[Ivan80]

I recently finished my 150 amp alternator install using Bill's bracket, connector and instructions and just wanted to say Thanks. The quality of that bracket and the included hardware is amazing. I picked up a 150 amp '06 sequoia alt with 14k miles for $75. This is probably the best bang for the buck upgrade I've done to the truck.


To reiterate what others have said, don't bother having the alternator tested at the local parts store. I first had mine tested at an alternator/starter shop, and it tested good. I then took it to my local 'Car Quest', and the kid disappeared into the back room for 20 minutes, then tried to tell me it was bad. They probably sell a lot of needless replacements this way.


Some install notes, YMMV.

• Remove the battery box, oil filter, and the 3 bolts holding the PS reservoir to the engine and you'll have plenty of room to fit the new unit in.

• I replaced the B+ and the ground to the engine block, along with running a new ground to frame with 2/0 wire. Along the way I also replaced my battery with an Optima Yellow Top D31A (with Marine style threaded posts -Free from a family member who couldn't use it)

If you are replacing the wire that goes from the alternator B+ to the Battery, there is a free and easy way to Increase the wire size that goes to the engine bay fuse box:

• There are 2 white wires going to the B+ ring terminal on the alternator. The larger one goes to the battery through a fusible link (which you are replacing with new larger wire and fuse). The smaller white wire goes to the engine bay fuse box.

• There is also a black/blue wire that goes from the battery (via the fusible link that is in the same 'black box' as the larger white wire) to the engine bay fuse box. This wire is smaller gauge than the larger white wire mentioned above.

You can use this larger white wire to the fuse box in place of the black/blue wire by doing the following:

• Cut the SMALL WHITE WIRE AT THE RING TERMINAL that was on the B+, leaving the larger white wire on the ring terminal. Run this large wire over to the fuse box, routing it the same way the black/blue wire routes, disconnect the black/blue wire from the fuse box and replace it with the larger white wire (you'll have to bend the ring terminal 90*, and lay it UNDER the mounting tab, to replace the screw).
• DISCONNECT THE BLACK/BLUE WIRE AT THE FUSIBLE LINK OR IT'LL STAY HOT. I contemplated leaving both of these wires connected to the fuse box, but figured it was unnecessary, and very very remotely hazardous should the box somehow draw enough to blow one fusible link but not the other.
• Crimp the smaller white wire in the new ring terminal along with your new large gauge wire going between the Battery (through a fuse) and the B+ so it'll continue to feed the components in the fuse box as it did before.

I don't know if this larger white wire to the fuse box will yield any noticeable results in brighter lights or louder horns, but it seems like a waste not to use if for something. You could even now use that black/blue wire to power something else if you like, or just disconnect it and tape it off as I did for future possibilities.

[BigMac]

Shaun -
Any chance you could post a photo and wiring diagram of your wiring mod? I need all the help I can get with this stuff.

I'm wiring up a 130A alt now, starting with 2 Ga cable from the alt B+ to a 175A fuse, then on to the battery. As I look at the relatively small size of the stock harness originally from B+ to the underhood fuse box, I'm wondering how hard it would be to replace it with larger diameter wire(s), since its a pretty short run. Is that necessary, or will the stock harness handle the new Alt output? Lord knows I'm no EE, but it seems that a larger feed, at least to the fuse box, will help take full advantage of the new Alt. Anybody tried that?
Thanks - appreciate the good info, Mack

[robmir]

Originally Posted by Ivan80

• There is also a black/blue wire that goes from the battery (via the fusible link that is in the same 'black box' as the larger white wire) to the engine bay fuse box. This wire is smaller gauge than the larger white wire mentioned above.

You can use this larger white wire to the fuse box in place of the black/blue wire by doing the following:

• Cut the SMALL WHITE WIRE AT THE RING TERMINAL that was on the B+, leaving the larger white wire on the ring terminal. Run this large wire over to the fuse box, routing it the same way the black/blue wire routes, disconnect the black/blue wire from the fuse box and replace it with the larger white wire (you'll have to bend the ring terminal 90*, and lay it UNDER the mounting tab, to replace the screw).
• DISCONNECT THE BLACK/BLUE WIRE AT THE FUSIBLE LINK OR IT'LL STAY HOT. I contemplated leaving both of these wires connected to the fuse box, but figured it was unnecessary, and very very remotely hazardous should the box somehow draw enough to blow one fusible link but not the other.
• Crimp the smaller white wire in the new ring terminal along with your new large gauge wire going between the Battery (through a fuse) and the B+ so it'll continue to feed the components in the fuse box as it did before.

I don't know if this larger white wire to the fuse box will yield any noticeable results in brighter lights or louder horns, but it seems like a waste not to use if for something. You could even now use that black/blue wire to power something else if you like, or just disconnect it and tape it off as I did for future possibilities.

You should replace the black/blue strip wire with a larger gauge or run a parallel same gauge in the section which goes from the engine fuse box to the ignition switcher since this wire power several accesories which are on, in the accesory position or the ignition position, one of them with a high current demand in the ignition position is the power windows (of course the contacts inside the ignition switch should be in good condition and not overheated or pitted).

You will notice right away an improvement in the windows speed when rolling them up.

[Brian894X4]

I've been working on my install the last few nights. This is in conjunction with a major cooling system overhaul, so it's been easier to install.

Everything has gone together pretty well. The bracket is just awesome as mentioned before. I just can't get over the quality of the bracket. The 150 amp alternator a perfect fit. Once I finally figured out how to get the wires out of the old plug they went right into the new plug for a nice factory fit.

The only problem I'm having right now is belt fitment. Stock belts just aren't happening. I see that someone has gotten away with about 1/2" longer than stock, so I'm going to try that. I almost think a 1" longer belt will be required, but I'm not sure how much adjustment is available with the new alternator.

[Ivan80]

Brian,

I reused my good stock belts. Try taking the belt loose from the waterpump and put it on the alternator first, then slide it over the larger water pump pulley.

It is a really difficult to get them on that small pulley, but with a little gentle help from a screwdriver, you can get them on the waterpump pretty easily.

I purchased the longer belts and didn't need them by using this method.

[Photoman]

Brian,

Great to hear you are getting it up and running.

Did you try tipping the alternator pulleys in to the belts? I know it is counter intuitive, but for the initial install it is easier to leave the new bracket off until the belts are installed. This way the alternator pulley can be tipped into the belts instead of trying to stretch the belts over the pulleys. The alternator is then hung in place with the belts now in the pulley grooves by the top stock mount bolt. The new bracket then can easily be installed by sliding it in behind the belts.

Something that also may help to install belts is to remove the stock belt idler pulley temporarily. There is only one bolt that holds it on and by removing it there will be a little more slack in the belts. Just replace it before tensioning the belts. HTH

Bill

Picture – tipping the alternator in to the belts.

[Brian894X4]

Ya, I did that try that method, but I just couldn't get it in the mount with the belt attached. I'm dealing with brand new Toyota belts which are probably the problem. I spent a good few hours trying a number of methods and I can see they just aren't going on.

So, I picked up a set of Goodyear belts about 1/2" longer and they fit. I haven't tried to tighten yet. Hopefully, there's enough adjustment. My only concern is that the belts are sort of cheap (good thing there's two) and they are cogged. I'm not sure how that will affect things.

I'll work on it some more tonight.

[Photoman]

Brian,

I think I might have found your problem. You said you could not get it in the mount with the belts attached. That is the top stock mount I take it? After reading your problem I went and installed a 150 amp with new belts and found that the bushing in the stock mount has to be tapped flush or beyond for the alternator to tip in. In other words the stock opening has to be as wide as possible. My bushing was sticking in a hair and would dig into the alternator preventing it from sliding in to the stock mount. I just tapped it out a little further and the alternator dropped right in with the new belts. Mine does not have the belt idler so I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. Maybe after you tap the bushing out further check for a burr on the front of the alternator mount and hit it a file just in case.
It should work with the stock belts. Once I got the alternator in the top stock mount the new OEM belts were loose and definitely needed tensioned.

Bill

[concretejungle]

Bill, awful lot of dust on that oil filter

[Brian894X4]

I was able to get the stock belts on. I turned the motor over via the main bolt and that got 'em on in just a few seconds. Having the stock belts does make me feel better.

I'll be firing up tomorrow night. Still putting stuff together with my other projects. The only thing that kind of concerns me now is the alternator pulley. I took it off via an impact wrench and I put the new one on that way. No way to really check torque. I'm pretty sure it's on tight, but whether it meets the torque spec of somewhere near 90 ft/lbs or not, I have no idea and I would guess not.

What did you guys do to make sure the pulley was on tight, and wasn't going to fly off at the most inopertune time?

[bjowett]

We could probably source some longer OE belts from a Mitsuboshi distibutor...

[Ivan80]

Originally Posted by Brian894X4

What did you guys do to make sure the pulley was on tight, and wasn't going to fly off at the most inopertune time?

When the experienced, professional alternator guy changed my pulley over, he used an impact, so I assumed that was okay.

As far as moving that bushing like Bill was talking about, I couldn't find a good way to 'tap' it forward. I took a socket large enough to fit over the bushing from the front, stuck a bolt through it from the front, and put a washer and nut on from the back side of the bushing and tightened the bolt head until the nut pulled the bushing flush to the back side of the mount.

[NLXTACY]

Ok so I've read a few posts about the new wiring. Is there a picture that can go along with it or even a detail list of what needs to be changed as far as wire size? I still don't feel very confident in which of the wiring I need/should change.

[Brian894X4]

NLXTACY,

Which wiring are you trying to figure out? The wiring for the rear plug or the main charge wiring?

The pictures floating around somewhere in this thread were a super big help to me (don't forget you're looking at the REAR of the new plug in the photo). Once I figured out how to take the old plug apart and get the wires out, they snapped right into the new plug no problemo.

As for the charge wire, I did things a little differently. I took the old charge wire and wrapped it up in the stock harness and tied and tapped it all up, so it won't rub or make contact with anything. The old wire will stay hot, since it's still connected to the battery. This leaves the stock battery wiring all stock, with the exception that the stock charge wire is no longer hooked up to the alternator.

I then ran a seperate 4 gauge battery cable from the alternator directly to the battery where it's fused at the battery. I just bought a standard 4 gauge battery cable then soldered on the ends that I wanted, wrapped it up in protective wiring covering and taped it all up. Works great so far.

I just fired up the rig tonight and thankfully no leaks and all sounds and runs great. The new alternator seems to run awesome. Nice and quiet. Voltage is about 13.5-13.8 at idle with headlights and heater on full. I haven't seen it go much above 14 volts, which I don't know if that's a problem since the stock alternator liked to run around 14-14.8 on the highway. But I figure at twice the output, this alternator may run at a slightly lower voltage than others.

In any case, this mod is awesome and went together very well.

[Photoman]

NLXTACY

To try to clarify the main wiring, a new 4 gauge or larger wire is run from the alternator “B” post through a fuse to the battery positive as many have done. The stock connector lug at the alternator “B” post has a large white wire in it which is being replaced, plus a smaller white wire that goes to the under hood fuse box and the in dash fuse box. The small white wire needs to be connected to the “B” terminal, either by cutting it and putting it in the same lug as the new 4 gauge wire (as Ivan80 did), or by leaving the stock “B” connector bolted on with the new 4 gauge wire (parallel as John did). If paralleling the big white wire is bothersome, it can just be disconnected from its fuse link in the little AM1 box by the battery.

Upgrading the battery ground or negative is a good idea to balance and maximize the new alternator output.

Fwiw, I took the wiring harness apart about 12 inches from the alternator “B” post. In the picture it can be seen that Toyota splits the small white wire here in to 3 wires. Two wires go to the under hood fuse box, and the other goes to the in dash fuse box. See picture.



Brian894X4 – I think you are back feeding the small white wire through the fusible link and big white wire? If I mislead you in some way I apologize. Congratulations on getting it all together and running.


Bill


.

[NLXTACY]

Bill you are awesome. Just what I needed. I have the alternator ordered already. A 150A off an 05 Sequoia.

Looking forward to doing this bad boy up.

[Photoman]

Small update. I spent the last couple of weeks and made another batch of brackets so they are available. I left a few not powder coated so if someone wants one in another color (very limited) I can try to do that for an additional $10.00.


NLXTACY how is it going?


Bill

[NLXTACY]

Hey PHOTOMAN, thanks for asking. Well the first alternator that I got had a small hairline fracture on it but I couldn't break it off so I wasn't too worried. (must have been damaged in an accident) Well I got it installed and hadn't plugged in the new plug yet when I went to get a drink. As I am walking back to the truck I hear "POP". Er ok. Well as it turns out the mounting ear did actually snap off at that fracture point. I guess I should have known better.

That was last Saturday. So I took about the plug again to put back the old alternator and re-ordered a new (to me) UNDAMAGED 150A alternator. Hopefully I will get it in early this coming week. Looking forward to it.

Joey

[Photoman]

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

Hey PHOTOMAN, thanks for asking. Well the first alternator that I got had a small hairline fracture on it but I couldn't break it off so I wasn't too worried. (must have been damaged in an accident) Well I got it installed and hadn't plugged in the new plug yet when I went to get a drink. As I am walking back to the truck I hear "POP". Er ok. Well as it turns out the mounting ear did actually snap off at that fracture point. I guess I should have known better.

That was last Saturday. So I took about the plug again to put back the old alternator and re-ordered a new (to me) UNDAMAGED 150A alternator. Hopefully I will get it in early this coming week. Looking forward to it.

Joey

Wow, I guess in trying to find the bright side you will be an expert in swapping these things before it’s all over. Speaking of that, did you install the belts by tipping the alternator in like the instructions say? How did that go?

Bill

[NLXTACY]

Well it kinda sucked because of removing the battery and tray and getting in. I struggled a little bit with putting in the alternator until I did the tip in WITH the belts already on, went right on. In all seriousness, as long as someone follows your instructions to a "T" you should be fine. The bracket is freaking awesome btw, love the adjustment.

The first time doing it took me about 2 hours total mainly because I was just taking my time and studying the surroundings. You know, getting myself familiar. To do the whole thing over again when the new alt comes in, I think I can now do the whole process in under 45 mins, maybe even 30 mins.

[Photoman]

Originally Posted by NLXTACY

Well it kinda sucked because of removing the battery and tray and getting in. I struggled a little bit with putting in the alternator until I did the tip in WITH the belts already on, went right on. In all seriousness, as long as someone follows your instructions to a "T" you should be fine. The bracket is freaking awesome btw, love the adjustment.

The first time doing it took me about 2 hours total mainly because I was just taking my time and studying the surroundings. You know, getting myself familiar. To do the whole thing over again when the new alt comes in, I think I can now do the whole process in under 45 mins, maybe even 30 mins.

Thanks for the reply and the kind words.

I think that is really good time for doing a swap and its good information for others doing it.

It is almost counter intuitive to install the alternator without the bracket first and to install it with the belts on, but it makes it much easier. Lol, I guess as a last resort, read the instructions.
That adjustment bolt can really put the pressure on the belts. It tightens easy but is really pulling the belts.

Let us know when you are making amps.

Bill

[Brian894X4]

Originally Posted by Photoman

Brian894X4 – I think you are back feeding the small white wire through the fusible link and big white wire? If I mislead you in some way I apologize. Congratulations on getting it all together and running.
.

Bill, no mislead at all. I sort of did it the lazy way. The new 4 gauge wire has its own fuse now, but I left rest of the stock wiring, including the old alternator lead in place, just not hooked up to the alternator. I just didn't want to mess with the stock harness. I don't think this will be an issue, but any comments are welcome.

By the way, I'm glad you are building more brackets. This is an awesome mod. It's as close to getting 150 amps in an OEM set up as we're going to get. Awesome design for those of us who need ultimate reliability.

[Photoman]

Originally Posted by Brian894X4

Bill, no mislead at all. I sort of did it the lazy way. The new 4 gauge wire has its own fuse now, but I left rest of the stock wiring, including the old alternator lead in place, just not hooked up to the alternator. I just didn't want to mess with the stock harness. I don't think this will be an issue, but any comments are welcome.

By the way, I'm glad you are building more brackets. This is an awesome mod. It's as close to getting 150 amps in an OEM set up as we're going to get. Awesome design for those of us who need ultimate reliability.

Thanks!
The only thing I was commenting on was there may be another way to do the wiring without messing with the stock wiring too much and may give you a better result. This way would be to connect up the stock wire back on to the alternator "B" post with the new 4 gauge wire. Then up by the battery in the little plastic AM box, just unbolt the big white wire and leave it separated and maybe taped off. With this set up full power comes directly from the alternator "B" on the small white wire to power a couple of things in the underhood fuse box, and also gives full power to the under dash fuse panel from several of the split off white wires.
The way your set up is now hi power is coming up from the "B" post on the 4 gauge wire to the positive battery post. From there it has to travel through the small fuse link wire, through the big white wire, then up the little white wire etc. By passing through the small fuse link wire I am not sure you are getting full advantage of the alternator output as it relates to the under hood fuse box and inside fuse box circuits.
If there was a problem for some reason and you wanted the stock wiring back, all that would be required is to open the little AM1 plastic box and reconnect (bolt) the fuse link wire and the big white wire back together.

Just a thought and may not mean that much.

Bill

[Photoman]

Important notice to those that have gotten an adapter bracket from me.

I may have inadvertently shipped out one or more wrong adjustment arms with the upgrade brackets. These arms are maybe 1/16 inch different than the correct ones in one spot so it is hard to tell visually (see picture). I have tried in the last several days to privately contact all those in the time period that I feel may have been affected. All those in the first batch were correct as far as I can determine. It was the transition to the second batch when a problem may have occurred.

If it is the wrong arm, it may contact the alternator and prevent full belt adjustment. The only test for this is before installing the belts, set the alternator in the top stock mount with the bolt. Mount the new bracket loosely and put the bolt through the adjustment arm and in the bottom alternator mount. Swing the alternator out and see if it swings through the full adjustment arm slot. If it hits the arm is wrong. I would encourage everyone to do this when they do their install. If you are doing an install and find an adjustment arm that hits, grind it in the spot shown in the picture so the install can be finished. Notify me and I will send a replacement adjustment arm.


Note: Today I just decided to send new adjustment arms to all those whose addresses I could find all the way back to March 1st. The arms should arrive by next weekend or sooner. If you purchased a bracket between March 1st and the present and do not get a replacement arm, notify me and I will send one out. I will also ship a new replacement arm to any one that bought a bracket from me previous to March 1st if you want one at no cost if you provide me with an address. I include a postage paid envelope to send the old one back to see if in fact I did send out a bad one. I have individually tested each of the recent adjustment arms on my cruiser template and they are stamped on the back with a “P” so any recent bracket purchases will have one of these. I still would encourage taking 5 minutes and doing the test above in case there are differences from the test alternator I use. I humbly apologize to all for any inconvenience this may cause.

Bill

[NLXTACY]

Bill, as I said earlier, you are overkill man. Its great!

[cruiserdan]

Wow.

Now that is an impressive response.

Bill I think you worry too much sometimes

[NLXTACY]

Seriously I think the only thing missing out of Bill's "replacement program" was a bow-tie wrapped note (BTW there was a note) AND gas money to the post office to drop off the wrong part

You're awesome Bill

[sdnative]

Man, it doesn't get any better than this. Way to go Bill

[Ebag333]

Originally Posted by Photoman

Small update. I spent the last couple of weeks and made another batch of brackets so they are available. I left a few not powder coated so if someone wants one in another color (very limited) I can try to do that for an additional $10.00.

Still got any availible? I'd be interested.

[Photoman]

Originally Posted by Ebag333

Still got any availible? I'd be interested.

Yes, still available. Pm me.

Originally Posted by cruiserdan

Wow.

Now that is an impressive response.

Bill I think you worry too much sometimes

Dan your reply is making me nervous.

Bill