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| Group 1 - Electrical Battery, Starting System, Ignition System, Washers and Wipers, Lighting Systems, Signal Systems, Instrument Panel, Gauges, Wiring Diagrams |
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#1 (permalink) |
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Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Concord, North Carolina
Posts: 1,118
Real Name: Roy Bell
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Unanswered: 65 Amp Alternator
I talked to Jarrell (Soybean) today and he said that is what he did. I was just wanting to see if any of you had problems by going to a higher amperage alternator and not changing the wiring or adding relays. If you think it is important to upgrade the stock wiring, which is in very good shape, where would you start? My headlight wiring has already been replaced so the wires there are OK. Thanks, for any advice....
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Roy Bell 1973 Opel GT 74 Manta Rallye Concord, North Carolina Carolina Opel Club OMC |
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#2 (permalink) | |
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Project 1450 supporter...
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pleasant Valley, CT
Posts: 7,452
Real Name: Bob Legere
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#3 (permalink) |
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Virginia
Posts: 392
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It's really important to follow the Opel scheme when adding additional electrical load. All electrical load should originate from the alternator side of the fuse box. This keeps the current feeding these loads from going through the ammeter. (the exception to this would be when using these devices when the car is not running) This way only the current needed to replenish a drained battery will normally go through the ammeter.
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#4 (permalink) | |
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2200 Post Club
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Chapel Hill, TN
Posts: 2,267
Real Name: Harold Collins
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Harold |
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#5 (permalink) |
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Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Concord, North Carolina
Posts: 1,118
Real Name: Roy Bell
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Right at the moment, I do not plan to add anything else to the stock things that are on the GT. I do plan to add an electric fan in the future. I just basically wanted to get the lights on the dash and headlights running brighter and the 65 Amp alternator sure did that!
But at the same time, that means more juice is running through the system so I was just concerned about that.... Thanks for the input...
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Roy Bell 1973 Opel GT 74 Manta Rallye Concord, North Carolina Carolina Opel Club OMC |
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#6 (permalink) | |
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Project 1450 supporter...
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Pleasant Valley, CT
Posts: 7,452
Real Name: Bob Legere
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#7 (permalink) |
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Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Concord, North Carolina
Posts: 1,118
Real Name: Roy Bell
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Bob,
Now that you mention it, I remember that higher volts mean lower amps or the other way around. I guess I can remember the electrical course took in college. It is coming back to me!
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Roy Bell 1973 Opel GT 74 Manta Rallye Concord, North Carolina Carolina Opel Club OMC |
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#8 (permalink) |
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6,000 Post Club
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Imperial Beach, CA South of San Diego
Posts: 6,054
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There you go Roy, just remember the high voltage transmission lines that run electrical power from source to the cities. They are normally 125,000 Volts, but 1/4 amp. They get changed back at the transformer switching stations to 120 Volts and bunches of amps.
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Ron 72 GT 3.4L V-6/T-5/ZF posi - almost done - Just need AC installed. ![]() 75 Chevy monza 5.7L/TH350/Auburn 3.08 posi - Next |
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#9 (permalink) |
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Virginia
Posts: 392
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It's too bad that someone doesn't come out with a voltage regulator with a higher target voltage. The original alternator has all of the current potential that most GT owners need, just not enough voltage. A voltage regulator is a pretty simple device. I've got to believe that at least one of our members is innovative enough with the electrons to get the job done.
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#10 (permalink) | |
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Über OpelGT.com Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Posts: 4,087
Real Name: Keith Wilford
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I bought mine from a guy on eBay (Dave Barton, aka "dbarton" http://feedback.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI...userid=dbarton ) who occasionally sells Volvo parts. I believe Volvo's from the late '70's used the same alternator as the Opel. He sold two styles of adjustable regulator. One replaced the built-in version (attached to the removable brush pack) on the later model ('75) 55 amp Opel OEM alternator, and another (that I bought) that used the standard pig tail connectors (which, IIRC, was used on the turbo Volvo's to avoid the heat related to the turbo piping). You might try contacting Dave to see if he can tell you where to get them. HTH
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Keith Wilford working on my '71 GT and '75 SportWagon |
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#11 (permalink) |
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Opeler
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: oregon
Posts: 97
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Amps and volts
If your lights are brighter after replacing the alt. it means your voltage has gone up. And also your amps. Amperage in any given circuit is determined by two things , the voltage and the resistance of the circuit. If you feed higher voltage to a light it will burn brighter . The only wires you need to worry about increasing the size of is the main wiring from alt to fuse box and this only because with the larger alt you have a larger current POTENTIAL. If you dont add any load (big amp for your stereo etc )all your origional wiring will be fine.
This is all determined by Ohms Law. E=voltage I=amperage R=resistance E=IxR I=E/R R=E/I It all sounds complacated but it really isnt. The wiring in your Opel was designed to handle all the stock electrical components on your car. The higher amperage alternater will charge a low battery faster and allow you to add accessories without overloading the alt. Hope this helps and dosent confuse you as much as it did me when I first studied it many years ago.
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#12 (permalink) |
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: pueblo colorado
Posts: 186
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i didnt change anythingwhen i put the 65 amp alternator in. i have a really powerfull stereo in that gt and i have no problem with wires heating up. iv had the alternator in the gt for about 2 years now and everything seems to be fine
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#13 (permalink) |
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Senior Contributor
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Kent Lakes, NY
Posts: 1,969
Real Name: Jeff
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Keep in mind that a poor connection at a spade terminal or anywhere else for that matter, will increase resistance and with more voltage available will draw more amps, which in turn creates HEAT! So in order to protect what you have, your car, you should make sure that all the connections in the car, especially those using alot of power, are clean.
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Jeff '73 GT,5spd,Recaro,EDIS4 2.2 EFI by MegaSquirt, Ali Flywheel w/S10 Clutch, Electric Fan, Roller Rockers, Venolia Pistons, 6 Cyl Intake w/ Custom Injection, 15" Wheels,Lecarra,F&R Sway Bars,Custom Exhaust,1" Sport Spring,Koni Reds,Big Brakes,3 Core Ali Radiator,Hse of Colors Kandy Pagan Gold. 123 WHP @ 6800 RPM ![]() '64 VW Karmann Ghia '08 BMW M3 |
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#14 (permalink) |
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Member
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Virginia
Posts: 392
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There's a lot of good information being shared in this thread; however, we need to keep things in perspective. While its true that with a given resistance, current will increase as the voltage increases, that increase is relatively low. If the Voltage increases from 13 to 14 volts that's less than a 8% increase. A 5 amp current flow would increase to 5.4 amps. Not earth shattering. Also remember that some power users such as stereos, represent variable resistance. A given sound level requires a certain number of watts. 100 watts is still 100 watts. Since DC power equals the Voltage multiplied by the Current, (P=V*I), As the Voltage increases the Current actually decreases for a given amount of power. This is what Rally Bob was referring to. Unfortunately headlights don't follow this rule since they represent a fixed resistance. Even in that case though, the current flow to headlights is less than 15 amps, so the increase in current flow would only be 1 amp. Not worth writing home about.
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#15 (permalink) |
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Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Concord, North Carolina
Posts: 1,118
Real Name: Roy Bell
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Great information. You guys are making remember the things I learned in college a long time ago. Maybe my brain isn't half dead after all!
Seriously though, I will definitely check on some of the things that some of you have suggested. The GT I have has been garaged just about it's whole life so the original wiring is in great shape. You can't be too careful with the wiring in our GT's!
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Roy Bell 1973 Opel GT 74 Manta Rallye Concord, North Carolina Carolina Opel Club OMC |
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