Summit Racing High Output Alternator - A Powerful Solo

Summit Racing High Output Alternator Installed

To simplify the wiring and provide enough power for future electronic upgrades, we will be installing a Summit Racing 140-amp alternator. It is an internally regulated unit with a one-wire hookup, which means we can toss out the old external regulator and clean up the wiring in the process. The alternator (PN SUM-G1669) sells for $179.95, which is a pretty good deal for this upgraded part considering if you needed to replace the factory alternator and regulator that will set you back anywhere from $71 to $130 and it won’t put out any more power than factory, which is 61 amps for most of the muscle cars.

Summit Racing High Output Alternator Wiring

1. Step one will be to unhook the battery, or in our case shut it off with the switch we installed when we relocated the battery to the trunk. Then we went through the process of removing the alternator, which goes a little something like this: loosen the adjuster bolt, remove tension on the belt, remove belt, remove adjuster bolt, remove lower bolt, and then unhook the wiring.

1. Step one will be to unhook the battery, or in our case shut it off with the switch we

Let's face it: Cars have become reliant on computers, sensors, and all kinds of electronic devices. Even the simplest Chevy out there has been upgraded in some way, from a simple HEI distributer to an electric fuel pump. While these upgrades typically make the car better, they tax the factory power supply—aka the alternator.

We looked to Summit Racing for one of the company's 140-amp alternators that will provide plenty of juice. This alternator is an internally regulated, one-wire design that will still bolt right to the factory brackets and is something very simple to wire in. The new unit is in an updated case compared to the stock unit, and with the new case come some great improvements like a larger rectifier to handle higher amperage, a wider stator and rotor, and larger cooling holes at the back for better cooling of the rectifier, stator, and other internal components.

High-output alternators have been available in the aftermarket for a while now, so the prices have come down considerably. We have a car in the shop that will be receiving a slew of upgrades in the future, including electric fans and a decent audio system, and the first thing we want to do is put an alternator in place that can feed these power-hungry upgrades. We have even created a small chart to show you some of the more common components and what kind of power they take to function. Using the chart you can start to see why higher-amp alternators are out there.

Summit Racing High Output Alternator Power Terminals

2. The new alternator is in a 12si case, while our OE unit is in a 10dn case. The basic dimensions are the same, so the new one will fit in our stock bracket setup, but some of the other things have been moved on the case design. The power terminal and the mounting point for the factory spacer are in new locations. The power terminal won’t pose an issue since we need to make a new wire anyway; however, the mounting location for the spacer portion of the lower bracket is in a totally new place so it will need a minor modification to be installed correctly. We say correctly because you could just install the spacer and not use the bolt that mounts it to the back of the alternator case. We decided to just trim the tab and drill a new hole to install the bolt so the spacer will stay on the alternator and not fight us during installation.

2. The new alternator is in a 12si case, while our OE unit is in a 10dn case. The basic d

Typical Amp Loads When Being Used
Dash gauges	2-4 amps
Radio, CD players	3-7 amps
Brakelights	3-8 amps
Headlights	3-10 amps each
Turn signals	4-8 amps
HEI ignition	6-10 amps
Windshield wipers	6-20 amps
Electric fans (each)	6-30 amps
CDI ignition	6-40 amps
Electric fuel pumps	7-15 amps
Headlights (high-beam)	10-22 amps each
Air conditioner	10-25 amps
Electric seat	20 amps
Electric windows	20-30 amps
Audio amplifiers	20-300+ amps

3. With the spacer bracket in place, we could install the new unit. The CAD-plated front pulley and fan was just too noticeable and kind of stuck out like a sore thumb on our mostly blacked-out engine.
3. With the spacer bracket in place, we could install the new unit. The CAD-plated front
4. Ergo, we removed the pieces from the alternator and sprayed them satin black to match the rest of our engine compartment.
4. Ergo, we removed the pieces from the alternator and sprayed them satin black to match
5. Now for the wiring. We called in our West Coast wire guy, Raymond "Lucky" Costa from Mobile Tech, to guide us down the proper path and it happens to be a pretty simple path. Lucky says, "The voltage regulator can be removed from the core support and tossed in the trash. The plug can be cut free from the harness as long as the clipped wires are taped up and tucked out of the way."
5. Now for the wiring. We called in our West Coast wire guy, Raymond "Lucky" Costa from M

6. Lucky then told us to create a new charge wire that will run from the back of the alternator down to either the battery or the main 12V post on the starter. Since our battery is now in the truck, we decided to go to the starter post. The wire needs to be 10-gauge or larger to handle the increase in power the new alt will offer. We had some 8-gauge at the shop so we cut it to length, crimped on the proper-size ring terminals to each end, and covered it in some wire loom before installing one end at the alt.
6. Lucky then told us to create a new charge wire that will run from the back of the alte
7. We ran the newly created wire down along the intake manifold (see arrow) and used two stainless clamps mounted with the valve cover hardware to keep it nice and tidy. Our new wire is pretty stealthy with the black loom.
7. We ran the newly created wire down along the intake manifold (see arrow) and used two
8. We routed it around the back of the head and down to the starter. With that, we fired up the car and hit the gas once to bring the rpms up to about 2,500. The one-wire design doesn’t use a sensing wire, so the alternator needs to be spun up to start charging. After it started charging we had almost 14 volts at the back of the alternator letting us know this bad boy is ready to provide us with all the power we could need.
8. We routed it around the back of the head and down to the starter. With that, we fired