Powermaster Starter and Alternator Install - Electrical Engine Power

Without battery power, your starter won't crank. Without a good, reliable starter, your engine won't start. Without your engine running, your alternator won't turn. And without your alternator turning, you aren't charging your battery. You don't want to disturb this circle ... trust us.

Since we were having some continuous alternator issues and a constantly dying battery, along with a starter that was on its last legs, we decided that it was best to replace all of them at the same time in case all the problems were connected. We threw in a new battery and then started researching what kind of alternator and starter we needed.

For our starter, we'd ideally like something a bit smaller than the stock one we were replacing - maybe one with a bit more torque than our old '70s starter.

We wanted an alternator that would speedily recharge our battery, but without getting an overkill unit that would add a ton of mass that our accessory-drive V-belt would have to spin. Higher-amperage output alternators have more winds inside the case, making more power but also necessitating more power to turn. You'll need to figure out what kind of power draw your vehicle normally takes and take into account the less-common times when you'll be pulling a lot of amperage off your battery like during winching exercises.

We ended up going with Powermaster units for both our starter and alternator in our big-block Chevy. Powermaster has had a good reputation for many years, so it's a name we trust to keep our truck working properly when we are miles away from anything.

We started on the top of the...        read full caption We started on the top of the engine for simplicity's sake. We've changed alternators in about five minutes at a gas station before, so we'd feel comfortable recommending that even a novice wrencher try it. Our Powermaster high-amp alternator was rated for about 140 amps, but ours puts out 168 amps at 14.8 volts during highway speeds and 97 amps at idle. We know this because every Powermaster alternator is individually tested and marked with the specs.	Remember to disconnect your...        read full caption Remember to disconnect your negative battery cable before starting anything. With two bolts removed from the original alternator, we slipped it out and added our Powermaster one-wire alternator in place. We were previously using a one-wire alternator as well, so there were no positive or negative field wires to tape up.Make sure you specify what type of pulley system you have when you order your alternator.	On older engines (like our...        read full caption On older engines (like our big-block Chevy), the placement of the alternator dictates how much tension is on the accessory belt. We used a prybar stuck through the alternator-mounting bracket to get leverage to get the correct amount of tightness on the belt before tightening up the two alternator bolts.
We reconnected our one-wire...        read full caption We reconnected our one-wire lead off of the alternator to the battery and turned the engine on to make sure the alternator was charging, the belt was seated correctly, and that it was not squealing.	To turn our big-block over,...        read full caption To turn our big-block over, we got one of Powermaster's XS torque starters. These starters have a nice billet mounting plate that the starter motor can swivel in, so you can turn and clock the starter in the correct position to clear various mechanicals like shackles or headers.	The original starter was an...        read full caption The original starter was an easy two-bolt removal as well. We didn't have clearance issues with our exhaust and suspension setup, but our starter was on its last legs, and upgrading to a smaller, more powerful unit sounded like a good plan to us.
The starter mounted using...        read full caption The starter mounted using two bolts that thread directly into the engine block. There are two different bolt patterns on the starter for various applications. The starter comes with shims, but you'll have to use trial and error to figure out if you really need them or not.	There are two terminals on...        read full caption There are two terminals on most starters: the larger full-time hot lead and the remote switched lead that is initiated by your ignition switch. When you turn your ignition, the remote lead is activated, making connection and allowing the starter to receive power directly from the battery through the larger-gauge wired hot lead.