alternator, 86 chrysler 5th avenue

Hello, I'm new here and this is my first post. I need some advice on my car's electrical system. I have a 1986 Chrysler 5th Avenue and my current sound system is about 1200-1300 Watts RMS. I have a DieHard battery and the stock alternator. When I listen to my music on high volumes my voltage gauge is all over the place and both my interior and exterior lights dim. After doing some research I've decided to start looking for a high output alternator. I've found a few universal alternators from Mechman, however I have yet to find one specifically for my car. I realize my car being as old as it is that it's unlikely I'll find an specific alternator. So my question is are there any decent h/o alternators out there that will fit my car? Universal or not. Any other advice on my situation would be greatly appreciated. My knowledge of alternators and amperage is very limited. Thank you!

Stick with mechman. Easily adapts to the vehicle and well worth the effort.Gary Sather

tonanzith wrote: Stick with mechman. Easily adapts to the vehicle and well worth the effort.

Yeah I think I have my heart set on Mechman. Everyone seems to recommend their products. This is the alternator I was looking at --> http://mechman.com/alternators/universal-fit/slim-fit/240-amp-slim-fit-universal-alternator/ As I said before, I know little to nothing about alternators. Would you recommend this universal alternator for my Chrysler? Thank you!

I usually advise 2-wire alternators - ie those with a charge light wire (L or D+) and Sense (S) wire that goes direct to the battery +ve terminal since it then doesn't matter where you mount your battery or how bad the voltage drop is to the battery, and you can trick the alternator into providing higher voltages. But where alternator to battery +12V & GND power bonding is good - hence negligible voltage drop - then single wire D+ type alternators are fine (but cannot be voltage modified without replacing the regulator). PS - 1- or 2-wire does not include the all essential +12V and 0V/GND heavy cables/wires. And check the output profile of the alternator. Some HOs put out less Amps at idle or low RPM than much smaller alternators. (Though I'd expect Mechmans to have good low RPM output.)

If I were to go with the universal Mechman alternator, what would be the next step? As in, do I need to order any special fitting brackets? Or what other modifications would I need in order to fit it in my Chrysler and get it working properly? I plan on redoing the wiring and doing the big 3 once I get the new alternator.

if you go to a local alternator shop and ask them they may be able to take your factory alternator and change the core to a more powerful one and keep the same casing and mounting brackets, not saying it is definitely possible but ive seen it done before and i had it done to my old 01 ford ranger. i had it changes from the stock 80 amp to a 130 amp core and it made a huge difference in performance. plus it will probably be cheaper and easier than trying to rig up a universal alternator. it took the guy less than 30 minutes to swap the guts out.

Good idea provided the thermals are ok. IE - many rewound (boosted) alternators fail because they don't have enough heatsinking or oooling, hence they burn out (which should never happen for alternators unless shorted turns or shorted diodes occur).