Well after a very long hiatus, I am SORT of, back at working on my ACTY. I have two other ongoing projects, but since the truck will be street legal next year, I would like to get it up and running. On my long laundry list of parts I need, one that stands out is an alternator, problem being that an original is around $300, which is ridiculous. I remember reading on a forum that a particular alternator out of a kabota tractor fits in and works perfectly, does anyone know of hand what tractor model that is? I can't find it online to save my life, any help would be much appreciated, I"m sure my mini truck would thank you if it could.
Mini or race alternator, on eBay or Amazon. I did a post a while back. You can also find rebuilding parts on eBay. https://minitrucktalk.com/threads/better-alternators.18319/
some more info on mini alternators here http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/electric/ac204.htm quote " there are a few more manufacturers for aftermarket replacement parts with different trade names. The most common one seems to be Powermaster. They make model 8162 for one-wire operation (battery wire only) or 8172 for two-wire connection (battery and ignition switch wires). The "other" brands often refer to these small alternators as "mini Denso style", also often referred to as racing or street rod alternator."
Just glanced at the article linked by shogun. That sure looks like the alt that was used on the 1996 Chevy Metro I owned some years back. Also I think the Geo & Suzuki used a similair unit. Might be some options looking in a junkyard. Fred
Thank you guys very much, around what amperage should I be looking for in an alternator? I don't plan on doing any major electronic mods to the truck, I would like a roof mounted light bar, but it will be LED so surely it won't draw much amperage, I would also like a front mounted winch eventually, but that will be WAY down the line.
here is mentioned 32A for the older Acty trucks 1978 - 1989 http://www.startermotoralternator.com/catalogue/honda/acty/alternator
Stock, is 30 to 35-Amps. I have air conditioning, so I have a 35-Amp stock. Whether you upgrade is dependent on what other electrical draws you anticipate. I’m looking at a 90-Amp. I run an electro-hydraulic, snow plow, a winch, and have an electro-hydraulic scissors/dump bed. And will be adding auxiliary lights: warning lights when plowing, flood lights for plowing, and off road, and the secondary headlights for plowing, because it blocks the front turn indicators, and headlights when I have the plow lifted for travel. I have already doubled the CCA of the battery, so increasing the capacity of the alternator makes lots of sense. And, other than needing to increase the size of the cable from the alternator to the battery, the higher amperage alternator is a bolt in swap. So, it is fairly straight forward project.
Reread this. Need to add, that Volts X Amps = Watts. So, if you divide the Watts that the device draws, by 10, you get the Amp draw with a 20% safety factor. If you plan to run a 100-Watt, light bar, it will need 10-Amps. Which is a third of the stock alternator capacity. Turn on the stock headlights: you pull another 10-Amps, and you are now drawing 20-Amps, or roughly 2/3rds of the stock alternator. With the aftermarket alternators being so much less than the stock ones, through the import chain, you can upgrade to a 60-Amp Alternator for less than the cost of a stock one, and improve the system greatly. The only possible,down side is the increased draw on the engine. The little motors don’t produce many kiloWatts, (about 30-kW), which is why the factory installed such low amp alternators.
Increased draw on the engine you have to consider, as you mention, I immy feel the difference in power when I switch the aircon on, the AC compressor draws quite some power, when the compressor clutch kicks in.
Late to replying, but thank you guys very much. After putting together a list of parts for my project car, it will be tons of money that I don't want to spend right now, nor do I have the time to do it............. .ouch.... so back to work on the ACTY, will hopefully be looking to get an alternator soon.
Ordered the Alternator either yesterday or the day before (memory is horrible), also picked up an inline fuel filter and some fuel line. When the parts get here I will just have to get a new battery and then I'm hoping it fires right up. Then it will be time to change the oil, coolant, diff case oil, transmission oil, new front axle. Then at the start of the new year I will go over all electrical components (lights) to get it ready so I can register it and drive it on the road, and legally at that!!
Alternator arrived today. The "leg" that has the bolt hole that is not threaded (pivots on larger bolt towards rear of truck) is too close to the pulley, so the alternator ends up being too short and does not align with the engine pulley. Did I order the wrong one? or was no one actually sure if this would work? Either way I know for sure I have to send this one back.
After looking at it a little bit more, I think I might be able to make the alternator work. I will have to add spacers, and likely custom make a bracket for the adjustment, but $50 vs $300 for an alternator is making me consider it. The main problem is that I would have to cut the plastic cover that goes over the alternator belt. I would only have to remove the engine side section, so that the alternator can be moved out slightly to align the pulleys. Does anyone see an issue with this? I would think all the cover is there to do is keep lots of water and mud off of the belt. But as I said only the engine side cover would have to be modified, so I would still have the outer (cover that is removable) cover to semi protect the belt. Any suggestions? I'm also concerned that since the alternator hole that isn't threaded, will have to be out past the engine block around 1"-2" that the bolt with bend under the belt tension, I would obviously add a spacer to take up the gap, but I would think it would still bend under the pressure the belt would exert.
Yeah never mind, definitely not going to work! The alternator needs to be reclocked badly, but It can't be reclocked, the wires going to the inside of the alternator would end up being broken. The alternator cannot be moved apart slightly to reclock it as two of the "case" bolts are bolts, and the other two are threaded inserts, and withe the inserts in you cannot spin the case halves. I need to find something in this price range that will work, $300 isn't happening.
Is the number tag on your old one clean enough to read? If so you might be able to search by the model number of your old one. Also, there were a couple of companies on eBay who weee selling rebuild kits for the Denso alternators.
Sam, there is a shop in Celina that repairs alternators. I've lost the guys card but he is downtown just to the west of the railroad tracks. His shop is on the corner. He was the only one I could find to rebuild the alternator on my generator (24 volt). The rebuild he did works great.
I i can read the tag, I’ve searched it and a billion other combinations of tags, years, you name it ive searches it. All come back to the same thing, an alternator that costs roughly $300.
I’m not alternator expert but I’m pretty certain mine is beyond rebuilding. The case is cracked and pieces are missing in numerous spots.
here used ones for around $60 plus shipping https://autoparts.beforward.jp/search/HONDA/ACTY/V-HA4/Electrical-Parts/Alternators/
