3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

[ecupir8]

well, after getting my engine running great (with help from this forum), I come to find out my stator is fawked. I was running the engine for a while when I saw some of the magnets fly out, then got the rest of it out in pieces.

long story short, I want to convert to an alternator, the stator IMO is a terrible design and creates a lot of drag on the motor. I have seen kits for as much as $500, does anyone have experience with an alternator conversion on these motors? I cant afford the kit, so would there be anything wrong with using a typical alternator and fabricating a mount for it?

does anyone have any pics of how they mounted an alternator or any other suggestions?

 

[imported_sharkin95]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

I Had A 3.7 224 Cu In Merc What I Did Was Go For The Wagner Alternator Conv.which Was About 350.00 With The 65 Amp Alt.worked Great For A While But After The Mounting Plate Broke And I Ended Up Fabricating A Mount For It.I Used 2 Long Bolts And 2 Sleeves And Bolted Them To The Engine Where The Cooling Resevoir Went On The Left Side Of The Engine,that Worked For About 4 Yrs Then I Replaced The 3.7 For 4.3 6 Cyl. Your In For A Learning Experience With That Engine,good Luck

 

[ecupir8]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

also, what alternator should I use, obviously a marine unit, 65 amp or so, how many wires? I have the water-cooled regulator unit so the alternator will also help to keep it cooler than the stator unit.

 

[ecupir8]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

I Had A 3.7 224 Cu In Merc What I Did Was Go For The Wagner Alternator Conv.which Was About 350.00 With The 65 Amp Alt.worked Great For A While But After The Mounting Plate Broke And I Ended Up Fabricating A Mount For It.I Used 2 Long Bolts And 2 Sleeves And Bolted Them To The Engine Where The Cooling Resevoir Went On The Left Side Of The Engine,that Worked For About 4 Yrs Then I Replaced The 3.7 For 4.3 6 Cyl. Your In For A Learning Experience With That Engine,good Luck

yeah, Im learning a lot quickly about these motors. I build 4x4's here at our shop, I have always worked with 4x4's, but Im learning boats. Fabricating the mount will not be a problem, would you mine letting me know which alternator to use?

 

[Don S]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

The kits come with an alternator designed to work with the brackets and wiring. Depends on which kit you have what alternator will fit.

 

[ecupir8]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

ok let me start over, im not buying a kit.

I am going to buy an alternator, and fabricate brackets, wire it, and get a belt for it.

currently, I have a stator, with 2 yellow wires with red stripes connected to the water cooled regulator.

with that said, what alternator would be a good choice to start with, and if anyone might happen to know, how should I wire it?

 

[Bondo]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

Just get a Delco 1 wire,+ Get Rid of the Water-Cooled Regulator......

 

[andy1canada]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

Howdy from Canada!

I've seen these kits on ebay. Check out the pics of the parts of the kits. Bravo on building your own. As Bondo mentioned, disable the entire stock stator/regulator setup. I'd probably also plug the coolant hose to the reg if it's part of the closed system.

Don't know if your missing magnets will cause balancing issues?

I'd also recommend you join the forum at 'Breezeworks'. It's a forum for 470/Merc owners. There's a lot of good people there who've bin-dare/dun-dat with these engines.

Good Luck!
Terry

 

[ecupir8]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

yeah bond-o that looks like the ticket. it looks like Im going with a delco one wire, then bypass the regulator by splicing 2 wires in the harness to the one wire from the alternator. there is a great PDF on ebasicpower.com for the alternator conversion with wiring details.

I dont think all the magnets being broken off is going to cause a problem, however it might. I would have to assume that the magnets had been broken free for a while and one finally shot out of the balancer. I am going to clean the inside of the balancer very well, then run it.

 

[JoChek219]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

I have a 3.7L that I put a alt. conversion on my boat last summer...got it from breezeworks.net... $200 with brackets and alt. 63 or 65 amp 1 wire.... simple to do, works great!

 

[ecupir8]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

nice find on the breezeworks kit! they sell just the mount for $89, I can get the alternator for $60 and Im golden, which is a great deal I think.

however their kit does not look all the stout, but their low mount kit is setup exactly how I need it, it gives me some good ideas

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

Use a GM single wire, has a built in reg.
For Andy from Canada, dont plug that hose or you`ll overheat.thats the water inlet to the engine.

 

[imported_sharkin95]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

remove the voltage regulator and insert a 5/8 brass coupling with 2 clamps, by the way that is not the hose that comes from the f/w outdrive.next buy a delco 1 wire 65 amp alternator (e-bay 65-75.00)then log on to www wagner alternators. download the manual and it shows in detail how to wire in the new alternator. as for the magnets in the pulley housing if they are not broken leave in, if they are broken remove all of them.so you won't have an out of balance situation.fabricate your own mount by seeing how they mount there's that comes with kit.Not to difficult.shouldn't cost you more than 100.00 bucks for everything.

 

[ecupir8]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

remove the voltage regulator and insert a 5/8 brass coupling with 2 clamps, by the way that is not the hose that comes from the f/w outdrive.next buy a delco 1 wire 65 amp alternator (e-bay 65-75.00)then log on to www wagner alternators. download the manual and it shows in detail how to wire in the new alternator. as for the magnets in the pulley housing if they are not broken leave in, if they are broken remove all of them.so you won't have an out of balance situation.fabricate your own mount by seeing how they mount there's that comes with kit.Not to difficult.shouldn't cost you more than 100.00 bucks for everything.

can you read minds? ha that is my plan exactly.
I actually got the wiring details from ebasicpower.com, its the wagner PDF file, so im good on that.

as far as the brass coupling goes, I might as well just replace the whole hose and not have it spliced, its 17 years old anyway. the only cost for this project is going to the the alternator at $54, I have plenty of wire to wire it, and of course plenty of steel to fabricate my mount. I am going to have to modify my engine cover slightly, but I have a guy that used to do glass on custom boats, so I think he will hook it up.

 

[imported_sharkin95]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

I Have Been Where You Are Going.just Call Me The Amazing Kreskin.....lol

 

[Soldier Bouy]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

I Have Been Where You Are Going.just Call Me The Amazing Kreskin.....lol

I am wondering, if the regulator fails, why not replace it with another external marine voltage regulator, they are only about $40

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

deleted

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: 3.7 mercruiser alternator conversion

I am wondering, if the regulator fails, why not replace it with another external marine voltage regulator, they are only about $40

You are responding to dead thread from 2007.... and the original poster hasn't logged on here since then.

The 3.7 engine doesn't use a standard alternator and you have the correct water cooled voltage regulator .... or convert it to a belt driven alternator.