i just got my 200a powermaster alternator. i had to grind some material off the bracket to accomodate its larger size. wiring was the problem here. the instructions werent very specific as to what wire went where. all it really said for my application was to use a single wire set up directly from the output terminal to the battery+ with no jumper wire(s?) required.

im afraid i may have fried the alternator. the way i wired it originally i left the yellow wire (only loose wire with ring connector) that goes from the alternator female harness to the output post (where it was placed in the box) and connected 4ga power wire from the post to the + terminal. the 4ga direct wire replaced the two black/orange wires that converged into one with a 14ga fuselink on the original alternator/wiring setup. the only other wire i connected was a green/red for the indicator light. i left the solid white wire (labeled 'electric chok') coming from the new alternators' female harness unconnected. the only other wire on the new alternator was a white/black that went from the multiwire female harness on the alternator to another spot of its own on the alternator.

i started my truck and noticed it wasnt charging so i let it ran shortly and shut it off. the alternator pully got really hot, to the point it was hot enough to begin to melt the belt a little and burn my fingers. i unhooked that one yellow from the output post and taped it off.

started it again after i had let it cool and got no additional charge.

unhooked the white/black wire that doesnt leave the alternator and still no more charge.

what the **** did i do? im pretty sure my mistake was leaving the yellow wire connected. is that white/black wire that goes from one spot to another on the alternator supposed to be connected for a one wire setup? do i need to hook up the electrc choke wire?

regardless i think i screwed up big time and ruined this expensive (was it 260 or 360$ i cant remember?) new alternator. any info/help is greatly appreciated

 

turns out i didnt screw up. its powermaster's bad. the first wiring config was the correct one but for some reason the alternator fried anyways. i sent it out ups red today (with a 30$ check to get the black finish) and if im luck , which im not concerning car repair, ill get it back saturday. more likely ill see it early next week. also while grinding/filing/chiseling the alternator bracket i struck my throttle body and cracked it. it leaks coolant now (what did i do to deserve this?).

has anyone else installed a powermaster 200a in their f150/bronco? what has your experience been? anyone know if theres any problem with running that alternator and an optima red top?

anyways, ill post when i get the new one in.

 

My experience with powercrap has been bad, they are cheap, and there crome chips from sitting on a shelf.

 

i dont care about chrome, i just want the thing to workk well for a long time. what causes you to think theyre cheap?

 

I got mine from a guy on Ebay its a 200amp and It came the the house with NO problems and it was 162.00 to the DOOR!!!
Works great!!!

 

I have had too rebuild them and all the ones I have seen were put together cheaply. Not saying yours is crap, just the ones I have seen.

 

yeah. im gonna install the new one tomorrow. it better not be cheaply constructed for the price ($330 or so before shipping). having looked at the unit and inside at the windings and such it looks pretty solid. dont know what to say about the first one frying with the correct wiring and a 4ga cable to an optima red top. all i know is im getting a refund if the warranty replacement takes a **** too.

 

crap i paid 100 delivered for a 130amp p/n 7771 wich matches the 3g alt and it looks like it soooo
but i could only find 150 or 100 amp whre the 130a came from i don't know but saw the 259 +s/h tag i did good if i can git it wired in

whoa checked autozzz and 7771 comes back as a BECK/ARNLEY no amp rating but 2 choices both 270 with a 95 core cha

i love the ebay lol

 

Well,
There is one out there that is good, but not inexpensive. Check out Mechman. He has 200 and 225 amp. They both bolt right in, no grinding. I've used his products for several years with no problems at all.

Something interesting...you said you used a 4 gauge wire for the 200 amp PowerMaster? Mechman recommends a 1/0 with his 200 amp.

Good Luck!

 

1/0 is really overkill. That is the gauge that you find on battery cables for fire trucks, ambulances and other heavy equipment.
The biggest I would use is 2ga. if you don't feel comfortable with 4ga.

 

got the new alternator in. works great.

i use 2 ga. for my amplifier. i might do the same for the alternator (currently 4ga.) but powermaster says to use 4 for my application and wire length . i dont know how much noticable difference itll make. i doubt itll affect voltage but it should be lower resistance.

 

Personally if I was installing an alternator that was 200+ amps I wouldn't go with a Ford alternator due to heating problems.

 

I beleive the MechMan alts have additional cooling capabilites, check one out in my gallery. I havent had any problems with overheating in mine.

Chris...Great gauge face, you can bet there will be alot more of those sold after people see yours, you should get a commision!

 

The ford 3G never had any cooling problems, infact, they are the coolest running of most other factory alternators. The GM 10-12SI is probly the best but it has sinced been dicontinued. The GM CS130 93A. model get hotter than a fire cracker.