3g and Other Alternator Questions

[packman]

Okay, I'm thinking about doing an electric fan upgrade to the '86 Crown Vic. While getting stuff for the oil change I asked if my parts guy had an alternator for a '92 Taurus with the 3.0L. He said he had it in stock and then he said that he also has a P72 alternator for the '86 as well. He said it's only 100 amps, but he believes it should bolt right in. After doing some searching on the 3g upgrade, is the police alternator a viable option? Is there some reason why we're not using them? That's all for now.



Packman

[1987cp]

'86 cop alternator is a 1G, externally regulated and still has lousy output at low RPM. Not a direct bolt-in if you currently have a 2G (gotta swap alternator brackets in most cases, too), and I don't know of a good reason to bother harvesting or fabricating a 1G harness if there's a 3G handy.

[Brandon]

Yeah, I would go with the 3.0 Tarus Alternator. They work really well.

[86GmLsCoupe]

The 3G's whether it be a Taurus or Mustang one work soo much better, you'll be really happy.

[85crownHPP]

You don't even have any of the wiring to use the 100amp ex-reg police alternator, so that's not really an option.

A new 3G is very expensive... I'd look for a used one.

[packman]

What I'm going to do is get back to my parts guy and compare a stock civilian CV alternator to the Ford Taurus one. Then I'm going to a JY to pluck a unit from a Sable or Taurus to use as a core. Oh yeah, I am looking at the 3.0L pushrod 3g alternators right? Is there a difference from the OHC 3.0L alternators? I am beginning to think that I should have looked at the alternator on the 3.0L Ranger that I had.



Packman

[gadget73]

The 100 amp unit also needs a bigger bracket, so physically it won't just bolt in unless you have the other upper bracket.

I think its the pushrod 3.0 one you need. If you get it in your hands, it will look right if its the right one. Pretty much if it fits, its what you need.

[1987cp]

That sounds reasonable. Easiest way to tell with 3G case size is the distance between the mounting holes. Measure that distance on your current alternator, and that's what you'll need for your replacement in order to work with your original bracket.

By "civilian CV alternator", I presume you mean one for a late-model 4.6L Vic? I'm pretty sure those use a different case style entirely with two mounting holes down low.

[packman]

That sounds reasonable. Easiest way to tell with 3G case size is the distance between the mounting holes. Measure that distance on your current alternator, and that's what you'll need for your replacement in order to work with your original bracket.

By "civilian CV alternator", I presume you mean one for a late-model 4.6L Vic? I'm pretty sure those use a different case style entirely with two mounting holes down low.

Nah, civilian meaning my mom's non-PI '86 Crown Vic. Though the kid that had the car B4 we got it put a PI badge on the rear deck. I figured since the parts guy has both of them in stock, I would compare the two and work from there.



Packman

[packman]

I looked at the 3g today and compared it to the one in the CV. The cases are the same. The only differences that I see is that the internal regulator harness connection on the 3g is in a different spot than the CV alt. Also the pulley on the 3g is larger than the CV, but it looks like it can be unbolted and changed over. The harnesses between the two look the same; are they a plug-in deal. What else am I missing? I am going to a take a look at 85crownHPP's 3g thread again to see what I'm missing.



Packman

[86VickyLX]

I looked at the 3g today and compared it to the one in the CV. The cases are the same. The only differences that I see is that the internal regulator harness connection on the 3g is in a different spot than the CV alt. Also the pulley on the 3g is larger than the CV, but it looks like it can be unbolted and changed over. The harnesses between the two look the same; are they a plug-in deal. What else am I missing? I am going to a take a look at 85crownHPP's 3g thread again to see what I'm missing.



Packman

Sure it's a plug in thing. One thing that the 3G regulator plug has that the 2G one doesn't is the little pigtail for the black/white wire. The green wire is the same, and the orange wire if you use your original harness can stay. You only have to splice that pigtail in for the black/white wire. If you use the 3G harness, then you just cut your green wire off your old plug, and attach it to your new plug, and add an eye connector on the orange wire, and you will stick that on the charge stud on the back of the alternator.

[packman]

What I'm going to do is go to Jamesburg next weekend and see if they have any Taurus or Sables left. I will see if I can get the harness off of those cars. I am also going to get the fan shroud to play around with. I bought a Jegs mounting kit for a 16" electric fan and I will use that to mount the fan I had gotten for the '53. Though in the end, I'll probably just use the 2g harness. I'll see what I can do. Thanks 86VickyLX.



Packman

[1987cp]

I wouldn't worry about factory harnesses; the only weird and specific parts are the stator and regulator plugs, and those you can buy new at AutoZone and complete your own harness with brand-new wire. For the best versatility, get one of those high-amp circuit breakers like Monty used on his 3G install.

[gadget73]

I cut 6" or so off the factory Taurus harness so I have the 3 wire regulator plug and its little jumper. I splice that into the factory harness in place of it's regulator plug and call it a day. I've also just used the little jumper connector and spliced it into the factory 2g harness. It comes out about the same, one splice vs 2 splice is about the only difference. I have saved the 3g charge wires before, but they're routed in annoying way. If you find a car with no radiator, its much easier to get it out. Its a nice piece of 6 ga cable, but its an obnoxious yellow color. Stick some split loom on it, and its good to go. The big upside to using that is you can bolt it to the 175 amp fuse really nicely, and the lug on the other end fits the alternator perfectly.

[packman]

Charge Wire

As far as fuseable links go, can I use an old fuseable link from my old car stereo? It's only 8 guage though; is that heavy enough? I still have the 200 amp fuse that I used back in the day.



Packman