30, 41, 46, 50 amp alternators? Yeah RIGHT

TylerW said

Great information. So it sounds like I need to find a used alternator testing machine, if one of those is capable of loading the alternator.
Curious though....why wouldn't Chrysler build just one "50-amp" alternator instead of going to the trouble of building different units such as the 34 and 41-amp versions? Oh well, guess we'll never really know how they were built without disassembling a bunch of unrebuilt units, which are dwindling.

Click to expand...

Yes. A machine. Specifically one that allows control of load, rpm and voltage would be really interesting.
However, depending on what you are trying to do, the most affordable/accessible testing can be done on the car.
The specs are in the service manuals. Different from the time the manuals were written is the ready availability of inductive clamps for measuring amperage.
Keep any test time to the mximum loads at a minumum. That's a downside of in-car testing.