I was pulling one of these out of a SAAB today- what a nightmare! Now I gotta go back to finish the job this week.

I am hitting up the Foriegn Auto U-Pull It tomorrow.
If I can find more than one...would some forum members be interested in one? I used to rebuild these babys every day at work and, if people want more than just a core to work with, I could perhaps throw some new internals in (regulator, brushes, give it a little polish)

Yes/no?

Hopefully I will find one...if I find a few...I will see how much for them and if cheap enough...hook you guys up
If anyone FOR SURE wants one if I find some I will get you one
Cost= Alternator from Yard + Shipping + Few Fuel Dollars (its a ways away)
if you wanted it tested I coudl do this too at old work...but we will see how it goes

Email me, or you can call me

Brandon
brandon314@gmail.com
Cell: 503-476-5610 (don't call before 11am-12pm...I sleep late :-D)

I am going to bed (6am here) so don't expect replies for about another 5 hours or so

You have email........

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Ok...this wrecking yard let me down this time
No alternators (maybe they pull them?) and they overcharged me on everything I got
Chodes..


Anywho...I will keep my eyes out for alternators. If anyone has a hook up please let me and the forum people know.
I was offering to do rebuilds (brushes, regulators unless new looking ones, and tests) for 20 bucks plus parts if members payed to ship to and fro my house. (so like 30 bucks plus parts?)

I would like to find one of these for my car also so maybe someone here has one.
Thanks a bunch!

(visiting another wrecking yard later this week)

Brandon

These AL129X's are not that common. According to the wrecking yard they were optional. There was also an 80amp unit installed in the same cars, same years. I looked at a Saab motor today but I couldn't tell by the alt, all the markings were gone, which one it was. They also had an 89 Saab 9000 which according to the yard also MAY have the 115, but it MAY have the 80 too. After looking at what it would take to remove it (Saab "engineers") and the outside temps I chose to not attempt to remove it. Hmmmm, gotta try some other yards. RT

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Why do alternators always have two positive outputs like this? Before I read this I assumed that one was positive, the other was ground...

I'm getting ready to perform this alternator upgrade on my '83 300DT so I would like to understand this a bit more before I move ahead...

-John

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That was to allow good enough connection using blade connectors and small wire. Later, higher-output models use a threaded post and a single large wire to the battery instead of two small ones.

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Boise, ID
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That sounds reasonable... can anyone give me a simple explanation of the third wire operation?

I know that this is related to the alternator warning light on the dash... is it strictly an output from the alternator? What voltage levels on this connection indicate alternator problems?

-John

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Thanks Dave. That was one of my 30 yr. old "too embarassed to ask" questions; and now I know.

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Search the SAAB boards about there alternators. I have read that they had regulator problems. A fix is available. Just a heads up on that.

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Yeah anyone who snags one of these would be wise to go through it and get it in tip top shape as that isn't "low current" for an alternator of that size

Regulators are cheap enough they should be replaced with brushes usually, unless new/upgraded. But then again, I worked in a repair shop and thats just what we did heh

take a look at the previous link's or photo's- the 80 amp has the housing seperated by a red indented area- the 115 amp has a solid housing with no indentation between front and back. Learned that after I spent 2 hours pulling a 80 amp model

The 80 Amp would still be a good upgrade though right? Not super high output but it should do decently better than the 55A or 65Ampers..

The only trade off being its not worth the time or cash to pull it heh..

I'm not sure which wire it is, but when there is more than 1 wire going to an alternator, at least one is the big thick one that goes to the battery (and the starter ?) and the other is a thin one that comes **from** the battery- it works like this (I think its called a "B+")

The thin wire is used to 'excite the field' of the alternator- it needs some spinning and a little bit of voltage/current on the center windings to generate the full voltage and current on the outside windings- in brief: an alternator needs a few volts to get itself started.
So the thin wire comes from the battery and 'jump starts' the alternator when it starts spinning (via the belt from the motor). The thin wire is switched from the ignition so it doesnt drain the battery.

This is how the alternator light works- it compares voltage (and LED's are good for this)- when you turn the switch on (not started yet) 12v from the battery goes through the ign switch, through the alternator light, to the alternator B+ which is connected to ground through some low-power/regulating windings on the alternator- since the alternator isnt spinning, the B+ connection is effectively at ground. Current flows through the switch, and through the alternator control windings- lighting the alt. light in the process.

When you start the car, the alternator spins and begins to make more voltage than the battery (charging the battery. Well now, the voltage difference between the alternator and the battery -0v so the alternator light doesnt light. (and if the car is running, and the belt goes, the light goes back on- battery volts are higher than alternator output.

This is why some old VW's need you to rev the engine a little for the alternator light to go out- their alternators are built (or old...) such that at idle the alternator isnt spinning/excited enough to get going- once you blip the throttle/accelerator the alternator makes the voltage it needs to get itself going and the light goes out.

Please correct me here, but this is how I thought the light worked.

-John

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That must be what they call "tickling the field"
I always wondered about that, thanks.

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