Alternator Replacement

[Bill & Katryna Russell]

I have a 1989 C34 with original alternator.  Want to upgrade to match current battery capacity - 4 6V for house and 1 starting battery for engine.  Engine is 25XP.  What has been the experience as to largest size recommended for engine and do I need to replace or change the wirining harness?  I upgraded the harness per the recommendations of Catalina some 3 years ago. Thanks for your input.

[Fulvio]

It may not be the largest possible, but an excellent upgrade is provided by http://www.thebatteryshack.com/.  Call and ask them for a replacement of the standard alternator for Catalina 34s with Universal M25XP.  I got it last fall and it's possibly the easiest solution, as you won't need to change anything (harness, belt, bracket, etc).  It's internally regulated, puts out 100 Amps, much cheaper than the big name brands, and is the same size as the standard Motorola.

Actually, come to think of it, I did have to change the belt, because the one I used with the Motorola was just a tad too long for even the outermost position on the tensioning bracket.

Fulvio Casali
Seattle WA
Soliton
#929 (1989)

[tsoko]

Bill,
I have a C36 with the M25XP.  I think Ron offers excellent advice as to the max size for our engines.  You might want to read the following article on the C36 webiste.  Rodd did lots of research, and came up with what I think is a great solution.  I followed his lead, and installed the same (90A) alternator this past spring.  I already had an alternator regulator (which I personally think is a more important upgrade than the alternator), and the results have been exacly as expected: wonderful!.  I honestly can't understand why people spend $4-500 on a big-name alternator and then have huge problems modifying brackets, etc. for them to fit.  Just my humble opinion.

http://www.catalina36.org/Article_alternator-battery.htm

[BillR]

Thanks for the help.  Appreciated. :)