Originally Posted by
e
Good day everyone,
I just finished installing an alternator kit in a conquest, and thought i would let everyone hear some feedback on the install and results.
The machine is a 98 with a FD620 Kawi. I purchased the kit from a local dealer for somewhere around the $500 mark.
I tried the install with the engine in the body. I am sure it is possible, but it truly was not worth it to me. I yanked the engine and did the install on the bench.
The kit is well made, and the fit and finish was perfect. I have no complaints at all about the quality of the kit.
The instructions, on the other hand, leave a lot to be desired. It really isnt rocket science to figure out how to install it, but the hardware description in the manual sucks. Plain and simple.
The wiring part of the kit is easy. One end hooks to the regulator on the alt, as well as the main charging lug on the alt. The other end hooks to the 6 prong connector on the old external voltage regulator, and the batter + lead. 2 leads run to the voltage indicator light in the dash. My only complaint was the lack of a matched connector between the Alternator kit harness and the old voltage regulator harness. The 2 have to connect together, but the wiring connectors are slightly different, causing a need for a large amount of electrical tape.
I fired the machine up last night, and it is a world of difference. At idle, my volt meter sits right at 14 volts. With the stock system, the only time the meter read 14V was at full RPM.
I installed a new group 45/60 battery at the same time, just a standard battery, not a deep cycle or anything fancy. I tried as hard as i could last night to kill that battery. I have 2 4500lb winches on my machine, and even using both of those i could not load the system down. The lights are nice and bright, and dont dim at all at idle.
All in all, i think it was money well spent. At the end of the day, it wouldnt be that hard to build the kit yourself, but for me it was the time factor that caused me to just buy the kit and skip trying to build brackets.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.