10si vs cs130D

[Zukeman]

Hello from Washington. Ok. Had the old 10si in my 77 k10, 350. It was getting old. Upgraded to a cs130D from Quality Power in California. It is a 180amp max/105 at idle. I purchased the pigtail so it would plug into my 10si stock 2 wire chevy wiring.
Well, I couldn't get it to put out more than 12.5 v. I tried new battery and cleaned grounds, not luck. Bought a cheap 10si from Orielys and out it in and all works great. So my question is this. Other than me purchasing a bad altenator is there any other reason that this altenator swap wouldn't work ?
Thx, mike

 

[Bextreme04]

People do it all the time, it isn't rocket science. I did a dual electric fan upgrade and some other electrical upgrades and wanted to make sure my charging system could keep up. I just did an upgrade from the 37amp 10si that was in the truck when I bought it, to a 94amp 12si from O'reilly. I got two, bad, brand new alternators from O'reilly before the third one was functional. It seems that all of them are being rebuilt in China and quality control is less than stellar. FWIW the 12SI is a direct bolt-in replacement and provides plenty of power even with both fans on at idle.

Edit: The first part of my response sounds pissy.. which was not what I meant. I mean that the 10si to CS130 is very well understood and should not cause any issue with not charging. I would be shocked if a shop couldn't make a proper 10SI to CS130D harness. It should have a resister in one wire, but other than that it is a basic pin to pin conversion. If it doesn't charge on a new alternator I would suspect defective chinese rebuilt regulator

 

[Zukeman]

Ok that's what I thought but you never know. This is one reason I chose an American company but? The bad part is I have to pay shipping to send it back for them too "check it".
They say they bench test all products before shipping but I don't know...
Thanks for your help though.

 

[Corvette Ed]

Over the years I’ve got bad ones from Advance,Autozone and Napa. They should refund your shipping cost,after it tests bad. Good luck.

 

[Grit dog]

Maybe local bench test?

I’ll echo the comments about schitty reman parts.
My alternator example is, had an old 01 Tahoe couple years ago with pretty low miles.
Rectifier took a dump in the original (presumably original) alternator.
Replaced with Napa reman unit. It lasted a couple months and same thing. On the road again when it failed, replaced with 3 different Napa alternators, in the parking lot of the store, and all had some issue or other from physical damage to the case to not charging to completely blown out bearings.
In fact I ran through all 3 that they had in stock (I happened to be at a distribution center store and they only had 3, pre Covid)
And ended taking the first one back and the store loaned me a drill to re drill a mounting hole that was deformed (alt was obviously dropped and smashed one of the mounting ears a little flat).
Now, if I have the opportunity and it’s an OE electrical part like alternator or starter, I have them rebuilt completely at a local shop. Far better then the replace what broke and put it back in a new box crap ass reman junk that’s out there.

 

[Bextreme04]

Ok that's what I thought but you never know. This is one reason I chose an American company but? The bad part is I have to pay shipping to send it back for them too "check it".
They say they bench test all products before shipping but I don't know...
Thanks for your help though.

Just because its an American company, doesn't mean they aren't using a Chinese made new or rebuilt part. That's why I just got a higher amp stock replacement 12SI from a local parts store with a lifetime warranty. It took three times to get a good one, but it cost me nothing but a little bit of time to take it in and exchange it. No cost to me and no shipping. If you take the alternator into any local parts store they can hook it up to a machine and test it before you pay to ship it back.

 

[Zukeman]

Lesson learned. I need to find a local shop who does rebuilds but for now I'm gonna install a 12si with warranty and sell my new Quality Power on craigslist when I get it back. On to the next phase, my new tank install !
Thx everyone

 

[Matt69olds]

I hope with that much alternator, you upgraded the wire to at least 8 gauge! With 180 amps of capacity, you will definitely let the smoke out of the original charge wire.

 

[Ellie Niner]

I hope with that much alternator, you upgraded the wire to at least 8 gauge! With 180 amps of capacity, you will definitely let the smoke out of the original charge wire.

To carry that kind of current reliably, I'd want to see no less than 2AWG, and preferably better than. Truth be told, 180 amps is probably so overkill for the application that it'd be hard to work up a load that's even 50% of that... unless you're running a dozen aircraft landing lights and/or monster stereo

 

[Bextreme04]

I added dual electric fans, an aux battery, rear spotlights, 30A trailer charge wiring, and some other stuff and the 94A 12SI has no problem keeping everything at 14.3V even at idle with everything on. The previous alternator was a 37A 10SI and it would have a hard time keeping up at idle with the headlights on.

This is the one I got from O'Reilly's https://www.oreillyauto.com/search/...-1997-chevrolet-k2500-suburban-4wd?q=R111675A
It is a direct bolt-in swap for the 10SI. I gave them an old junk 10SI I had sitting around as the core and they never batted an eye at it.

 

[Bextreme04]

I also added an 8 Gauge charge wire direct from the alternator to the main battery with a fusible link. It was a stock GMT-400 charge wire.

 

[Matt69olds]

To carry that kind of current reliably, I'd want to see no less than 2AWG, and preferably better than. Truth be told, 180 amps is probably so overkill for the application that it'd be hard to work up a load that's even 50% of that... unless you're running a dozen aircraft landing lights and/or monster stereo

Can’t argue, assuming it fits in the room you have to work with you can’t run cable too large.

I certainly wouldn’t run the alternator charge wire to the factory junction block on the firewall, it would be better to tin it directly to the battery. Shorter distance, not to mention it would’ve a tight fit fitting the charge wire, Barry cable, abs other wires on the starter stud

 

[75gmck25]

I did a 12si swap on my ‘75 and then went to the pick and pull and got a GMT400 charge wire with fusible link, and an extra junction to connect it up. I mounted the junction on the passenger side fender well near the battery, and I use it to power the relays for my lights.

 

[DoubleDingo]

I added dual electric fans, an aux battery, rear spotlights, 30A trailer charge wiring, and some other stuff and the 94A 12SI has no problem keeping everything at 14.3V even at idle with everything on. The previous alternator was a 37A 10SI and it would have a hard time keeping up at idle with the headlights on.

This is the one I got from O'Reilly's https://www.oreillyauto.com/search/...-1997-chevrolet-k2500-suburban-4wd?q=R111675A
It is a direct bolt-in swap for the 10SI. I gave them an old junk 10SI I had sitting around as the core and they never batted an eye at it.

Good to know the 12si is sufficient. I will buy one of those when I get Crusty Biscuit back up and running. The volt meter dropped every time I turned on the headlights, and would fluctuate when the blinkers were on, and turn on the heater fan, whoa! it looked like the alternator couldn't keep up at all, even with higher revs. 12si it is. I do plan to install an auxiliary fan when all is said and done, and won't be running anything with high draw.

 

[Bextreme04]

Good to know the 12si is sufficient. I will buy one of those when I get Crusty Biscuit back up and running. The volt meter dropped every time I turned on the headlights, and would fluctuate when the blinkers were on, and turn on the heater fan, whoa! it looked like the alternator couldn't keep up at all, even with higher revs. 12si it is. I do plan to install an auxiliary fan when all is said and done, and won't be running anything with high draw.

It's probably worthwhile to make sure you have sufficient grounds also. The dimming and generally weak electrical stuff seemed to mostly disappear when I ran better grounds between the alternator bracket and the frame as well as frame to battery. I also replaced a broken ground strap from the firewall to the engine block and that fixed the dim cab interior light issue.

Having the charge wire go straight to the battery and also having the second battery running the aux electrical components has really made the entire electrical system function much better.