my external regulator over my MLA. Because when I needed the voltage, the knob was a reach away to a good 15.5v setpoint, and turned back down after bumping. However, I have not seen any said horry stories with the MLAs having a issue cooking batteries. I would venture to say all is good!

Not to mention MLA, External Regulator, or just a plan high output alt with no voltage mods can easily blow just from a fool draining his batteries to half reserve and then relying on the alt alone to charge them back up. Big no no imo.

[Colin - STAPUFT]

Have yet to have an issue with my rebuild kit from SpringHill either. Mine is just the 220 amp kit for a cs-130, but it puts out lots of juice. I put an overdrive pulley on it (had that anyway) and boom, no idle voltage or amperage troubles.

[Iraggi Alternator]

could you explain more dom about this and what kind of damage your talkin about

The higher your voltage the higher the charging current for your batteries. The more your batteries are drained the exponentially higher the charging current is.

So drained batteries plus higher charging voltage is a double whammy. It goes back to like driving your car at redline all day long.. Its like redlining your alt all day long. It will drastically decrease its lifespan.

Im going to make a vid of what im talking about. May be tomorrow tho.

Dom

[Iraggi Alternator]

Im pretty sure what he is getting at is your alternator (no matter the brand) is going to work double time to charge your drained batteries. It is going to make as much current as it can until the batteries are full. While using your MLAs or even external regulators to improve your voltage is now going to make your alternator not only rapidly charge your batteries but do it at a much higher voltage. In return could "cook" your battery (blow it up).

In a way it would be like taking a drained battery and putting it on a charger that has a 60 or 75 amp engine start mode (usually around 15 volts), and letting the battery charge for periods of time. the battery will get noticeable warm and may start to bulge if its done for too long.

This is why I prefered my external regulator over my MLA. Because when I needed the voltage, the knob was a reach away to a good 15.5v setpoint, and turned back down after bumping. However, I have not seen any said horry stories with the MLAs having a issue cooking batteries. I would venture to say all is good!

Not to mention MLA, External Regulator, or just a plan high output alt with no voltage mods can easily blow just from a fool draining his batteries to half reserve and then relying on the alt alone to charge them back up. Big no no imo.

Well said.

[Iraggi Alternator]

Have yet to have an issue with my rebuild kit from SpringHill either. Mine is just the 220 amp kit for a cs-130, but it puts out lots of juice. I put an overdrive pulley on it (had that anyway) and boom, no idle voltage or amperage troubles.

Well thats good to hear. That alt will not charge at all on a car spinning slow or using anything larger than a 2" pulley. 220 amps out of a CS-130 is a bomb waiting to happen. You must take care of your stuff or that alt will go out.. If it indeed does 220 amps.

That is good it worked out for you tho.

[finkster]

It would be helpful if one of the alt companies explained all of the parts in an alt and explained more about it, with pistures....

Just a suggestion.