Milano Alternator fits Spider!?...well maybe its a Milano Alt.

[John M]

Can we say 70 amps of charging power in a 78 Alfa Spider.

Can we say....bolts right in without any modifications.

Can we say....you can even run a green wire from D+ to work the dash gen light.

So I picked this puppy up after frying my 78's 55 amp crapola alternator. Rather than rebuild it again....I opted for a greasy alternator out of a ....supposedly....Milano. Same casting in the front. Same diameter mounting holes. After degreasing it....giving it a fresh coat of paint.....moved my pulley assembly and pulley spacers over from the old.....and installed a new voltage regulator/brush assembly....low and behold....it didn't work. Slapped the old voltage regulator/brush assembly in and wham.....charging

This one fit in using the old mounting hardware from my previous alternator. No belt change either.

I d/c'd the old external voltage reg wiring and ran a single green wire from the car's harness to the D+ on the alternator. Red wire from the junction box to the B+ on the alternator.

That was it. Enjoy the juice.

Best Regards,
John M

[John M]

Well...I spoke too soon.....setup seems correct but having issues when I rev up the motor. Alt light coming on. More to follow once problem figured out.

Best Regards,
John M

[dwc]

Hi John:

Your setup is correct, I've been doing this for years on pre-'75 105/115's. You can easily pull the regulator out of the alternator while it's still mounted to the engine, so do that and have a look at the brushes. Since you've also get the other Spider, you can swap regulators and see if the problem follows the regulator or stays with the '78.

Vick AutoSports sells a great adjustable regulator for ~$25, which you can set at 14.5 V, and give your battery a great charge (newer batteries need that kind of voltage), and your accessories will also operate better.

If it turns out that the alternator is failing, check out this site:

http://autoexpress.safeshopper.com/

They've got great prices, 3-yr warranty, and their rebuilts are some of the best looking ones I've seen. I've got one on my '87 Spider, and another on my wife's Volvo T5

Regards,

Dean

Quote:

Originally Posted by John M Well...I spoke too soon.....setup seems correct but having issues when I rev up the motor. Alt light coming on. More to follow once problem figured out. Best Regards, John M

[sono veL.O.ce]

I'm not saying that this is happening, but I think that people reading this tread should know that overcharging a wet cell battery can cause them to leak acid which will rapidly rust out the car.

I myself have a big hole in the trunk of my GTV where the P.O. let this happen. now I use an internally regulated bosch alternator and a dry cell battery from odyessey. Dry cells are sealed, no acid to leak, hold a great charge, mine is half the weight and a third of the size of a similar wet cell battery. plenty of cranking amps too. I think Its the pc680, they sell it for harleys!

[John M]

Good point there Sono...battery acid will make a mess for sure. The Milano alternator...I believe is the same as the series 3 spider's alternator. Either a 70 or 65 amp bosch unit with built in voltage regulator. The old solid state regulator was set at either 14 or 14.5. Not sure on the built in one.

Thanks Dean for the vote of confidence. I thought I had it wired right and have since confirmed with a couple of sources.

Honestly....didn't mess with it much today. Been working on the bumpers. I found what I was doing wrong with the new regulator. Some dufus forgot to pull the pin that retains the brushes from extending. That dufus was me! Anyway.....tried the new regulator w/ pin pulled....and its doing the same thing. I am going to pull it in the morning and go get it rebuilt somewhere. Acting like a bad diode.

I did confirm....out of a Milano.

Setup is really simple...and its a perfect fit. Now if I can just install a "good" alternator.

Best Regards,
John M

[John M]

Great link there Dean:

$83 for a rebuilt alternator as compared to $229 elsewhere.

Why I was out cruising the internet super highway....IAP has a new look to their website.

And does the series 3 and series 4 spider and the milano 2.5 have the same alternator....exactly?

Best Regards,
John M

[dwc]

I wish I still had the bookmark, but a few years ago I read an article on either a Johnson Controls or Exide site about the need for a higher charging voltage (14.5 - 14.7 V) on the batteries now being made, because of a different chemical composition than was used ~10 or 15 years ago. 13.7 volts just won't get the new wet cell batteries to a 100% charge. We've got a Volvo that's just several years old, and the factory manual has a charging spec of 14.5 to 15 volts, and the alternator measures at around 14.6, so I don't think there is any risk of an overcharge occurring. I've also got an '83 Ford beater that last Summer had a shorted regulator that was charging at almost 17 volts. Don't know how long that went on, and the Exide battery eventually failed, but didn't boil out any of its electrolyte.

As for the differences between the various Spider alternators, as far as I've seen, they all appear very similar after the early 80's. The first "big" alternator I bought was listed for a '91 Spider, which I picked out at a local Advance Auto Parts store (just by its physical characteristics) maybe 5 years ago, and it's still on my '74 Spider. My '87 Spider has one that was specifically listed as being for an '81 - '89 Spider, but it looks identical. I once bought a Milano alternator on eBay just to have as a parts unit, and it looked the same, too. The point is that any would be a huge improvement over the original unit on an early 70's car, which at best produced around 40 amps.

Don't discount the value of your local alternator shop, as they won't care that it's for an Alfa, and as generic as the Bosch units are, replacing diodes shouldn't break the bank. For the $, though, the units from Alternator-Starter Express would be tough to beat, and their rebuild quality seems top-notch. It irks me a bit when some Alfa parts vendors try to hose us on generic parts, like alternators, but hey, if they can get those prices, I guess maybe that will keep them in business for a while.

Funny aside, I recently saw a brand-new Ferrari F40 starter on eBay, with an asking price of $2400!!! The seller included some very good, detailed photos, and I happened to have the starter from my '74 Spider on the workbench while I was replacing a cracked bellhousing. I use an S4 Spider's gear-reduction starter on the '74 (a nice upgrade, BTW), and believe it or not, the part numbers on my starter were the same as the Ferrari's. My starter was $35, used, bought on eBay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by John M Great link there Dean: $83 for a rebuilt alternator as compared to $229 elsewhere. Why I was out cruising the internet super highway....IAP has a new look to their website. And does the series 3 and series 4 spider and the milano 2.5 have the same alternator....exactly? Best Regards, John M

[DavidB]

[quote=John M]
Honestly....didn't mess with it much today. Been working on the bumpers.

So John, how are those bumpers turning out?

[John M]

They are on now David....just need some tweaking and a better grill. Got to fill those two holes for that old grill piece and a little cleaning up around the bottom. All and all these went on pretty easy as Randy had advertised. Not too bad a job. I will post some more pictures and info in about a week.

In regards to the alternator....the new brushes/voltage regulator from autozone worked fine once I pulled the brush retaining pin out!!! The alternator got a new rectifier plate/diode assembly and is working like a charm now. Also...my dash lights have never been brighter.

Best Regards,
John M

[DavidB]

Drool! Lookin good
Which set did you end up using - the APE's or the extra fronts you "accidentally" bought? Did you get the rear bumper that George (Conedriver) had? Whichever, doesn't look like you had to do a lot to them.

[John M]

Hey David:

I used the ones from APE. Actually the ones off ebay were really nice and better shape from the back side than the APE ones. But they have the bumperettes that would haved needed to be swapped out. Their stainless was better too....but I ground out almost all the scratches out of the APE bumpers. I used the APE for the rear as well. It came out looking much better than expected. So, give me a week to go on the big honeymoon and when I get back I will go to work on the extra set of fronts and snap some pictures. George's extra rear should be still available too.

EDIT: And a big thanks for the compliment David! Your's well be soon looking as sharp as mine. Randy said to me over email that he has your brackets ready!

Best Regards,
John M

[DavidB]

Enjoy the honeymoon - taking the Alfa's along too?
Looking forward to seeing the rest of the pics (of the Alfa that is).

[John M]

Too funny David:

I am a crazy fool...but I don't trust that 78 like I do the 92. Usually when I drive the 78 (and did 100 miles or so this morning) I am constantly listening for weird sounds that don't belong. She is fun to drive...but in the back of my mind I am waiting for a shoe to drop.

The 92 would be going...but in the body shop still for the repaint. Maybe home by October 1st. Only time will tell. I'll snap a rear shot too and post it up before we head out. It fits really nicely, but I think my rear is a little flat across the rear (lacking the curve I would have anticipated. But it still looks really good. Check back in a few minutes.

Best Regards,
John M