Aspire alternator in a carb'd Festy?

[invader_star]

My Festy alternator is starting to go on me, and all I have lying around is an Aspire alty. Could this be done?
I'm already using Aspire crankshaft and water pump pulleys due to swapping in a '94 Aspire engine. I didn't have the 92-93 crank pulleys, so I swapped the spindle from my Aspire alternator to the Festy alternator and the system worked really well. Several months pass, and now my alternator is improperly regulating the voltage to the car. My headlights brighten, dim, brighten, dim, etc. I'll post pictures of how i got the Aspire spindle to work on the Festy alty. Did the Aspire spindle ruin my alternator? :\

I'm hoping I can use the Aspire alternator.. the only real issue I've run in brainstorming is what what to do about the choke... maybe use a toggle switch and just turn the choke off manually once the car warms up? Assuming it's just a 12v lead, I haven't read the book on how that circuit works. Perhaps I should just man up and finally buy the 92-93 Festy crank pulleys I've been needing and make my car nice and solid.

What do you think fellas?

[invader_star]

Since the main shaft on the Festy alternator has a smaller diameter I used some aluminum strips to fill the gap. Worked nicely! Kind of? 8)

The installed spindle. Luckily there weren't any clearance issues, it was pretty close.

[georgeb]

I have an '89 wiring manual that shows a red wire coming out of the alt going to the choke heater. Looks like it would be 12V. I'll try to check tomorrow on my '89.

[invader_star]

^ Thanks george. It's just a heater wire, that seems like it has room for improvisation. I'm going to check my book to see if the circuit turns off this power lead after a certain duration... thoughts?

[georgeb]

I don't think it does because the circuit doesn't go through any devices that would do that.

[zoe60]

The choke stays on all the time. If it cools off the choke comes back on. 12v worked OK on mine but the choke heated up faster. seems like I put about a 5 ohm resister in line. Aspire alternator can be done but I eventually got the right pulley and made it original again. My problem was because of putting an Aspire engine in an '89 carbed Festy. You'll have to cut the wiring harness to the alternator and splice in the Aspire one. It's been about 4 years so I can't remember all the details.

[invader_star]

So having the heater line running hot off of the ON ignition switch is fine? And running the 5 ohm resister is just to keep the voltage from going too high above 12v? Yep, you're right I have need the Aspire connector. I picked one up from a junkyard and threw some crimp-terms on the end. I think it'll work nicely 8)

Do you recall what 12v source you spliced into for the heater?

[worfdog]

If I recall correctly from an earlier post a few months ago, the choke only gets around 7 volts from the alternator.

[georgeb]

I will put a voltmeter on mine this morning and see what it says.

[georgeb]

Unable to get to either of the terminals to check voltage without putting it on ramps or removing air cleaner housing. Good luck.

[zoe60]

Yeah, the 7 volts is why I used the resistor. My choke was heating up too fast when I gave it a full 12v. I hooked mine to the rear defroster fuse. I can't remember how I hooked up the 2 wires coming out of the plug on the alt. I got it wrong at first and my alt. light came on. Then I reversed them and it was fine after that. If you use a resister use a 10 watt one. Even then it will run warm.

[zoe60]

In the book it looks simple. Red to red, brown to brown, but I remember having a problem with it. Of course the big wire goes to the nut terminal. Like I say, it's been a long time. I've gone to a B6 since then. Good luck!

[invader_star]

Thanks a lot zoe60! When I first did my rebuild, I got the connectors to the alternator and to the carb fuel evaporator switched; it didn't like it very much lol. I wish I could just drop in a B6 instead of messing with my alty Thanks for the tips though, I appreciate it a lot. I'll report back when I get my circuit setup and swapped. The weather has been terrible!

[georgeb]

I would seriously get the right alternator if there is any doubt about the choke voltage requirements. These complicated carbs need to be babied.

[invader_star]

I got the Aspire alternator swapped onto the vehicle today and one thing is giving me grief: the charge light doesn't come on when I turn the key to ON. Before the charge light would illuminate alongside the CEL and oil light, but the car appears to be charging normally once running. I get 15 volts at the battery while running, and 13.9 off. My lights no longer flicker! 8) Right now I have my choke heater hooked up to the 12v line running to the MAP sensor so that I can test the system. I plan on dropping the voltage with an LM317T Adjustable-Voltage Regulator once I make sure everything is functioning properly. Radioshack link here.
I'm very positive I have my wires hooked up correctly. Should I be worried about my charge light?