CobraRGuy
Member
Hi All,
I wanted to share some experience with you that may help others avoid the problems I've seen.
The 1995 Cobra R came with an under-drive (larger) alternator pulley since Ford thought saving a little drag might help the Cobra R be more competitive. They figured these cars would not be sitting in traffic idling at night with the lights on and the cooling fans turning on and off.
In my case, that's what I ended up having to do at times. After adding the MSD ignition and big Mallory fuel pump, one evening my alternator fried at night in traffic. I decided I needed an upgraded alternator, so I bought a Powermaster unit. I transferred the pulley from the old alternator to the new. Unfortunately that Powermaster alternator fried also. Hmm. I was told that putting a heavy load on the alternator while spinning it too slowly will do that. I bought another Powermaster and a stock sized pulley. Things were fine for a while but I was getting some fluctuations in voltage. The headlights would dim and brighten randomly. I traced that issue to a loose ground wire. With that fixed, I decided to go ahead and replace the voltage regulator with the exact same brand and part number that Powermaster used.
I took the car to Sonoma for an event and the car died during an open track session. The car was completely lifeless, no gauges, no lights, no starter, no nothing. It turns out that Transpo had been acquired by a large corporation, and their bean counters decided they could increase their profits by moving their production from the USA to China. The new voltage regulator I had just installed had failed into a completely unregulated mode.
This really screwed my car up and took it out of commission for a couple of years. Upon speaking to Powermaster, they informed me that they no longer use Transpo for that very reason. Their regulators were failing all over the place and damaging people's cars like mine. Friggin' bean counters...
The MSD HVC ignition box, the MSD distributor pickup, the fuel pump, lots of fuses and a bunch of wiring were all fried. I called Transpo and complained to them and they hung up on me. Clearly I was NOT the first person to complain about their failing regulators. For these reasons, I suggest that people avoid them.
I don't have the alternator here, so I can't tell you what brand Powermaster is using now, but once I have that back I'll provide an update.
Thanks, CobraRGuy
I wanted to share some experience with you that may help others avoid the problems I've seen.
The 1995 Cobra R came with an under-drive (larger) alternator pulley since Ford thought saving a little drag might help the Cobra R be more competitive. They figured these cars would not be sitting in traffic idling at night with the lights on and the cooling fans turning on and off.
In my case, that's what I ended up having to do at times. After adding the MSD ignition and big Mallory fuel pump, one evening my alternator fried at night in traffic. I decided I needed an upgraded alternator, so I bought a Powermaster unit. I transferred the pulley from the old alternator to the new. Unfortunately that Powermaster alternator fried also. Hmm. I was told that putting a heavy load on the alternator while spinning it too slowly will do that. I bought another Powermaster and a stock sized pulley. Things were fine for a while but I was getting some fluctuations in voltage. The headlights would dim and brighten randomly. I traced that issue to a loose ground wire. With that fixed, I decided to go ahead and replace the voltage regulator with the exact same brand and part number that Powermaster used.
I took the car to Sonoma for an event and the car died during an open track session. The car was completely lifeless, no gauges, no lights, no starter, no nothing. It turns out that Transpo had been acquired by a large corporation, and their bean counters decided they could increase their profits by moving their production from the USA to China. The new voltage regulator I had just installed had failed into a completely unregulated mode.
This really screwed my car up and took it out of commission for a couple of years. Upon speaking to Powermaster, they informed me that they no longer use Transpo for that very reason. Their regulators were failing all over the place and damaging people's cars like mine. Friggin' bean counters...
The MSD HVC ignition box, the MSD distributor pickup, the fuel pump, lots of fuses and a bunch of wiring were all fried. I called Transpo and complained to them and they hung up on me. Clearly I was NOT the first person to complain about their failing regulators. For these reasons, I suggest that people avoid them.
I don't have the alternator here, so I can't tell you what brand Powermaster is using now, but once I have that back I'll provide an update.
Thanks, CobraRGuy
