V6Performance.net

Deuce415 · October 23rd, 2003, 01:04 PM

I think this is a useful DIY to have here:

--- originally posted by Vestax on AV6.com ---

Installed an Alterstart 180a Alternator

After a few car audio competitions, I manage to kill the stock OEM Delphi alternator within 2 to 3 months. I figure if I’m gonna replace the stock alt, I better find a more powerful output one. I did some research on this board, and the general consensus for a cheap but better replacement was the Alterstart 180a Alternator. http://www.4alterstart.com The installation and removal of our 6th Gen V6 alternator was easier than I expected. I ended up getting the Haynes repair manual for our car, which was only $15 at a local Autozone. The booklet was sufficient and I don’t think $115 for the Helm’s manual would be any better unless I was doing some major engine work. The total processing time was probably at most, 3 hours. I imagine if I tackled it again, it would take me way less than that. However, there were a couple of minor problems I ran into. I did find myself short of some tools and I had to make some trips to the store to get them. There were just a couple of socket and wrenches that were missing from my set. Make sure you have a sufficient amount of tools before doing this. The other problem I ran into was the aftermarket Alterstart alternator pulley. It was smaller than our stock alt pulley and since our car has an automatic belt tensioner, it wasn’t possible to make adjustments to it. With the small pulley, my serpentine belt slipped every time I started my car. I think over time, the belt would wear out faster if I left it like that. I had to remove the alternator to fix this problem. I took both alts to a local shop and they exchanged the pulleys for like $5.

Below are the instructions on how to remove the alternator from a 98 V6 Accord. Installation is basically the reverse except you should upgrade (bigger awg) wires with a higher output alternator. There are basically 2 ways to remove the alternator, the easy way and the hard way. The hard way is the first section. The easier way is at the bottom. Keep in mind, I’m only a car audio installer, not a mechanic, so bare with me.

Removal Method 1 (Condenser Fan Removal)

1. Disconnect battery (negative first, then positive). Remember that when you do this, your stock radio will be reset and you will need to input the anit-theft code to use it again.
2. To make things easier, you can loosen the power steering fluid reservoir before you start. It’s just one mounting bolt that holds it. Disconnect straps, cables, and connectors around the area alternator area. Don’t worry if you miss one, because as you’re removing, you’ll disconnect them anyway. Be sure to remember what goes where.
3. Disconnect all the electrical connections to the condenser fan and any lock tabs associated with it. The condenser fan is the fan on your left side (passenger side) as you look into the engine bay from the front. There are basically 3 bolts that hold down this fan, 2 on top, and 1 at the bottom which is a ***** to get to but it’s doable. Carefully pull this fan out paying attention to all the connectors to it. There are cruise control cables that need to be loosen so that you can remove the fan.
4. The alternator has a serpentine belt to it. To loosen or remove it, you have to use a wrench to move the lever up, then slide the belt off.
5. Disconnect the alternator. There are 2 plugs. One is a connector and the other needs to be screwed off.
6. Removing the alternator. There are basically 2 bolts, one upper and one lower, both different sizes, that hold the alternator in. I suggest you remove them at the same time. If you unbolted one all the way, it makes it harder to remove the other one. Pull the alternator out. It’s a really tight area so be careful.
7. The installation is the reverse of all this. Remember, the pulleys should approximately be the same size as the OEM one or else, your belt would slip if it’s smaller.

The easier way is basically skipping the condenser fan removal and removing the alternator through the power steering fluid reservoir area. I was told this by Illusion but went ahead and did it the harder way first. The 2nd time I removed it, I did it this way but it’s just harder to get out because the area is very very tight.

The wires I upgraded were the ground wires, and I ran a new wire from the alternator to battery positive. You can use a 2 to 4 awg wire for this.

Overall, I think if you have little to some DIY skills, you can accomplish this job fairly easy. Just leave yourself some time if something goes wrong. I think covered most the basic areas and I’m sorry if I wasn’t detailed enough. Thanks to Illusion and Deuce for the tips. Feel free to comment.

**abram2001** · December 28th, 2003, 01:37 PM

I have a question, how did you guy move the tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt on the alternator? Its hard to just lift it up and move it. What tips or tricks do you recommend for removing that serpantine belt, and lifting up the tensioner pulley. Thanks

~Abe

sonnieeeeboi · December 28th, 2003, 02:47 PM

to move the tensioner, what i did, was use a long metal rod( about 1/2" thick) and just held it down wit that.

**abram2001** · December 28th, 2003, 03:02 PM

What do you mean hold it down? This tensior you have to move up

lorenzo_n16 · February 28th, 2004, 04:26 PM

Just changed my alternator with an Alterstart 180v one. The above notes were very good, but just wanted to add a few things.

- If you want to swap pulleys you need to use an impact wrench (air compressor)

- The auto tensioner bolt is 14mm. So, you will need a long (over 1.5 ft) monkey wrench to release tension on the alternator belt. Murrays sells a long tool that does this also which costs $14.99.

I opted to take the condenser fan off. It is only 3 bolts and didn't take very long to take out. All in all it took me about 4 hours. Keep in mind I took my sweet time and had to swap the pulleys also. This is not a difficult project.

Dave Morin · August 4th, 2004, 12:40 PM

I'm also having trouble with the belt, could anyone get a picture? i am trying to remove it right now everythign else is simple. Is the automatic tensioner beneith a black plastic over?

Dave Morin · August 4th, 2004, 08:54 PM

guh i'm a morron, i looked way too hard for something that was so simple to find... the tensioner pulley is the one to the left of the Alternator if you're looking at the pullies, the belt runs underneath it

visaccord · August 10th, 2004, 12:46 AM

If you get a long-handled wrench, place it on the pulley nut and pull counter-clockwise (rear of the car). This will rotate the tensioner pully upward to allow you to get some slack on it.

peoples · October 3rd, 2005, 01:50 PM

wondering about the groud wire, where the hell does it go.....looks like the thing goes right into the damn intake manifold and then i loose sight of it.

1lif2liv · October 3rd, 2005, 07:25 PM

Nice DIY
Where does everyone get the aftermaket alt? Which 1 is the best for our car, with UR crank pulley?

**VTEC-v6!** · October 3rd, 2005, 07:32 PM

For an aftermarket alt, see the V6P E-Store, we have our own now made my V6P Motorsports, and it's better than the Alterstart

peoples · October 9th, 2005, 02:41 PM

ok. i've got a problem with the above DIY. The "easier way" is not possible. By removing the power steering fluid reservoir....there is no way to remove the alternator without removing the condenser fan. Make life easy....and remove that thing first. I spent a good 20 minutes spinning and flipping the damn thing trying to get....just getting more and more frustrated.

I upgraded my alternator....and everything it running fine. However......I did not upgrade my wires yet (which should not be a problem....until I attempt to hook up my amps). should I do a seperate run straight to the battery?, because the main wire going straight to the fuse box is fused off by a 100 amp fuse. It makes sense to me, to do a seperate run straight to the battery....is this right?

wht/accord99v6 · October 9th, 2005, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peoples

ok. i've got a problem with the above DIY. The "easier way" is not possible. By removing the power steering fluid reservoir....there is no way to remove the alternator without removing the condenser fan. Make life easy....and remove that thing first. I spent a good 20 minutes spinning and flipping the damn thing trying to get....just getting more and more frustrated.

I upgraded my alternator....and everything it running fine. However......I did not upgrade my wires yet (which should not be a problem....until I attempt to hook up my amps). should I do a seperate run straight to the battery?, because the main wire going straight to the fuse box is fused off by a 100 amp fuse. It makes sense to me, to do a seperate run straight to the battery....is this right?

Yeah 4 gauge

peoples · October 9th, 2005, 02:57 PM

so just to make sure i got it, its a seperate run, in addition to the stock runs?

also....for everyone else's information who is planning on doing this. There is no need to replace/upgrade a ground wire.....the thing is grounded straight to the block.

peoples · October 9th, 2005, 03:04 PM

also, how much of a fuse should I put on the direct run to the battery, with a 200 amp alternator? 200 amp fuse?

volum3rider · October 15th, 2005, 01:10 PM

Hmmmm.....what do you guys think about this alternator:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/180-A...05595570QQrdZ1

It says 180 amps but I dont know much about this company. I need a new one bad. My alternator can't keep up with my carputer, two amps, and a sub. Battery dies at least every other day.

peoples · October 15th, 2005, 01:17 PM

wow, I havent seen a "new" alternator on ebay for our cars yet. Nice price, I'd jump on that if i were you, lots of sales, good rating.

fido14dido · October 15th, 2005, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by volum3rider

Hmmmm.....what do you guys think about this alternator:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/180-A...05595570QQrdZ1

It says 180 amps but I dont know much about this company. I need a new one bad. My alternator can't keep up with my carputer, two amps, and a sub. Battery dies at least every other day.

Was looking at this too a wek back. Emailed the guy and said there is a 2-year warranty. Price looks good but lifetime warranty w/ the Alterstart sounds better.

volum3rider · October 15th, 2005, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fido14dido

Was looking at this too a wek back. Emailed the guy and said there is a 2-year warranty. Price looks good but lifetime warranty w/ the Alterstart sounds better.

hmmmmm... I guess thats true but two years is plenty of time for me.

arcl100 · March 27th, 2006, 06:07 PM

So the belt is well behaved and doesn't jump off too bad so you have to re-route it through/around the other pulleys once the new alt is on?

Only ask because that was the case on previous cars I've done, and it looks damn near impossible to reroute the belt if it jumps off bad

-aaron

peoples · March 28th, 2006, 09:47 PM

its not too bad to reroute it.......of course it didnt jump off toooo bad for me.........if you push down the tensioner you can pull it, and work it into place until you have it right

Vestax · August 1st, 2007, 07:52 PM

Wow, I forgot about this tutorial. I had pics with this thread... but I guess it disappeared...

Here's the only one I could find....

Difference in pulleys

ericspda · August 2nd, 2007, 02:20 PM

That would be nice to have a pulley option that would spin the alternator faster.. Then you can under drive the rest of the stuff, and keep your alternator at stock, if not a little faster

What alternators are those? Aftermarket 180A one on the left, stock on right?

Vestax · August 2nd, 2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericspda

That would be nice to have a pulley option that would spin the alternator faster.. Then you can under drive the rest of the stuff, and keep your alternator at stock, if not a little faster

What alternators are those? Aftermarket 180A one on the left, stock on right?

Yah... the stock one is on the right.

The one of the left is the Alterstart one. Honestly, now that I think about it, it was a POS. It actually output lowered at idle, but only made more current at higher RPM.

I eventually killed that one.

I bought a Bosch one at Pep Boys. It's supposedly lifetime guarantee. So every time I give them the casing, they'll just give me a new one.

blackdragon · August 26th, 2007, 10:04 PM

I'm about to attempt this tomorrow if the rain ain't too bad, hope everything goes OK

ericspda · August 26th, 2007, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackdragon

I'm about to attempt this tomorrow if the rain ain't too bad, hope everything goes OK

It had to be the easiest repair i did to my car.... Well, it was the only repair so far, but its easy anyways.. lol

ericspda · August 26th, 2007, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vestax

Yah... the stock one is on the right.

The one of the left is the Alterstart one. Honestly, now that I think about it, it was a POS. It actually output lowered at idle, but only made more current at higher RPM.

I eventually killed that one.

I bought a Bosch one at Pep Boys. It's supposedly lifetime guarantee. So every time I give them the casing, they'll just give me a new one.

Thats solid... I think im going to just live with my stocker, and when it blows get a new one off ebay for $35.... Its still working, so im good with its performance thus far...

October 23rd, 2003, 01:04 PM	#1
Deuce415 Registered User Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Costa Mesa, CA Posts: 351 Trader Rating: (4)	DIY - Alternator Install I think this is a useful DIY to have here: --- originally posted by Vestax on AV6.com --- Installed an Alterstart 180a Alternator After a few car audio competitions, I manage to kill the stock OEM Delphi alternator within 2 to 3 months. I figure if I’m gonna replace the stock alt, I better find a more powerful output one. I did some research on this board, and the general consensus for a cheap but better replacement was the Alterstart 180a Alternator. http://www.4alterstart.com The installation and removal of our 6th Gen V6 alternator was easier than I expected. I ended up getting the Haynes repair manual for our car, which was only $15 at a local Autozone. The booklet was sufficient and I don’t think $115 for the Helm’s manual would be any better unless I was doing some major engine work. The total processing time was probably at most, 3 hours. I imagine if I tackled it again, it would take me way less than that. However, there were a couple of minor problems I ran into. I did find myself short of some tools and I had to make some trips to the store to get them. There were just a couple of socket and wrenches that were missing from my set. Make sure you have a sufficient amount of tools before doing this. The other problem I ran into was the aftermarket Alterstart alternator pulley. It was smaller than our stock alt pulley and since our car has an automatic belt tensioner, it wasn’t possible to make adjustments to it. With the small pulley, my serpentine belt slipped every time I started my car. I think over time, the belt would wear out faster if I left it like that. I had to remove the alternator to fix this problem. I took both alts to a local shop and they exchanged the pulleys for like $5. Below are the instructions on how to remove the alternator from a 98 V6 Accord. Installation is basically the reverse except you should upgrade (bigger awg) wires with a higher output alternator. There are basically 2 ways to remove the alternator, the easy way and the hard way. The hard way is the first section. The easier way is at the bottom. Keep in mind, I’m only a car audio installer, not a mechanic, so bare with me. Removal Method 1 (Condenser Fan Removal) 1. Disconnect battery (negative first, then positive). Remember that when you do this, your stock radio will be reset and you will need to input the anit-theft code to use it again. 2. To make things easier, you can loosen the power steering fluid reservoir before you start. It’s just one mounting bolt that holds it. Disconnect straps, cables, and connectors around the area alternator area. Don’t worry if you miss one, because as you’re removing, you’ll disconnect them anyway. Be sure to remember what goes where. 3. Disconnect all the electrical connections to the condenser fan and any lock tabs associated with it. The condenser fan is the fan on your left side (passenger side) as you look into the engine bay from the front. There are basically 3 bolts that hold down this fan, 2 on top, and 1 at the bottom which is a *** to get to but it’s doable. Carefully pull this fan out paying attention to all the connectors to it. There are cruise control cables that need to be loosen so that you can remove the fan. 4. The alternator has a serpentine belt to it. To loosen or remove it, you have to use a wrench to move the lever up, then slide the belt off. 5. Disconnect the alternator. There are 2 plugs. One is a connector and the other needs to be screwed off. 6. Removing the alternator. There are basically 2 bolts, one upper and one lower, both different sizes, that hold the alternator in. I suggest you remove them at the same time. If you unbolted one all the way, it makes it harder to remove the other one. Pull the alternator out. It’s a really tight area so be careful. 7. The installation is the reverse of all this. Remember, the pulleys should approximately be the same size as the OEM one or else, your belt would slip if it’s smaller. The easier way is basically skipping the condenser fan removal and removing the alternator through the power steering fluid reservoir area. I was told this by Illusion but went ahead and did it the harder way first. The 2nd time I removed it, I did it this way but it’s just harder to get out because the area is very very tight. The wires I upgraded were the ground wires, and I ran a new wire from the alternator to battery positive. You can use a 2 to 4 awg wire for this. Overall, I think if you have little to some DIY skills, you can accomplish this job fairly easy. Just leave yourself some time if something goes wrong. I think covered most the basic areas and I’m sorry if I wasn’t detailed enough. Thanks to Illusion and Deuce for the tips. Feel free to comment. __________________ 2001 Nighthawk Black Pearl EX-V6 Coupe Power: AEM V2 \| NGK Iridium \| UR Pulleys \| Megan Headers \| Hayden TC677 \| CT Exhaust \| Unichip \| V6P GCK Handling: CT Sways \| Neuspeed Strut Bar \| Tein SS \| Akebono pads \| TPM Slotted and Drilled rotors \| 18X7 Kazera KS Silver \| 225/40/18 Pirelli Pzero Nero Looks: 35% 3M Solabird tint \| OEM spoiler \| OEM Sunroof Visor \| VIS OEM CF Hood \| TYC Projectors \| CF Eyelids \| XenonDepot 4300K H1 HID \| TYC Tails Audio:** Alpine CDA-7894 \| Apline CHA-S634 \| JL Audio 300/4 \| Canton RS 2.16 Components \| Infinity Kappa 693.3i \| JL Audio 12w3v2

October 3rd, 2005, 07:25 PM	#10
1lif2liv HID noob Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 912 Trader Rating: (1)	Nice DIY Where does everyone get the aftermaket alt? Which 1 is the best for our car, with UR crank pulley? __________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

August 26th, 2007, 10:04 PM	#25
blackdragon "Hook 'Em" Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: The Suck, MD Posts: 1,102 2002 Honda Accord EX V6 Trader Rating: (22)	I'm about to attempt this tomorrow if the rain ain't too bad, hope everything goes OK __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. / To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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December 28th, 2003, 01:37 PM	#2
abram2001 Senior Moderhater Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 6,354 Trader Rating: (19)	I have a question, how did you guy move the tensioner pulley for the serpentine belt on the alternator? Its hard to just lift it up and move it. What tips or tricks do you recommend for removing that serpantine belt, and lifting up the tensioner pulley. Thanks ~Abe

December 28th, 2003, 02:47 PM	#3
sonnieeeeboi Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 966 Trader Rating: (1)	to move the tensioner, what i did, was use a long metal rod( about 1/2" thick) and just held it down wit that.

December 28th, 2003, 03:02 PM	#4
abram2001 Senior Moderhater Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Long Island, New York Posts: 6,354 Trader Rating: (19)	What do you mean hold it down? This tensior you have to move up

February 28th, 2004, 04:26 PM	#5
lorenzo_n16 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Chi Town Posts: 147 Trader Rating: (5)	Just changed my alternator with an Alterstart 180v one. The above notes were very good, but just wanted to add a few things. - If you want to swap pulleys you need to use an impact wrench (air compressor) - The auto tensioner bolt is 14mm. So, you will need a long (over 1.5 ft) monkey wrench to release tension on the alternator belt. Murrays sells a long tool that does this also which costs $14.99. I opted to take the condenser fan off. It is only 3 bolts and didn't take very long to take out. All in all it took me about 4 hours. Keep in mind I took my sweet time and had to swap the pulleys also. This is not a difficult project.

August 4th, 2004, 12:40 PM	#6
Dave Morin Fire Fighter Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: North Bay Posts: 392 Trader Rating: (6)	I'm also having trouble with the belt, could anyone get a picture? i am trying to remove it right now everythign else is simple. Is the automatic tensioner beneith a black plastic over?

August 4th, 2004, 08:54 PM	#7
Dave Morin Fire Fighter Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: North Bay Posts: 392 Trader Rating: (6)	guh i'm a morron, i looked way too hard for something that was so simple to find... the tensioner pulley is the one to the left of the Alternator if you're looking at the pullies, the belt runs underneath it

August 10th, 2004, 12:46 AM	#8
visaccord GOT BOOST?? I DO!! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Olathe, KS Posts: 334 Trader Rating: (1)	If you get a long-handled wrench, place it on the pulley nut and pull counter-clockwise (rear of the car). This will rotate the tensioner pully upward to allow you to get some slack on it.

October 3rd, 2005, 01:50 PM	#9
peoples Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 165 Trader Rating: (0)	wondering about the groud wire, where the hell does it go.....looks like the thing goes right into the damn intake manifold and then i loose sight of it.

October 3rd, 2005, 07:32 PM	#11
VTEC-v6! Senior Moderhater Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Atlanta Georgia Posts: 9,400 2004 Toyota Solara SE Trader Rating: (4)	For an aftermarket alt, see the V6P E-Store, we have our own now made my V6P Motorsports, and it's better than the Alterstart

October 9th, 2005, 02:41 PM	#12
peoples Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 165 Trader Rating: (0)	ok. i've got a problem with the above DIY. The "easier way" is not possible. By removing the power steering fluid reservoir....there is no way to remove the alternator without removing the condenser fan. Make life easy....and remove that thing first. I spent a good 20 minutes spinning and flipping the damn thing trying to get....just getting more and more frustrated. I upgraded my alternator....and everything it running fine. However......I did not upgrade my wires yet (which should not be a problem....until I attempt to hook up my amps). should I do a seperate run straight to the battery?, because the main wire going straight to the fuse box is fused off by a 100 amp fuse. It makes sense to me, to do a seperate run straight to the battery....is this right?

October 9th, 2005, 02:57 PM	#14
peoples Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 165 Trader Rating: (0)	so just to make sure i got it, its a seperate run, in addition to the stock runs? also....for everyone else's information who is planning on doing this. There is no need to replace/upgrade a ground wire.....the thing is grounded straight to the block.

October 9th, 2005, 03:04 PM	#15
peoples Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 165 Trader Rating: (0)	also, how much of a fuse should I put on the direct run to the battery, with a 200 amp alternator? 200 amp fuse?

October 15th, 2005, 01:10 PM	#16
volum3rider Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 68 Trader Rating: (2)	Hmmmm.....what do you guys think about this alternator: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/180-A...05595570QQrdZ1 It says 180 amps but I dont know much about this company. I need a new one bad. My alternator can't keep up with my carputer, two amps, and a sub. Battery dies at least every other day.

October 15th, 2005, 01:17 PM	#17
peoples Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 165 Trader Rating: (0)	wow, I havent seen a "new" alternator on ebay for our cars yet. Nice price, I'd jump on that if i were you, lots of sales, good rating.

March 27th, 2006, 06:07 PM	#20
arcl100 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4 Trader Rating: (0)	So the belt is well behaved and doesn't jump off too bad so you have to re-route it through/around the other pulleys once the new alt is on? Only ask because that was the case on previous cars I've done, and it looks damn near impossible to reroute the belt if it jumps off bad -aaron

March 28th, 2006, 09:47 PM	#21
peoples Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 165 Trader Rating: (0)	its not too bad to reroute it.......of course it didnt jump off toooo bad for me.........if you push down the tensioner you can pull it, and work it into place until you have it right

August 1st, 2007, 07:52 PM	#22
Vestax Blends No. 27 Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 230 Trader Rating: (0)	Wow, I forgot about this tutorial. I had pics with this thread... but I guess it disappeared... Here's the only one I could find.... Difference in pulleys

August 2nd, 2007, 02:20 PM	#23
ericspda Flat Black FTW! Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3,695 02 Honda Lawnmower Trader Rating: (5)	That would be nice to have a pulley option that would spin the alternator faster.. Then you can under drive the rest of the stuff, and keep your alternator at stock, if not a little faster What alternators are those? Aftermarket 180A one on the left, stock on right?

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