What up all,

I finally got exact #'s for the alternators in our cars.

- 1st gen TL's - 100 amp alternator
- 2nd gen TLP - 105 amp alternator
Type S - 120 amp alternator
- 3rd gen TL's - 130 amp alternator

TSX - 105 amp alternator
RSX - 110 amp alternator

- 1st gen RL - 110 amp alternator
- 2nd gen RL - 130 amp alternator

Hope this will help everyone out.

 

Ahh...another benefit of the Type-S.

 

haha, oh well, my car is very good for me now and when I have some real money I will upgrade

 

Would that be cold or hot?

'cause we all know that there's a difference...

Is that an African swallow or a European swallow?

 

umm why would there be a difference??? this isnt a battery that gives different amperage when it is cold...this is the alternator. only way it varies is how fast it spins.

 

Ah, grasshopper...

As you can see from the following table, makers of high-output alternators spec them both ways:
http://www.amplepower.com/products/alt/

Typically the cold (startup) output of an alternator is 15-20% higher than the hot (typical) output. Try "hot cold alternator output" in google : )

SAE is cold, so if the numbers you provided were SAE standard, then typical operation in hot mode (after the car has run for a while) is probably about 85A-90A.

 

grasshopper huh....interesting. Well learn something new everyday if that is the case. I got those specs from carsdirect.com

 

You are fun to tweak, you know that? Lighten up, dude. I am NOT making up shit to mess with you. You know enough to know how many electrical values, like resistance, change with heat.

But no alternator OP values are exact, and you should know that...

 

turd, I was just making fun of you calling me grasshopper...I'm not mad at all. I enjoy getting corrected (by the correct information), thats how people learn you know? I do know that those #'s arent exact, but at least we now have a decent starting position to know how much amps our alternators are giving...give or take.

 

Oh, well in that case, you're welcome.

 

thanks, and it looks like those were "hot" conditions for the ratings. I looked around at other alternators, and they were all rated under the hot or normal operating temperature. That is good for us then So those numbers should be reliable then

 

Here's the best phrased explanation of this pheonmena I found, for those who are interested...

For clarification, as a car idles for extended periods of time during high heat conditions, a number of things happen that contribute to "lowered" alternator output that coincides with physics and the design of the alternator:

1. As heat within the alternator increases, the electrical resistance in the alternator also increases, which reduces the alternator's charging capacity.



2. As temperature rises, the voltage setpoint of the regulator is lowered to reduce the chance of overcharging or "boiling" the battery.

3. Newer designed alternators have a "delay/soft start" built into the regulator circuit. This delays the load being placed upon the engine when starting up from a stop, so that the smaller engines in use today are not loaded down upon acceleration due to charging demands. This can delay the charging by up to 15 seconds.

With the alternator's capacity for charging reduced by heat and other factors, an alternator may only be able to produce up to 70% of its rated output under these conditions. So an alternator rated for 100 amps may only be able to produce 70 amps when hot at idle when there is 77 or more amps of demand on it.