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Alternator upgrade for 260z


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I have an early 260z & want to improve reliability by upgrading the Alternator - so doing away with the external VR.

My idle rpm drops when I turn the headlights on so I think I would also benefit from an increase in Amperage.  From what I have read,  for the 260Z the VR also seems to drive electrical fuel pump relay's so the plug'n' play MSA Alternator upgrade solutions are not going to work. If anyone with the early 260z has made the switch to a bigger Alternator with the ss VR I would be interested in hearing how you did it.

 

thanks.

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Well thanks Guy's, but these recommendations are all for the 240Z - I was looking for something more turnkey that will work with the 260z & allow the stock electric fuel pump to continue to function.

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I'm going to give this some more thought and try and remember what I did on my car.  It involved a diode and an S130 ZX alternator which bolted right in but I had to remove the external VR and re-work some wiring.  This was a few years ago.  I will dig up what I can on the subject.

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Here's a link for some info I used http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/voltreg.htm

 

I changed my alternator because my car would not shut off with the key.  The problem persisted even after swapping the alternator.  I didn't drive the car much, bought a couple new parts to install and then suddenly the key started working again and has worked fine for 2 years.  I have no idea what changed, I didn't touch anything.  I had been all through the entire wiring when it was first an issue and could not find anything obvious.  Very strange issue.

 

Anyway, my alternator works great.  The only thing is I may have opted for a higher amp alternator than the one I got.  I think I have a 60 or 70 amp from a ZX if I remember correctly. 

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From my thread on the issue I had with my car I posted this:

 

- Bolted in the alternator
- Added the Diode to the "T" connector to allow the car to shut off with the key
- Jumped the YELLOW and WHITE wire after removing the Regulator on the inner fender.
- Jumped the BLACK /W WHITE LINE wire and the WHITE /W BLACK LINE wires 
- Hooked up the battery cable and the ground to the alternator.

 

Again, i'm just going by memory and what I posted on the forums.  Someone else might have better information but if you run into any issues I can always unsheath my wiring and look at it for you.

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Thanks for all you inputs guys. Seems like I have 2 options as far as dealing with the electric fuel pump goes:

 

Option 1 - add an inertia switch to take care of the safety interlock issue.

Option 2 - simply disconnect the pump, as I have a mechanical pump (running ztherapy SU's)

 

Apart from backup in case the mech pump fails, does anyone see any benefit in keeping the stock epump ? it is orig & must be close to end of life.

 

As far as the replacement Alternator goes I will probably order the 280zxT item - I believe the turbo version adds ~ 10A over the NA (~70A ?)so hopefully will provide a little more juice at idle as well.

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i havent put much thought into it as i havent got my early 260 running yet, but i did buy a 85 300zx alternator for it and the resistor that i need to add in. 

 

But i been thinking about ditching the mechanical and re-wiring an aftermarket fuel pump (that is, after i get her running, i should just try to get her started with the mechanical first , than fine tune from there).

Good luck! 

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  • 5 months later...

I know this is an old post, but i did on my 78 the alternator upgrade to a dodge monaco. It bolts in the same spot as the original location on the 78. No real alterations required, i also replaced the alternator bracket with a turn bubuckle to help tighten up the belt. Just gotta get the connector to the new alternator, and find wich wire goes where. I do not re call where i got the info for the swap but it was fairly easy and not as steep on the pocket as that upgrade being sold for 200+. The new alternator is rated at 90Amps,and i got the alternator pulley from pepboys...the "chrome" kits they sell. A firestone shop helped with the pulley swap... It works great, wipers perform better than before (im not talking about the blades, but the wiper motor), lights also benefit from this, but it was not nice heading to work at 5am and the alt going out on me.

Edited by elkarin1984
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