alternator upgrade please help (1 Viewer)

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Fj60hunter

Fj60hunter

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i have been looking through several other threads pertaining to alternator conversions there is so many i am lost and confused. can anyone point me in the right direction for a good write up on this upgrade that includes wiring. i am upgrading because of the winch and lights and dual battery system i just installed and need more power. thanks
 
There really is a LOT of good info already on Mud about alternators. Search, search, search.

I can share my personal experience about using an electric winch and choosing a suitable alternator.

My experience has revealed that for winching (while using dual batteries), a stock 55 amp alternator is sufficient for any typical 4WD electric winch. A larger alternator won't help you winch significantly faster, if at all, because preventing winch overheating will be the limiting factor.
Using lots of big lights may be a different story, and a larger alternator can help with that.

A couple years ago in Mexico, I winched a fully loaded FJ60 up a 47º slope for a distance 160 ft. It took 8 hours to make it to the top.
  • Winch: Warn M10k (with a fan mounted under it's motor)
  • Alternator: Stock Toyota 55 Amp
  • Batteries: 2 AGM batteries total of 1700 CCA.
  • Ambient Temp: 72º
  • Pulleys used: Two for a 3:1 advantage.
Winching was done in 25 ft. segments before the cable was re-rigged 25 ft. further up the line. It took a total of 6 re-rigs before the vehicle made it to the top.

The limiting factor on winching up this hill was avoiding winch overheating… not alternator charging ability. The 55 amp alternator could charge up the batteries fast enough between the short 45 second pulls on the winch before it had to shut down to cool .. (and allow for the batteries to recharge). The run time to cool-down/charge time was about 1:8 to 1:9.

A few times I got impatient and ran the winch longer (ran volts below 11.8 V) or restarted sooner.. and the winch overheated and stalled because I had not let it cool down sufficiently. This happened three times. I was lucky I did not burn out the winch.

On this slope, on a 72º day, with this winch, with two pulleys… any alternator larger than 55 amps would not have got me to the top of the hill any faster… It was the waiting for winch cool-down that was the bottleneck.

A properly set up hydraulic winch on the other hand… would have been SWEET!
 
Your vehicle wiring was designed for your stock alternator. It is extremely advisable to upgrade the current carrying capability of your wiring if you increase the maximum current output of your alternator. My 2 cents
 
look into a cs144, 100 amps at idle and they are great, there is a write up in the 80 series section on it, there are a lot of toyota options also, for price and availability the cadillac/gm cs144 160amp its about the best.. make sure you up grade the wiring going away from the alt, I use #2 welding cable and make my own ends, yes its overkill, also put a inline buss fuse in the power side, if you find a surburan with a cs144, they have a great little fuse holder on the fan shroud, with the correct 175amp fuse..
 
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RAYJON said:
look into a cs144, 100 amps at idle and they are great, there is a write up in the 80 series section on it, there are a lot of toyota options also, for price and availability the cadillac/gm cvs144 160amp its about the best.. make sure you up grade the wiring going away from the alt, I use #2 welding cable and make my own ends, yes its overkill, also put a inline buss fuse in the power side, if you find a surburan with a cs144, they have a great little fuse holder on the fan shroud, with the correct 175amp fuse..
Click to expand...
 
what year cadillac/gm cs144 160amp do i buy. i am not able to weld to make a braket but i do have a grinder and am able to grind the ears.
 
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mid 90's cadillac without a heated winshield, or 88 or newer caprice with high amp alt 160+ gm rates the cs144 up to 200amps, it is the alternator most of the mean green and other aftermarket makers are using, has a internal and external fan and the regulator is designed to put out alot of amps at idle, the SI style, most one wire and older alternators don't put out much at idle..

here is the link for the fj80 swap

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/my-cs144-alternator-swap.632729/

these are great alternators, take a trip to pick and pull, they are used on alot of GM stuff, there are a couple for styles for mounting ears, the front mounting ears are whats important, you may have to clock the back (easy)

I haven't put one on a 2f, but it cant be that bad...
 
cs 144 was optional on vortec 5.7 powered pickups and suvs...around 96-99 year model, if you are looking for donors or parts. You might consider a single wire setup for a CS144 as well.
 
When upgrading your battery cables, I suggest that you use marine cable, not welding cable. Welding cable is not designed for this environment. Also, crimp on your ends, don't just solder them. This provides a mechanical connection.

As for the alternator upgrade, you can use almost anything. There is quite a bit of room there, and if you are willing to modify your mount, you can use anything. I personally like the huge Leece Neville units, but I'm just an overkill type guy.
 
Never thought of that, have a leece Neville on my cummins, and its a beast, on a gass motor the pulley would be huge, they are limited to 6000 prm shaft speed on the alternator.. the cummins needed a 3 inch + pulley,

but I like overkill.. and that is overkill and a half..

Welding cable isn't oil and gass resistant so if you use it be careful where you use it and shield it,

I second crimping the lines the heat shrinking, the ends..

make sure you run a buss fuse in the power off the alternator to protect the wiring and alternator, when a cs144 goes to ground it will put out an amazing amount of current.. they use them for on board welders they are that nasty..
 
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RAYJON said:
Never thought of that, have a leece Neville on my cummins, and its a beast, on a gass motor the pulley would be huge, they are limited to 6000 prm shaft speed on the alternator.. the cummins needed a 3 inch + pulley,

but I like overkill.. and that is overkill and a half..

Welding cable isn't oil and gass resistant so if you use it be careful where you use it and shield it,

I second crimping the lines the heat shrinking, the ends..

make sure you run a buss fuse in the power off the alternator to protect the wiring and alternator, when a cs144 goes to ground it will put out an amazing amount of current.. they use them for board welders they are that nasty..[/QUOTE
Click to expand...
 
I used a delco cs 130 from a 90-92 eagle premier . It fits in the stock location when the alternator uses the bracket on the pass side of the motor . You have to clearance the alternator case a bit to let the adjustment arm slide for adjustment . I actually had mine converted to a one wire setup at the local starter repair place .
 
Thanks for all the info looks like I'm going to go the cs144 route looks like I found a company that makes a bracket so no mods needed and i get 140 amps and 100 amps at idle is my understanding.
 
link
Fj60hunter said:
Thanks for all the info looks like I'm going to go the cs144 route looks like I found a company that makes a bracket so no mods needed and i get 140 amps and 100 amps at idle is my understanding.
Click to expand...
link to or the name of the company making the referenced bracket would help others..
 
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