# What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T?



## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

I just installed my new system and my electrical system is getting killed. This morning on the way to work I had on the defroster, headlights, fog lights and my stereo. The ABS and ASR lights kept coming on. I VAG-COMed the car and I had several codes for voltage too low and one for the MAF voltage too high.
The stock alternator is 90A, what other more powerful OEM alternators will bolt right in?
I am running 1/0 from the battery to the rear where the amps are. I have 2 amps a JL Audio 450/4 and a 500/1. I also am running a two .5 farad caps. I have the ECS underdrive pulleys installed but am considering going back to stock to get more power at idle.
Will upgrading the magic 3 under the hood to 1/0 gauge help my situation at all?
I am also looking at installing a second battery and the Lightning Audio SSR 2002 after this mornings episode.
Here are a few pics of the almost final setup, still need to build a floor to go over the entire setup and covers for the caps and x-overs.
























Thanks!




_Modified by Little Red Wagon at 8:36 PM 4-26-2004_


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## FuturaYell00 (Apr 11, 2004)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

I had a buddy who had the same problem. He was runing about he same watts as you with his W6. What he did is bought a 5 farad capacitor. It's acutally very small, about the size of a cd changer cartridge. I think it cost him about $225, but it solved all the problems, no more dimming lights when the bass hit, or other low voltage signs, this was in a 97 jetta. He got it from a place here in bellevue called Innovative audio. Hope this helps, it may be a route you want to take.
BTW: your set up looks great! How long have you been working on it?? Is the sub box fiberglass or MDF??


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (FuturaYell00)*


_Quote, originally posted by *FuturaYell00* »_
BTW: your set up looks great! How long have you been working on it?? Is the sub box fiberglass or MDF??

Thanks, not sure of total time of the build, I mainly worked on it on weekends only. I spent all of last weekend installing the door speakers, mounting the amps and eq, building the cap housing, finishing the amp rack and carpeting all of it.
I still need to go back and finish a few details, I was trying get it done for a show. (which I did not make)








The sub box is fiberglass and MDF. The fiberglass part fits inside of the spare tire and the MDF part sits on top of the spare tire. The amp rack lifts up so I still have access to the spare.


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## FuturaYell00 (Apr 11, 2004)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

Very nice, I actually built a sub box for my GTI last weekend, same design, my fiberglass sits in the spare tire, then the mdf, and above that is my false floor.


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## Lexi (Jun 18, 2000)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (FuturaYell00)*

I'm not sure why you're having a problem, I run much more power than you do and its not an issue for me. Before anything I'd replace the battery, something like an Optima Yellowtop. I never bothered with caps, the yellowtop put an end to the lights dimming rather quickly.


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (FuturaYell00)*

as far as capacitors go, from what all of the experts here have to say, they're worthless unless your getting into huge ammount... like arround 8 farad +, a capacitor, as you've learned, really won't fix your problem
also your stock alternator is actually 150A, its the 2.0l that have the 90a alternator, anyways, i'm almost definitely sure theres not a company that makes a direct bolt on replacement alternator for the mkIV's... i read once some guy got someone to build a custom bracket so he could use a GM like 200A alternator... but thats extremely expensive
i would suggest trying out the 'Big 3' as seen on sounddomain.com forum, i looked arround but apparently there is some sort of hard glue over my alternator's + bolt, so i couldn't run 0gauge wire from my battery to the alternator, but i was easily able to do lots of extra grounding
if you rewire the alternator PLEASE post pics, becausei 'm htinking about doing it to just to make my alternator last a little longer
if you do the big three, and your still having problems you justh ave to decide ify ou want to go the route of a huge ass capacitor or a new alternator, the capacitor has a good chance of fixing the problem(assuming its huge and good quality), but the alternator should definitely fix your problem
also do you have a good high quality ground point?
also most importantly, are you GAINS set correctly??????? your gains, if set wrong could be pulling LOTS more power out of your car than you think, which i suspect could be atleast a small part of your problem, look on soundomain.com for a good write up on a faily easy way to set your gains with only some tones and a multimeter


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*

Thanks for the input.

_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_also your stock alternator is actually 150A, its the 2.0l that have the 90a alternator

I checked the alternator this morning it has a BIG *90A* right on the label. Is there a 150A that will drop into place from a different VW model?

_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_
i would suggest trying out the 'Big 3' as seen on sounddomain.com forum, i looked arround but apparently there is some sort of hard glue over my alternator's + bolt, so i couldn't run 0gauge wire from my battery to the alternator, but i was easily able to do lots of extra grounding
if you rewire the alternator PLEASE post pics, becausei 'm htinking about doing it to just to make my alternator last a little longer
if you do the big three, and your still having problems you justh ave to decide ify ou want to go the route of a huge ass capacitor or a new alternator, the capacitor has a good chance of fixing the problem(assuming its huge and good quality), but the alternator should definitely fix your problem

I will take a look at the alternator more closely and see what the limitations of rewiring it are.

_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_also do you have a good high quality ground point?

Right now I am using the OEM ground point in the rear of the car by the drivers side tail light. I assume that is acceptable.

_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_also most importantly, are you GAINS set correctly??????? your gains, if set wrong could be pulling LOTS more power out of your car than you think, which i suspect could be atleast a small part of your problem, look on soundomain.com for a good write up on a faily easy way to set your gains with only some tones and a multimeter

The sensativity should be set correctly according to the JL user manuals for my amps, I set them with a digital multimeter.


_Modified by Little Red Wagon at 8:19 AM 4-27-2004_


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## premiersound (Feb 22, 2004)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

Just thought i would jump in here...
for your alternator try hopping over to termpro.com its all car audio related and there is someone on every forum to help you.
Theres a guy by the name of Dominick in the alternator/power forum he owns a buisiness that specifies in upgraded alternators. I got priced for a 250A alternator at $550 and some change. WHich is alot but not if you think of how much you could add to your system if you wanted to. They do have smaller alternators too......best part is they drop right in where your stock alt was...... http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
On jl's webpage there is a section that basically says power caps make cool looking paper weights unless used in massive systems. they only work for about .5 seconds (not 100% sure of that) and then have to recharge, thus further draining from you system. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif maybe if your doing db drag or something you could get some use out of those .5 farads (maybe)
get a optima yellow top, you wont regret it....


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (premiersound)*

whoops, sorry not 150A, but it should definitely be 120A... read arround, for a 1.8t you should definitely have a 120A alternator, not question about it,if you have 90A alternator that could very well be your problem
manufacturing mess up possibly? i duno, think about calling your dealer about tit though b/c from my understanding ALL 1.8ts ever made have the 120A alternator
one thing i thought i would point out is that you can get a Eurovan alternator which is 150A, and i've heard its a simple bolt on replacement, but i'm not sure how expensive that would be


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*

well my car is a Jetta wagon, manufactured in Germany, that may be why the alternator is only 90A.
I think the Eurovan 105A is pretty pricey, but I will look into it. For the money I would spend on that I could have high output alternator built.
Thanks for the input!


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (premiersound)*


_Quote, originally posted by *premiersound* »_Just thought i would jump in here...
for your alternator try hopping over to termpro.com its all car audio related and there is someone on every forum to help you.
Theres a guy by the name of Dominick in the alternator/power forum he owns a buisiness that specifies in upgraded alternators. I got priced for a 250A alternator at $550 and some change. WHich is alot but not if you think of how much you could add to your system if you wanted to. They do have smaller alternators too......best part is they drop right in where your stock alt was...... http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 
On jl's webpage there is a section that basically says power caps make cool looking paper weights unless used in massive systems. they only work for about .5 seconds (not 100% sure of that) and then have to recharge, thus further draining from you system. http://****************.com/smile/emthdown.gif maybe if your doing db drag or something you could get some use out of those .5 farads (maybe)
get a optima yellow top, you wont regret it....


Thanks for the help. Just ordered some more 1/0 wire and connectors to upgrade the 'big 3' and I will be getting an optima to replace my OEM battery this week. Also going to contact Dominick about getting a HO alternator.


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

please do post pics when you rewire the alternator, i really wanna know how you did itm, thanks


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## EG 337 (May 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*

On the 120A vs 90A issue, it is my understanding that only models with heated seats get the 120A alternator nowadays. I know my 337 only got the 90A which I was pretty unhappy about. I think it used to be that all models got 120A, not sure what year was the cutoff.


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (EG 337)*


_Quote, originally posted by *EG 337* »_On the 120A vs 90A issue, it is my understanding that only models with heated seats get the 120A alternator nowadays. I know my 337 only got the 90A which I was pretty unhappy about. I think it used to be that all models got 120A, not sure what year was the cutoff.

I wish that was the case, I have heated seats. Guess again.


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## Zoso (Sep 19, 2000)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

A second battery will only hurt your charging ability. a second battery is only really good for extended play with the alternator off, ie car not running. 
Maybe look into Batcap. I have heard great things about them.
vwparts.com has the 120amp alts for $512 + 4100 core charge. OUCH!


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Zoso)*

hm.... maybe i don't have that 120A alternator after all..... you guys got me scared lol, i'll check it out tomorrow... where on the alternator does it say 90A or 120A or w/e? i have a 1.8t w/ heated seats.... however i run a full 500 watts rms off o the alternator w/o even a chance of dimming jsut fyi


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*


_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_hm.... maybe i don't have that 120A alternator after all..... you guys got me scared lol, i'll check it out tomorrow... where on the alternator does it say 90A or 120A or w/e? i have a 1.8t w/ heated seats.... however i run a full 500 watts rms off o the alternator w/o even a chance of dimming jsut fyi

Pop the hood, the alternator is in the front on the passenger side, the label should be easily viewable and it should have the amp rating at the top of the label.


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

Well I contacted Dom about an alternator. He gave me two options based on the info I provided him.
180A which produces 110A at idle for $399
Or
200A which produces 95A at idle for $439
If anyone is looking to upgrade their alternator contact Dom Iraggi - [email protected]
I will be upgrading the big 3 this weekend, but will most likely hold off on the alternator to batter wire until the new alternator comes in. *Don't worry flashback, I will take pics.* http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif Did you ever look to see what size your alternator was?


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*


_Quote, originally posted by *Little Red Wagon* »_*Don't worry flashback, I will take pics.* http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif 

ahahah thanks







, also let me know how the whole new alternator goes, i don't know if you've already ordered it, but it maybe be worth a shot trying out the big 3 before you spend all that money on a new alternator, your problem could really be as simple as a loose ground connection, corroded/messed up ground wire/alternator wire, but good luck with the alternator
and btw i went outside and looked on mine, it says 90A on it... man am i supprised... i've had SO many people assure me that its a 120A alternator...







i'm sorta pissed now....but i'm not going to worry about it until i actually get some problems, like light dimming etc


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*


_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_ man am i supprised... i've had SO many people assure me that its a 120A alternator...







i'm sorta pissed now....but i'm not going to worry about it until i actually get some problems, like light dimming etc

That's the vortex for you








I have semi committed to the alternator, but still had a few questions about warranty. I took a quick peek at the wiring from the alternator to the battery and it does not seem too bad, just about a 4 foot run but under the intake and stuff so it seems more difficult than it is. My order for power wire has not come in yet, I do not expect it until mid next week. The wife is out of town next week end so I should be able to get it all done with out interuption.








Knowing that the alternator will drop into the factory spot with out issue I may do the alternator to battery before the new alternator comes in. I will keep you posted.


_Modified by Little Red Wagon at 10:19 AM 5-1-2004_


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## Non_Affiliated (Feb 12, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

Funny how the word is getting out







, I for the most part have been telling people that want upgraded HO alts to hit up Dom.


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Non_Affiliated)*

ok ya man, i'm now in almost the same ballpark as you,now i've finished fully breaking in my sub, and i'm getting some fair dimming(500watts rms to the sub)... and i'm just like wtf....i also found out from my vw dealer that its just 'luck' depending on whrether you get the 90A or 120A... wtf is that... but w/e... i'm wanting to add an mtx thunder 202 (50watts rms X2) for some new front speakers i'll be putting in soon, and i'm just scared that everything is going to die then... i simply don't have the 400-500 that it would cost to get another alternator, so i'm going to give the 0/1 gauge alternator wire a shot, does anyone know if it needs to be fused when i run it from the battery to the alternator? or is ok to run just the wire? thanks in advance


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*


_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_ so i'm going to give the 0/1 gauge alternator wire a shot, does anyone know if it needs to be fused when i run it from the battery to the alternator? or is ok to run just the wire? thanks in advance

Yes it needs to be fused for the amount of amps the wire can handle, I am going to fuse mine at 300A.


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*








hm so yet another hitch... i'm guessing for a 300a fuse, fuse holder, wire, terminals, and all
i'm going to be looking about 40 or 50 bucks... grrrr
i'll just see how yours comes out lol
and btw, on your stock alternator, is there a white clump of glue over the bolt that attaches the + terminal from the battery?


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*


_Quote, originally posted by *flashback* »_and btw, on your stock alternator, is there a white clump of glue over the bolt that attaches the + terminal from the battery?
 I have not pulled it out yet, I think I am going to get around to it this weekend. Once I do I will get some pics and post them.


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## nsingh9 (Jun 24, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*

Gonna keep an eye on this...
My friend has a '00 vr6 w/ a full system, screens ps2, spare battery, etc..
He thinks he needs to upgrade the Altenator in the car because of the extra volts on the system. Just trying to see if there is any direct replacement high-current altenators available?


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (nsingh9)*

hey man, btw if u haven't alreayd ordered your new alternator(wasn't really clear if you had or not) you might want to consider calling shops in your area and asking them if they can rewind it for you. I've heard you can get up to 130A out of your alternator, and its arround 1-2 bucks per additional amp normally, just thought i'd let you know as i just found this out, i'm calling some shops arround here tomorrow
but then again looking at your system 130a probalby woudn't evenbe enough


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## Little Red Wagon (Jun 7, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*

I have not ordered the alternator yet. I just upgraded the big 3 and I am going to remove my under drive pulleys and put the OEM's back on before I shell out for the alternator.
I did however upgrade the big 3 to 1/0 AWG over the weekend, sorry no pics. (Wife took the camera to Las Vegas) I will see what I can do to get pics this week.
There was a plastic black cap over the nut that holds the power wire to the alternator, pop that off to reveal the 13 mm nut. Also on my car, 2002 Jetta wagon GLS, there were 4 other wires that lead from the drivers side of the car to the passenger side of the car that were wrapped in the same wire protection as the battery to alternator wire. 2 of the additional wires went to the alternator, the other 2 another plug just below it bit. I just cut them out and ran along the new wire and put some loom around them.
1. I replaced the alternator to battery positive wire. I ran the wire to the distribution block on top of the battery, no new fuse holder needed, but you will need a dremel to make room for the much larger wire. I also had to disassemble the fused distribution block to do it that way and ran a bigger wire from the distribution block to the battery positive. 
2. I replaced the wire from the battery negative to chassis ground.
3. I replaced the wire from chassis ground to the engine block/ transmission. The OEM wire for this was tapped into the battery negative to chassis ground under the battery tray. So the battery negative to chassis ground to engine block/transmission was one piece. I ran two separate wires to replace it.


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## UbrGubr (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (Little Red Wagon)*

So was the issue resolved with the upgraded wires?


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (UbrGubr)*

i'm currious also what ended up happenign w/ your car

i actually just got up the balls, bought some 0/1 gauge wire, some hella expensive ring terminals and went at it, actually wasn't that hard, and now my car idles at 14 VOLTS! yay..... i duno if thats good... but before i was idling at about 13.4... soi'm happy... and hte dimming.. well i actually haven't noticed any yet... but i guessi shoudl test that... definitel yworth the upgrade though


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## UbrGubr (Jul 31, 2002)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (flashback)*

So the "BIG 3" is upgrading the 3 things that he listed above?


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## flashback (Nov 23, 2003)

*Re: What upgraded alternator to use for AWP 1.8T? (UbrGubr)*

well what i have done, in total, is upgrade the grounding a LOT w/ lots of 4 gague wire, and then upgraded the alternator wiring w/ the 1/0 gauge wire
those are 'two' i think.... the third i believe is upgrading the wire from the alternator groundpost to the battery or chassis, however on my gti i wasn't able to find the ground post, and i'm happy enough as it is, i'm htinking about writing up a whole tutorial for everything when i get some time w/ pics and all


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