Oh sorry. I forgot to mention that I was looking at buying it....didn't mean to thread jack.

 

no problem I know the expo alternator swap is pretty common so I dpn't see why it wouldn't.

Also fwiw the alternator on my 06 4.0 sohc uses the exact same wiring harness and colors as josh's 99 3.0 so... I feel like they like to keep things consistent.

 

Oh and just to bump my thread, in case anybody was wondering what happens when you don't have your alternator hooked up... BAD THINGS. haha ask me how I know.... ok you got me. I was leaving to go to Josh's to work on our bumpers, about 40 miles. So after a while, my radio flicks off and on, then off. hm I think, what is this black magic.

So then my ABS light comes on. I had been hjaving brake trouble anyway so I just assumed thats why... THEN my airbag light came on.... then my gas light came on and the gauge went to zero!

I made it to my exit, but once I got off and had stopped at a light, it barely moved then died. I was able to figure out pretty quick I left my alternator unplugged. So everything was totally dead, but luckily some dude in a f150 stopped by and helped me out... all is well now. boy did I feel like a dummy. I can't head over to Josh's without my truck having some sort of issue... I'll probably be picking up some recovery supplies this week.

 

And the extra wiring was for ?

 

I still don't know. But if you want to check if your alternator has those two black/white wires... It might help me to know that

 

I will look when I go out, one of them is probably an Exciter Wire needed to get the OEM Alt started, the other being the same color may be 12V too for some reason.

The new Alt may not need to be excited to put out, my kind of girl…

 

Hey, back at ya !

First, my ’03 is the same connector and wires.

Looking at my 2003 FMC Wiring Book, the wht/blk or (white/black for those that do not like short versions of words) is the exciter wire as thought; it runs from the internal regulator to the stator connector.

It loops back in the harness, so if you wanted you could open the harness a few inches and both wht/blk wires, at the connector, should be the same wire in the harness.

That’s all folks…
Looks like the new alternator can excite itself and doesn’t need that wire.

 

Splendid! Looks like I'll just try putting it in and hope my truck doesn't die... I'll have my jumper cables at the ready.

 

Shouldn’t be a problem, the new alternator doesn’t have the connections for the extra exciter wire and the adapter cable cuts them out so you should be good to go.
Jp7’s pkg looked good, I almost jumped in but you beat me to it!
Should be easy change over.

luck,

 

It looked pretty easy, just wanted to be sure on the wires before I stuck it in and drove.

 

alternator doesn't fit... hits a hard vacuum line, which could maybe be relocated, also hits oil filler tube... which can't really be. pics soon. looking for solution...

 

Ok since it's a new page let me reiterate the issue. Alternator hits valve cover accessories.

See here, alternator all the way up against valve cover shenanigans.


See here the OEM alternator has a smaller housing than the new DC power.


See here, the hard vacuum line it hits, and the forward protruding oil filler.



Can anyone else with a 4.0 SOHC take a look and see if they have a valve cover with the oil cap in a different place? Does anyone know if I can just get a different valve cover, then reroute the hard line using a softline or something?

Pics of any random engine bays would be sweet, to see various years, preferably 4.0, would be good to see a 3.0 as well though.

This alternator WAS purchased for an 04 3.0 originally, so a pic of that equivalent would be great.

 

Bump

 

Wow, that $ucks, man.

Is your engine a overhead cam ?

Maybe there is a difference in the OHC and the std engine ?

That was a great deal on that alternator, it probably would not have fit mine either.

I will look under the hood after I come back from the VA today and see if the 3.0 has the same problem.

ltr

 

it was made for a 3.0, so it should work fine... I'd sell it to ya but I want to make sure I can't make it work first.

 

Actually mine is up in the air right now, still trying to determine where I am going but thks.

What engine do you have ?

 

4.0 SOHC

 

I don't know if anyone chimed in with the answer...

But the white (with a black stripe?) wire is just a jumper for the regulator. I questioned it as well....even dug up my old spare harness and peeled back the loom and tape traced it back. It's just a jumper. Now is it required or not? I'm up in the air on that one.

 

Is it just hitting the vac line? Or the fill tube as well.

Would changing the height of the alternator out from it's mounting perches help? If so, try spacing the alternator using nuts that fit loosely over the bolts. You may have to change your belt size to something a very small bit longer though. This is all assuming your bolts have enough meat threading into the mounting bracket.

All 4.0L SOHC Rangers have that vac line in that location as well as the same fill. Earlier model valve covers (Expo w/ long engine cover) are aluminum. 04+ 4.0's have a slightly different vent tube from the cover to the intake tube.

 

If all else fails grab....



...and give it a few whacks!

I'm kinda thinking the same thing about raising the alternator off the mounts, it might give enough clearance to slide in. Downsides would be you'd need longer bolts & a bunch of flat washers or something to fill in the gap... then there's the problem of a longer belt.

Have you or can you remove that black presumably plastic panel to see what's under there? If it's just a trim cover that serves no purpose, you might be able to do away with it & see how much room it gives you.

 

not bad suggestions, but I don't think they will work. It is hitting on the fill tube, and I'm afraid I'd have to bring out all the way past it to make it work, and that's just too much space.

The black piece is plastic but there are some electronics immediately behind I don't really want mashed up to the valev cover.

And the hammer... well, it's plastic so I'd really just smash it to bits. which might make me feel better but overall wouldn't be too great...

 

Got a quote on a Singer Alternator for my truck. He says it is the same size as OEM so it should fit. 230A max, and looks like it'll be powdercoated blue as well. More than I wanted to spend, but once I had a high output alternator in my hands, I just had to get one on my truck. This thing should be pretty sick.

 

I decided to bite the bullet on the Singer Alternator, he said he had ford blue and would be getting royal blue in the next week or so, and I opted for the Royal Blue, I think it will go with my truck better, though Ford blue would have been cool.

He says it is the same as OEM size so it will fit, direct plug n play, all that, and comes with an overdrive pulley to get the rpms up on it too. Lead time with powdercoat is 2-3 weeks because the new blue isn't in, but he says he has most of the actual components in stock.

 

Links? Info?



(personal opinion alert!). Why even bother with some special powder coating?

 

go big or go home. haha. I got some good overtime this week anyway.

There isn't much info on the website, but here it is.
www.singeralternators.com

I'm sure there are plenty of people wondering, why, why this, and why that. Well, as they say, it's my money and my truck. I understand powdercoating an alternator can seem a little extravagant, but I figured I might as well, just cause it's "neat". I have read good things about his alternators from searching the web, I've had quite a bit of contact with him, and I decided to give him a try.