CS130 Alternator Rebuild
Harry Kashtan
rebuild/upgrade kit for the infamous CS130 alternator. It comes in 2
flavors. One kit consists of a new rectifier, oversized rear bearing,
and new rear housing with built in heat sinking to keep the rectifier
cooler. They claim this will repair most of the CS130 failures as they
are prone to rectifier failure from overheating. It also has some other
parts. Costs $50. The other version contains all of the above plus a new
stator winding increasing the output from 100A to 130A. Costs $100.
Was wondering if anyone has used either and what the results were.
Harry Kashtan
hkas...@carroll.com
89 Cherokee 4.0
zwa...@submm.caltech.edu
<nospam-...@carroll.com> wrote:
A friend of mine replaced the stator winding on his Chev. pickup with a
higher current output winding from JCW, and had problems with the windings
shorting to the case.
Not sure whose fault it was...
--
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Member, "Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy"
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Doug Sogolow
scrawled:
>In article <36ABB666...@carroll.com>, Harry Kashtan
><nospam-...@carroll.com> wrote:
>
>" I was thumbing through he JC Whitney Catalog today and came upon a new
>" rebuild/upgrade kit for the infamous CS130 alternator. It comes in 2
>" flavors. One kit consists of a new rectifier, oversized rear bearing,
>" and new rear housing with built in heat sinking to keep the rectifier
>" cooler. They claim this will repair most of the CS130 failures as they
>" are prone to rectifier failure from overheating. It also has some other
>" parts. Costs $50. The other version contains all of the above plus a new
>" stator winding increasing the output from 100A to 130A. Costs $100.
>"
>" Was wondering if anyone has used either and what the results were.
..and you'll need really good soldering skills and some heat transfer
compound to put on the back of the rectifier....and a set of brushes.
(Maybe included in other parts) Overheating is not the real problem,
it's heat cycling. The diodes in the rectifier can only be heated and
cooled so many times before they give up. As far as I can see, the
finned rear housing is snake oil, but it couldn't hurt. As far as the
oversized rear bearing goes, this is just a bearing from a later style
CS alternator that GM put in when they noticed that the original thin
bearing was prone to failure, and seems to help. What about the front
bearing? If it doesn't come with the kit, you'll need to get one, and
if the unit hasn't been serviced before you'll need an arbor press to
remove it....that is providing the rotor shaft is not frozen into the
bearing, as often happens. If you try to knock it out with a soft
hammer, it's bye-bye housing.
Any competent rebuilding shop can rebuild this thing for you for less
than $100.00
As far as upping the output, I don't go for that. The housings were
only designed to remove the heat generated by the maximum output as
designed. When you increase the output you increase the heat. There's
no way to get rid of it and this won't help the lifespan of the unit
at all.
And finally...JC Whitney? Yuck!
Doug Sogolow
The 560SEC Group
http://www.560sec.com
Kevin Mouton
Doug Sogolow wrote:
Exellent reply. I agree with all that you said.
Kev
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************************************************
Kevin Mouton - Automotive Technology Instructor
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Doug Sogolow
scrawled:
>> >In article <36ABB666...@carroll.com>, Harry Kashtan
>> ><nospam-...@carroll.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >" I was thumbing through he JC Whitney Catalog today and came upon a new
>> >" rebuild/upgrade kit for the infamous CS130 alternator.
>
>Exellent reply. I agree with all that you said.
>Kev
Well, I've done literally hundreds of these since they came out.....
Bob Vail
Discount Auto Parts sells alternators with a lifetime warranty
for less than $100 and will test for you at no charge.
If heat is a problem, I would run a flexible duct hose from
the front of the car to push cool air into the back of the alternator.
--
Did our actions today set the proper example for those we lead?
Aim Higher! Bob Vail
sff...@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us
On Sun, 31 Jan 1999, Doug Sogolow wrote:
snip
> >" I was thumbing through he JC Whitney Catalog today and came upon a new
> >" rebuild/upgrade kit for the infamous CS130 alternator. It comes in 2
snip
> (Maybe included in other parts) Overheating is not the real problem,
> it's heat cycling. The diodes in the rectifier can only be heated and
> cooled so many times before they give up. As far as I can see, the
> finned rear housing is snake oil, but it couldn't hurt. As far as the
> oversized rear bearing goes, this is just a bearing from a later style
> CS alternator that GM put in when they noticed that the original thin
> bearing was prone to failure, and seems to help. What about the front
> bearing? If it doesn't come with the kit, you'll need to get one, and
> if the unit hasn't been serviced before you'll need an arbor press to
> remove it....that is providing the rotor shaft is not frozen into the
> bearing, as often happens. If you try to knock it out with a soft
> hammer, it's bye-bye housing.
> Any competent rebuilding shop can rebuild this thing for you for less
> than $100.00
snip
> Doug Sogolow
L. Smith
>
> In addition to what Doug says, I would add:
> Discount Auto Parts sells alternators with a lifetime warranty
> for less than $100 and will test for you at no charge.
>
> If heat is a problem, I would run a flexible duct hose from
> the front of the car to push cool air into the back of the alternator.
>
> --
> Did our actions today set the proper example for those we lead?
> Aim Higher! Bob Vail
Just about everything seems to be a problem with these alternators, Bob.
In my own experience, they are prone to rear bearing failure, stator
failure, etc.
They seem to be a truly marginal design. I should knock on wood though-
I haven't had to change mine in a year or two now.
--
- Larry Smith
----DON'T RETURN EMAIL TO ME----
until you check my address for spam-wedge
Bob Vail
Is there another/better one that can be converted at the plug on the back
by grafting on another plug? Looks like two wires, plus a ground wire,
plus a battery wire and that's it.
--
Did our actions today set the proper example for those we lead?
Aim Higher! Bob Vail
L. Smith
>
> What is a good way to identify this particular alt?
> Is there another/better one that can be converted at the plug on the back
> by grafting on another plug? Looks like two wires, plus a ground wire,
> plus a battery wire and that's it.
> --
> Did our actions today set the proper example for those we lead?
> Aim Higher! Bob Vail
> sff...@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us
>
are supposed to be capable of retrofitting. I have not pursued this
path yet but might have been money ahead to have done so.( Hey, it's
about time to replace it again, according to the calendar!)
Perhaps others out there can give us some first hand experience with
retrofit units...
Bob Vail
type alternator work? Supposedly the regulator is internal
and the one wire goes to the battery; same as the
four-wire-with-separate-regulator has one wire going to the battery.
--
Did our actions today set the proper example for those we lead?
Aim Higher! Bob Vail
sff...@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us
L. Smith
>
> Another question: Why won't the "one wire"-to-the-battery
> type alternator work? Supposedly the regulator is internal
> and the one wire goes to the battery; same as the
> four-wire-with-separate-regulator has one wire going to the battery.
>
> --
> Did our actions today set the proper example for those we lead?
> Aim Higher! Bob Vail
> sff...@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us
>
There are, at least in some applications, some pretty snug fits and the
factory brackets may not be easy to modify or substitute. Nothing is
impossible, though, if one is determined to make it work.
The CS130 is not a large alternator but some versions of it are expected
to put out over 100 amperes.
I found an alternator site on the web and asked one of the managers to
post a bulletin on this newsgroup concerning the CS130. I am curious to
see if he will answer, and what he suggests.
Trapper
thread. This is what I call backward progress,.Soon GM is going sucker
you to replace a $1000 computer instead of $10 AVR .
Trapper
GENERAL MOTORS "CS" SERIES ALTERNATORS
In 1986, the first of a new series of "CS" alternators from Delco Remy
began appearing on certain General Motors cars. The three most common
CS Delcotron units are the CS-121, the CS-130 and the CS-144.
"CS" stands for "Charging System" and the number denotes the outside
diameter of the stator. The CS series alternators are high output
units and differ from the earlier SI series alternators in a number of
unique ways.
One difference is that CS series alternators have a different type of
voltage regulator that uses a digital rather than analog switching
pattern.
The analog switching; pattern used by all earlier Delco regulators
switched the frequency of the field current as load and rpm changed.
The CS series digital switching pattern, by comparison, stays constant
at about 400 cycles per second throughout the rpm and load range of
the alternator.
By varying the on-off time, the average field current is regulated for
the correct charging voltage. At high speeds, the on-time may only be
10 percent and the off-time 90 percent. At low speeds with high
electrical loads, the on-time may be as high as 90 percent.
One reason for this change was to make the regulator interactive with
the onboard computer so the computer could customize the charging
rate.
When an engine is running at low speed and a heavy electrical load is
applied, it can lug down the engine if it reacts too quickly, to the
load. In a small displacement engine, this can cause an objectionable
idle shake.
The CS series voltage regulator is a pulse-width modulated unit. It
gradually increases the field current as an electrical load is applied
to gradually increase the alternator's output. This reduces the kind
of idle shake problems that can result when a sudden load is applied.
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