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Lysholmrado L I have a 03 GTI 1.8t and it has the 90a alternator. I am getting major dimming when I crank the system wide open. Does anyone with a similar setup have any experience upgrading to the 120a alternator from the mk4 VR6? Is there a drastic improvement? Is this a direct swap without modifcation? jl 500/1 on a 10w7 jl 300/4 bridged on a set of boston pro 60 components I have one of the bigger rockford fosgate amp kits not sure on the gauge. gains are all set according to JL manual. Modified by Lysholmrado at 1:46 PM 5-23-2007 #1 · May 23, 2007 I have a 03 GTI 1.8t and it has the 90a alternator. I am getting major dimming when I crank the system wide open. Does anyone with a similar setup have any experience upgrading to the 120a alternator from the mk4 VR6? Is there a drastic improvement? Is this a direct swap without modifcation? jl 500/1 on a 10w7 jl 300/4 bridged on a set of boston pro 60 components I have one of the bigger rockford fosgate amp kits not sure on the gauge. gains are all set according to JL manual. Modified by Lysholmrado at 1:46 PM 5-23-2007 Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · May 23, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado) Have you upgraded your grounding wires in the engine bay? #3 · May 23, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (LETTERMAN52) no i have not done anything but add the stereo to the car #4 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado) For the price of a OEM alt just go bigger. http://stores.ebay.com/Iraggi-...onics Dominick Iraggi of Iraggi Alternator Dominick Iraggi 1-615-287-7991 Shop 1-615-594-8965 Cell Just ask for Dominick Or e-mail. [email protected] Just tell him Don (Non_affiliated) refered ya. #5 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado) It is my belief that your grounds are inadequate. Not the ones for the amp but the ones for the battery. #6 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (LETTERMAN52) I will try the ground upgraded first then if that does nothing I will check out those alternators suggested. #7 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado) Iraggi Alts are definitely the way to go if you're going to upgrade. Talk to him and he'll let you know exactly what you need based on your situation. If I had to guess I'd say you're running 4 guage to those amps. Pretty sure 8 would be too small and if you are running 8 you should upgrade. As for the engine compartment the big 3 is always a good idea to upgrade. #8 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Calinada) I looked at the main battery cable and it is 2 gauge wire. the rest is 8 gauge going to the amps and their grounds as well. #9 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado)

Quote, originally posted by Lysholmrado »

I looked at the main battery cable and it is 2 gauge wire. the rest is 8 gauge going to the amps and their grounds as well.

It may be but what about the rest of the grounding wires. Alternator and so on? #10 · May 24, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado)

Quote, originally posted by Lysholmrado »

I looked at the main battery cable and it is 2 gauge wire. the rest is 8 gauge going to the amps and their grounds as well.

Are you saying the guage going from the battery to the amp is 2 guage or the ground on the battery is 2? Have the guage of the ground for the amp match the guage of your + to the amp. That should help. #11 · Jul 3, 2007 I was curious to find out, did the big 3 fix the issue? I actually am very close to buying a 120A alternator for the same reason (though I'm only pulling 500w RMS). My lights will dim when I'm driving. Also, is there anything you need to do besides the physical swapping? Like... new grounds or anything? #12 · Jul 3, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (Lysholmrado) Definitely look at your ground wire first. If you are still getting dimming, upgrade the alternator. I don't know if you can use alternators from other VWs in your GTI, but my W8 has a 150a alternator. I had a 90a in my GTI 337 with the exact same two JL amps and no dimming.... so I am guessing the ground is the key. I used some 0 gauge wire for my common ground in the rear of the car and a 0 gauge wire for the battery ground. #13 · Jul 3, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (gweedo) I have done the 120A alternator upgrade. I did it because I killed the 90A with 1300W RMS. Here is the link to the Alternator DIY that I made in the MK4 forums. http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2553076 It is a direct swap, and only takes a couple hours at most. You need to upgrade your grounds. That will be the biggest help. If you have bad grounds, the alternator will do nothing for you. #14 · Jul 4, 2007 Re: 120a alternator upgrade worth it? (JDriver1.8t)

Quote, originally posted by JDriver1.8t »

I have done the 120A alternator upgrade. I did it because I killed the 90A with 1300W RMS. Here is the link to the Alternator DIY that I made in the MK4 forums. http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2553076 It is a direct swap, and only takes a couple hours at most. You need to upgrade your grounds. That will be the biggest help. If you have bad grounds, the alternator will do nothing for you.

Thanks! Perfect... I'm going to redo my grounds and see what happens then. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif Insert Quotes Post Reply

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