What amp alternator should I buy?

[dave73chally]

Have a 73 with the stock 318 and the alternator is not sending enough juice to the battery. The stock were 50 amps I believe? Should I replace with another 50 amp or upgrade? If so, what amperage would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

[DocMel]

Youll get allot of responses on this one    If you dont have a huge stereo and amp, and extra aftermarket stuff that eats up amps , I'd most likely stick with the 50 amp.  They are cheap, easy to get almost anywhere

You could go to 60 amps if you headlights tend to dim, but I wouldnt go any higher :  You would just be paying much higher $$$ for something you dont need 

 I went with a 120,and had nothing but probs and Im running FI, elec fuel pump and stereo, but other than that, nothing else, and I blew out my voltage limiter behind the dash

So I went back to my 75 amp, Im happy, and am staying that way. 

What I learned, was get only what you amps need:  If you are stock, Id stay at 50, maybe 60 max

ALso, very high output amps need some work on the stock amp meter as well, so some some work would need to be done there

[DocMel]

Sorry, I also meant to add:  What makes you think not enough juice is getting to the battery?    Could be the voltage regulator, the battery itself, but not enough info yet to tell

[dave73chally]

Not sure if it's the alternator or regulator. The battery is brand new. I can get a remanufactured alternator for 30.

[DocMel]

I'd check a few simple things before you get a new alternator

1.  Ensure that the voltage regulator is FIRMLY grounded on the firewall : Its grounded by the screws that hold VR on the firewall  If they loose, corroded, etc, it wont keep the battery charged

2.  Ensure that the plug that goes into the VR is not loose or corroded

3.  Is the alt belt loose?

3.  Go to any auto zone, pep boys or advance auto.   They will hook up an charging system analyzer to your car for free and isolate what component is not working correctly  Takes about 3 minutes