TG GM alt bracket broke

[muddpigg]

So go to swap out another CS130. They keep blowing voltage regulators so please chime in if you have any ideas why, I'm thinking cheap chinese parts. I double checked my wiring splices into GM harness.

Look what I found....

Called to see how long it'll take to get a new one. But don't want to wait a week. Gas was empty on welder so will weld it up tomorrow. I'll post pics up if weather is permitting, my welds will give ya a good chuckle

 

[muddpigg]

Yep, need more practice with welding. Ground back flush for mounting surface.

 

[KLF]

Looks OK to me, I've done worse.

Looks like the weld on the little tab in the hole broke, which let the base fatigue and break all the way across. I have one of those mounts, painted and ready to install. I'll look at it closer before I install, maybe add some more weld.

 

[muddpigg]

Looking at the TG site, looks like they changed the design some. In retrospect proactively re-enforcing would be choice. I hadn't seen any other post of one of these brackets breaking. I put it on in 2010 but it only has about 2yrs of actual drive time on it.

 

[jgranthevagrant]

What mount is that and where does one find one? I'm thinking of mounting a second alternator in the area of where the AC compressor would normally be.

 

[muddpigg]

It's trail gear, replace stock to run GM alt. power master make a 140amp alt so more than X2 power than stock.

 

[DTCsk8er]

I've got a few months on my TG bracket and a CS130 alternator. How did you wire yours up? What gauge wire did you use for the supply line? Did you bypass the stock 80AMP circuit?

 

[muddpigg]

I wired it 3 wire. 1 wire is easier to install but poorer performance. I ran over kill on power line and main grounds O welding cable. Yeah I bypassed the 80amp stock box to battery then ran stock wire to battery. But run my heavy amp draw items fused off battery.

 

[DTCsk8er]

Ya. Mine is wired just the same. But only had it for about 5 months so far. 4gauge welding wire from the alternator to a fuse, then to battery.

Could just be the junk regulator or something

 

[muddpigg]

I'm kinda leaning towards crappy alternators. Orielly's $77 dollar lifetime replacement unit. I rechecked wiring harness, verified continuity, and match alt wiring diagram to FSM alt wiring. All looked good. Well my soldering then and now is well ugly but connections are solid.

I do have two stereo amps (200 and 400amp) and a 30 amp e-fan. But lights don't dimmer with bass or fan coming on.

I think I need to just pony up and get a higher amp alternator. Like powermaster.

 

[Mudder]

I had issues with alternators from there as well. They would stop charging. I'm actually to the point it takes 30 minutes tops to remove one from my truck..

 

[muddpigg]

Tell me about it. I've got the "Tetris " pattern to remove and replace by heart around e-fan and lower rad hose and frame.

 

[Mudder]

All I had to do was undo my transmission line in my old truck. After the last time I removed it I told my self if it goes out again I'm going straight to Toyota to buy a new one

 

[jgranthevagrant]

Could someone give me the measurements between the bracket arms? IE the part that holds the base of the alternator. I want to have pretty close dimensions before I order one from TG or try to get one made.

 

[muddpigg]

The lower pivot of a cs130 is 2" and the ears of the bracket outsides of that mount.

 

[DTCsk8er]

Tell me about it. I've got the "Tetris " pattern to remove and replace by heart around e-fan and lower rad hose and frame.

Hahaha. It took my brain a little while to figure out how to get that damn thing in there the first time!

 

[KLF]

Here's a trick that works: remove the belt and bolts, loosen all the engine mount bolts, remove all but one, rotate the alternator and bracket down, then wiggle it out around the lower hose.

 

[muddpigg]

That pretty much what I did to remove the broken bracket. But just loosed the rear bolts on motor mounts.

 

[jgranthevagrant]

The lower pivot of a cs130 is 2" and the ears of the bracket outsides of that mount.

Thanks for the info.

 

[ntsqd]

Made my own CS130 bracket way back about 2005 or so. Early mock-ups below. One of the missing features of that TG part is a sliding sleeve for the pivot bolt. Instead they bend the bracket when tightening the pivot bolt. That's never a long term good plan.

The first alt installed finally failed earlier this year. Tetris is right! My local starter/generator/alternator shop had a look at it. He sold me a new one, said that their was nothing to salvage. Reg was toast, diodes were toast, stator was toast, & the rotor was toast. At 30k-50k miles of DD, chasing desert racers, dirt road transects of Nevada, and desert exploring it doesn't owe me anything....