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Location:
Mornington Peninsula
Registered:
September 2002
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 18R alternators
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Tue, 01 October 2002 22:42
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I need a bigger alternator in my Celica. Every time I put my foot on the brake there isn't enough power to keep my stereo going so it cuts out.
What can I do to make mine work better or off what engine will I be able to get a bigger alternator that will fit easily onto mine?
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Location:
c'town, NSW
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Tue, 01 October 2002 22:58
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i think u can grab a bosch one off some old falcon, cant remember the model tho, but apparently u can fit it to your 18R bracket no probs.
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Location:
Montrose, VIC
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Wed, 02 October 2002 14:31
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If it dies that easily you've probably got some earthing/wiring issues to sort out first...
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Location:
Mornington Peninsula
Registered:
September 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Wed, 02 October 2002 22:27
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It only happens when the head lights are on. That's why I figured it was the alternator.
You don't want to see the wiring in that car. A 5 year old could have done a better job. The loom coming out of the steering column has been hacked to pieces  We're slowly fixing it up though 
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 00:11
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This is definitely a wiring problem. The stock alternator will have no problems running the lights and stereo at the same time, so that's obviously not it, which means upgrading the alternator will be a waste of money. Take the car to an auto electrician to sort out some of your dodgy wiring!
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Location:
Mornington Peninsula
Registered:
September 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 03:57
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I'll have a look at it. I didn't have the problem when I got a new battery (a short cooked my old one), gradually the problem has started to apear again. It's ok if I do a lot of day driving and not much night driving, but as soon as I do a fair bit of night driving I have the problem. So it's mainly in winter. 
I think an auto electrician would freak at how bad the wiring is.  I put it in there once before to get my head lights sorted out and it took them half an hour and they charged me $70 so I'd hate to think how much they'd charge me for the whole lot.
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 05:44
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i have never understood why people are scared of wiring up a car.... if a piece of piss seriously!! 
get yourself the wiring diagram from the haynes manual (i have copies of the complete short form diagrams, and expanded pin config diagrams (shows plugs and plug configs) if you cant get them)... and use those as a basis to rewired whatever is dodgy.
personally if its getting bad.. when you next pull the dash off just rip out and replace a complete loom section with new wiring (you would be surprised by how much improvement it makes, esp if you clean/replace plugs), as this will eliminate the massive voltage drops the old celica circuits get (down to 5V for interior lights, 8V for dash illumination!!).
Most liekly what is happening is when you put your foot on the brakes, with both your headlights and brakelights on (a good few hundred watts) the voltage drops below what the amp requires to stay on, and switches off into voltage protect- else it would clip and blow your speakers.
also to avoid shorting out your battery again, fit a big fuse and fuse holder for all your wires coming directly from the battery (eg, starter motor, alternator, AMPLIFIERS especially).
Myself i've been upgrading all the high current cabling with above spec wiring (eg 4G earth straps to chassis and block, 4g to alternator and starter motor, and 8g most other places.)
also when i strip the body down i will be making a COMPLETELY new loom for the entire car utilising new plugs and sockets (not crappy 25 yr old designs that die in 2 yrs)
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 05:47
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on antoher note.. if you arent as crazy as me, and dont feel like creating new looms, then when you add something electric to your old celica... its probably a good idea to avoid using existing wiring for power and earths... try to go as direct to the battery and chassis as possible, this will avoid any voltage drops you might experience (not good for head units esp!)
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Location:
Brisbane
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 08:22
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Of course if you do the above, make sure you use a correctly rated fuse or circuit breaker close to the battery!
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Location:
Montrose, VIC
Registered:
May 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 13:36
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Yeah, cruddy alternators aren't so much the problem. When I still had the 4AC in my ae86, I had 3 amps, massive sub box, etc. in there (no wonder it was so slow!). I cooked a few alternators, and the voltage would drop when the music was really loud, plus I got sick of push starting the thing when the alternator/battery kept on dying. But it still all worked fine with no strange switching off etc. because I strung heaps of earth wires around, and a big fat wire from the alternator to the battery. Just that the little 40 amp pieces of crap couldn't hack the pace so I fried a couple!
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Location:
Mornington Peninsula
Registered:
September 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 22:34
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Well I guess the previous owner wasn't scared to cut wires and add new ones in. I keep zaping myself everytime I go near the wires under the dash. I don't think it will be as easy as replacing the loom. The plug with all the wires coming out of my steering column has been hacked to pieces. a lot of the wires totally bypass that plug. Obviously he's realised his mistake after and put in another plug so there's wires running everywhere. I've fortunatly got a parts car so I'll have a look at the wiring in that and swap it all over. I'm fortunate that my dad and boyfriend have both done their trade in electronics so they have a fairly good idea about it all. Also the fact that my car leaks water down through my wires but I hope to fix that this weekend.
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I supported Toymods
Location:
Berowra-Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Thu, 03 October 2002 22:59
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don't you just love old cars  mine has a million wires which don't even go anywhere  slowly getting rid of them over time.
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Toymods Social Secretary
Location:
Sydney
Registered:
July 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Fri, 04 October 2002 00:31
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heehee... sounds like my rolla... but all those extra wires had a purpose! and i put them there
i counted once.... over 30 extra wires run thru my car at some point for some purpose. then add 2 fat rca cables and 4Guage power cable.... then rest were just ancilliaries or add ons by me (incl- inverter, amps, speaker wires, TV antennas, power wires for about 7-10 different things, rev light kit, LED lights, re-wired head unit and in dash TV, playstation 240v cable, etc etc etc etc)
the celica is nowhere near as messy as thing thing was. it was all done properly, but there was just so much added on it got messy
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Location:
Mornington Peninsula
Registered:
September 2002
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Re: 18R alternators
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Sun, 06 October 2002 22:16
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Well these aren't extra wires that are running every where. They are from the factory looms that have been cut up and have bits that splice off to dead ends and other crazy stuff like that. many of the wires haven't even be soldered together, they've just been taped so the wire can put apart from under the tape and you can never find the problem.
Got other problems to worry about, I've either cracked the head or done the gasket on the weekend so I've got no transport at the moment
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