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

TylerW said
So, has anyone noticed the funny business Mopar used with their alternator ratings? Oh, I know there were supposed to be different ratings available on paper in different years, but I spent some time looking through parts books recently and found some interesting stuff. Let me clarify that I'm not a charging system expert or an alternator expert. Perhaps there is an unlisted component involved that changes the output of the alternator, but I'm not certain what that would be.

I looked at the 1965 through '69 parts books first. In 1965 and '66 there were two "common" alternators available...the "830" alternator which was a 30-amp unit, and the "850" alternator which was a 50-amp unit. The parts listings, including rotor, stataor, rectifiers and everything else appears to be identical. In '67 and '68, there were 3 alternators, the "537" 37-amp unit, the 850, and the "010" 60-amp unit. Now everything started to be more accurate...there were two different rotors, 3 different stators and two different rectifiers. That makes sense.

In '69 there were nearly a dozen part numbers that I didn't want to work through, so I skipped to 1972. The 8803, 8804 and 8806 are the 34, 41 and 50-amp units. Again, no difference in components. Skip to 1974, same deal. The first three alternators are even in the same column by now. So, are the parts books telling the techs to build them all back as 50-amp units if they had one fail, even if that's not what the car came with? Were they charging(ha ha, get it?) customers for a higher-output alternator even when they already had one?

I actually have two unrebuilt 1974 alternators on hand. One is 34-amp, one is a 50-amp. They look identical except for the tags.They both have the same green stator. Maybe there a difference, but the book says no.

Well just something I found curious but not surprising. Yes, there are more alternator applications than I mentioned.

I do not know what the difference would be to change the amps output possible. The rotor contains the feild windings and to get a stronger magnetic field for more output should entail either heavier wires for more field current or more winds of wire. Similar for the stator, more winds for more current.
Now the rectifier is diodes that need to be big enough for the expected current they are expected to handle. The rectifier from a 100A alternator if physically the same size as one from a 30A alternator should
function fine. The rectifier from the 30A may not last in the 100A alternator.
Alternator output is a function of the rotor and stator windings. The regulator only controls field current to limit the output voltage. Apply full field current to an alternator and it can output 100+ volts.
Looking at the books, alternator outputs have steadily increased over the years to balance with the loads. The difference between a car with a 30A alternator and another with a 50A alternator was likely AC.