3G Alternator Conversion Guide for Fox Body Mustang
03-04-2006, 01:07 AM
#1
3G Alternator Conversion Guide for Fox Body Mustang
I've done this swap on two of my vehicles now and figure I might as well do up a bit of a guide on how to do the swap. Some of you who have done it might have done it differently, that is fine. This guide is intended to help beginners perform the swap in the safest way possible.
Things you will need:
1. 3G Alternator, small-body style from Taurus, newer Mustang....etc. "ears" need to be straight across from each other. The big-body style (also from Taurus) will NOT fit in the fox bracket, and the ears are spaced too far anyways. Try to find a 130A alternator if possible.
2. Female "spade" connector from donor vehicle's alternator wiring harness (with white wire attached to it). This comes from any vehicle that had a 3G alternator to begin with and can easily be found at the wreckers. You will need to take about 4" of wire with it as well.
3. 4-gauge wire. This is the minimum I would recommend for this application if you are running the 130A alternator. You can buy this in foot-lengths from Canadian Tire, basically, its battery cable and has a gray sheathing. You can also use Car Audio wire, welding cable....etc, any heavy-gauge wire that is well protected. 10ft is enough.
4. Tie-Wraps.
5. 160A In-line fuse. This is also available at Canadian Tire and is relatively cheap. Its a "straight-through" style fuse with copper ring-terminal style ends on it, "Candy" shape to it with a black body.
6. Ring Terminals, 4-gauge, you will need 4 of these.
7. Propane Torch, Flux, and Solder and soldering iron.
8. Exacto Knife/Razor Blade.
9. Wire cutters capable of cutting 4-gauge wire.
10. Dremel or die-grinder.
11. Bolts that fit through the fuse with nuts (short as you can get).
12. Electrical tape (Liquid and the conventional kind).
13. Breaker-bar with socket that fits the tensioner.
14. Metric socket set.
Installation Notes: This is a non-destructive procedure, we will not be removing any of the stock wiring, so, if you ever decide to sell the vehicle, you can put your stock alternator back on it quite easily and keep the 3G and all the related wiring for your next project!!!
Steps for installation:
1. Unhook the negative battery cable.
2. Use breaker-bar to loosen the tensioner and remove the belt. Unplug the "D" shaped plug and then the larger power plug from the alternator.
3. Un-bolt the stock alternator and wiggle it out of the bracket, tuck the stock wiring out of the way.
4. Test-fit your new 3G, figure out how much material you will need to remove from the bracket, and grind away with the die grider/dremel until the alternator fits.
5. Place long bolt through alternator to hold in place (but give you the ability to move it back and forth) and begin to work with wire.
6. Strip one end of your 4-gauge wire and solder on a ring terminal. Seal with liquid electrical tape and then wrap with conventional electrical tape. Alternatively, you can use Shrink-wrap here. Bolt this to the back of the alternator, then feed the wire however you see fit (I fed it along the back side of the rad cradle) to the solenoid. Once the wire is laid as you want it, Tie-Wrap it in place.
7. Cut the wire about a foot from the Solenoid (leaving some slack to work with a bit here) as this is where we are going to install the fuse. Solder on ring terminals, bolt to fuse, then bolt to "live" side of the solenoid. Don't forget to tape/shrink-wrap your terminals. Once the fuse is setup, wrap the entire assembly tightly in electrical tape, using several layers.
8. Get out your exacto knife/razor blade and on the "D" shaped connector (which you may notice, will plug right into the new alternator) locate the white wire, which should be the middle one. Strip off a small portion of the insulation and then splice and solder on our female spade connector. Seal your connection.
9. Plug the "D" shaped connector into the alternator, and the spade connector into its spot, then proceed to bolt in the alternator, tuck the stock wiring out of the way (it should fit under the one side of the alternator and be pretty much hidden) and then put your belt back on.
10. Fire up the car and make sure its working!!
And that's pretty much all there is to it.
NOTE: If you have underdrive pulleys, you can use the stock pulley from your 2G alternator on the 3G alternator so that it will charge at idle.
Things you will need:
1. 3G Alternator, small-body style from Taurus, newer Mustang....etc. "ears" need to be straight across from each other. The big-body style (also from Taurus) will NOT fit in the fox bracket, and the ears are spaced too far anyways. Try to find a 130A alternator if possible.
2. Female "spade" connector from donor vehicle's alternator wiring harness (with white wire attached to it). This comes from any vehicle that had a 3G alternator to begin with and can easily be found at the wreckers. You will need to take about 4" of wire with it as well.
3. 4-gauge wire. This is the minimum I would recommend for this application if you are running the 130A alternator. You can buy this in foot-lengths from Canadian Tire, basically, its battery cable and has a gray sheathing. You can also use Car Audio wire, welding cable....etc, any heavy-gauge wire that is well protected. 10ft is enough.
4. Tie-Wraps.
5. 160A In-line fuse. This is also available at Canadian Tire and is relatively cheap. Its a "straight-through" style fuse with copper ring-terminal style ends on it, "Candy" shape to it with a black body.
6. Ring Terminals, 4-gauge, you will need 4 of these.
7. Propane Torch, Flux, and Solder and soldering iron.
8. Exacto Knife/Razor Blade.
9. Wire cutters capable of cutting 4-gauge wire.
10. Dremel or die-grinder.
11. Bolts that fit through the fuse with nuts (short as you can get).
12. Electrical tape (Liquid and the conventional kind).
13. Breaker-bar with socket that fits the tensioner.
14. Metric socket set.
Installation Notes: This is a non-destructive procedure, we will not be removing any of the stock wiring, so, if you ever decide to sell the vehicle, you can put your stock alternator back on it quite easily and keep the 3G and all the related wiring for your next project!!!
Steps for installation:
1. Unhook the negative battery cable.
2. Use breaker-bar to loosen the tensioner and remove the belt. Unplug the "D" shaped plug and then the larger power plug from the alternator.
3. Un-bolt the stock alternator and wiggle it out of the bracket, tuck the stock wiring out of the way.
4. Test-fit your new 3G, figure out how much material you will need to remove from the bracket, and grind away with the die grider/dremel until the alternator fits.
5. Place long bolt through alternator to hold in place (but give you the ability to move it back and forth) and begin to work with wire.
6. Strip one end of your 4-gauge wire and solder on a ring terminal. Seal with liquid electrical tape and then wrap with conventional electrical tape. Alternatively, you can use Shrink-wrap here. Bolt this to the back of the alternator, then feed the wire however you see fit (I fed it along the back side of the rad cradle) to the solenoid. Once the wire is laid as you want it, Tie-Wrap it in place.
7. Cut the wire about a foot from the Solenoid (leaving some slack to work with a bit here) as this is where we are going to install the fuse. Solder on ring terminals, bolt to fuse, then bolt to "live" side of the solenoid. Don't forget to tape/shrink-wrap your terminals. Once the fuse is setup, wrap the entire assembly tightly in electrical tape, using several layers.
8. Get out your exacto knife/razor blade and on the "D" shaped connector (which you may notice, will plug right into the new alternator) locate the white wire, which should be the middle one. Strip off a small portion of the insulation and then splice and solder on our female spade connector. Seal your connection.
9. Plug the "D" shaped connector into the alternator, and the spade connector into its spot, then proceed to bolt in the alternator, tuck the stock wiring out of the way (it should fit under the one side of the alternator and be pretty much hidden) and then put your belt back on.
10. Fire up the car and make sure its working!!
And that's pretty much all there is to it.
NOTE: If you have underdrive pulleys, you can use the stock pulley from your 2G alternator on the 3G alternator so that it will charge at idle.
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