RayG1988 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 NA L28 alternator the same as the turbo one? I got the whole while I'm at it bug and I'm fixing all my wiring and I figure I can just swap my alternator instead of buying a new one. I searched and couldn't really find an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Until MY1978, all S30s had externally regulated alternators. 1978 280Zs got internally regulated alternators, and all 280ZXs and onwards has internally regulated alternators. The physical fitment of them all is identical, and I would go so far as to wager that ANY Hitachi alternator would bolt on to an L-series. The external to internal regulator swap is detailed on blue's techtips page here http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/ under "Alternator Upgrade." Personally, rather than using the 280ZX alternator, I would go to a junkyard and get a 90 amp alt out of an ~87 maxima. Same swap, except you need the plug from the Maxima because it doesn't use a T-plug, it uses a different shape. If the 280ZX alt is only 60 amps, then you may not be gaining any more amperage.. some S30s came with 50 amp alternators, and some came with 60 amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayG1988 Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 Hmm...well I swapped the alternator off my 82 motor and put one off my old 79 and I can't seem to hold charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Those alternators, if not identical, certainly should be interchangeable. Is the battery confirmed Good? Have you checked across the two terminals for amperage draw with the key off? Have you tested the alternator(s?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayG1988 Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 Well right now the battery is drained, but prior to this it was perfect. After my accident I decided I would clean up the wiring and swap both the starter and alternator off my other car. My old starter was bad and the alternator I used to have had the main source (screw looking thing where you connect stuff, sorry I'm bad with terminology) burned out so sometimes I wouldn't get current through my car. The wiring I still left the same, the only thing I did was make sure everything was new so it shouldn't really be a problem. I'm wondering if maybe I might have wired up something wrong on the starter which could be causing this (the starters were different yet they still worked) but then I don't think I'd be able to get the car started period. Both alternators look basically the same with little differences, the only difference I really found was the lack of this sphere with a yellow cable on it which went from the main source and then connected elsewhere on the old alternator. I was guessing that this was the external regulator but I really don't know. If I hook up the jumper cables to my dads car and jump it, the car works fine. It doesn't even really die when it's running, the problem only happens when I turn off the car and then I drain all the battery turning it on. In fact, it's so weak that if I don't turn off my electric fan right after turning off the car it'll turn off by itself. I'm going to get the alternator tested, I guess. Chances are I'm going to buy another one anyway though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Put a fully charged battery in the car. The spherical thing, might that have been a cylinder? if so it was just a little condenser to filter radio noise; it should be there... but mine isnt There is no external regulator, both alternators are internally regulated in your case. Charge the battery fully; autozone will do it for you while you wait. Bring the alt in to autozone, have them test it (may as well do both) and have them charge your battery while you are there. There are two TOTALLY different looking starters for the car; one is a direct drive, and its a simple looking starter: motor, solenoid, the motor connects directly to the flywheel teeth. The other is a gear-reduction starter, and it has the axle of the motor offset to the location of the flywheel teeth, and also has a small gearset that makes the actual contact with the flywheel. This gearset is housed in a neato looking aluminum "neck" of sorts, and is NOT co-axial with the motor.. I am guessing you switched from one to the other. I personally prefer gear reduction, but thats just for the sound and the cool factor. They both wire up the same; positive battery cable, negative cable on the housing, yellow solenoid signal wire. Start with a fully charged battery and see what happens. If you have a fully charged battery and put it in the car, and the thing will not start the next day, then your battery is either bad, or you have a drain. If you have a multimeter, you can set it to amperage (usually requires moving the red lead to a different plug on the meter) and check to see what amps are being drawn from the battery with the key off. If NOT, then fully charge the battery, crank it up, make sure its OK strong, and then disconnect the battery cable overnight, come back the next day and try to start it. If it won't start then, you have a bad battery. The battery was involved in an accident? Might not be a good sign. I have been known in the past to open up the covers and top a battery off with water, even though you arent supposed to do that anymore for some reason... it helps in some situations, IF the fluid was low. Good luck; the guys at autozone (or wherever) are your friends with something like this. get everything tested. there IS also a chance that for some reason your starter motor is dragging too much amperage. is the other starter still functional? Just throwing some ideas out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayG1988 Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 Thanks for the detailed response man! The other starter's solenoid broke off while I was swapping them so that options out. I'm using the one with the cone now, lol. Might be that the battery is bad but I doubt it...but it could be since it was in the car accident. I have a spare battery I got from Autozone so I'll see if I can get that charged when I go get the alternator tested. I wonder if my electric fan has anything to do with it...I don't think it should really since I always turn it off, but it's been acting up lately. It's a lot weaker nowadays then when I first got the car with it. My friends touched a lot of things they shouldn't have while we were fixing the car, I don't even have headlights now (they're connected). They don't turn on when they should. Guess it's time to redo everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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