Alternator upgrade issues -- seeking insights (1 Viewer)

[BloggerL]

Several months ago, a mechanic warned me against upgrading my alternator to a higher amp version. He had some technical explanation that I didn't understand and don't remember. But the gist of it was that the third-party manufacturers take some sort of shortcut to increase the amp output, and there was some kind of reliability issue associated with that shortcut.

Any electrical gurus on here have any idea what he may have been talking about?

Also, if one were to upgrade the alternator to a higher amp version, what else would be required? Would our stock battery be able to handle the higher amps? What wires or other components would need to be upgraded as well?

I'm asking because in the future I might like to add a second Yeti to my system and charge both of my Yetis at the same time while also running the AC, lights, etc.

 

[TeCKis300]

I don't have a specific answer for you on the alternator. There's some alternative strategies like an idle up controller, or dual alternator to boost output.

But may I ask what you're looking to power?

I know we often focus on charge rate, and perhaps that's not the right question? It's often as much a question of draw, hence I'm asking what you're looking to power. Yours is a specialized use case, so it may very well be about charge rate and I'm just looking to understand.

The batteries themselves should work as a good buffer to support periodic high power loads. The other part of the equation is how long you're running your car in between the loads.

As much as I enjoy the Goal Zero, your use may warrant a built in custom 200Ah+ LiFePO4 battery system?

 

[BloggerL]

I don't have a specific answer for you on the alternator. There's some alternative strategies like an idle up controller, or dual alternator to boost output.

But may I ask what you're looking to power?

I know we often focus on charge rate, and perhaps that's not the right question? It's often as much a question of draw, hence I'm asking what you're looking to power. Yours is a specialized use case, so it may very well be about charge rate and I'm just looking to understand.

The batteries themselves should work as a good buffer to support periodic high power loads. The other part of the equation is how long you're running your car in between the loads.

As much as I enjoy the Goal Zero, your use may warrant a built in custom 200Ah+ LiFePO4 battery system?

Right now, I have enough power. But in the future, I may want to be able to charge two Yetis (or even a third) at the same time. I need batteries I can quickly pull out of the vehicle and use outside of it.

 

[TeCKis300]

Makes sense.

Might be able to use a high power alternator spec'd for a Tundra? Their forums seem to have more info and feedback. Something like this:
Amazon product ASIN B07Z5FS6WV
You might also be able to find a smaller pulley to overdrive the stock alternator to get more nominal output?

 

[FrazzledHunter]

I was looking at this:
270 Amp XP High Output Alternator (Toyota Landcruiser 5.7L V8 3UR-FE LIN) - https://www.dcpowerinc.com/products/270-amp-xp-high-output-alternator-toyota-landcruiser-5-7l-v8-3ur-fe-lin-1?rq=yr_2018~mk_toyota~md_land-cruiser~le_5-7l

 

[Moby]

I've look at that and I *think* that is the same company that built my high output alternator for my 2FE. I wish I knew for sure but it was done through a 3rd party that did local rebuild and sent out for high performance build. It it is I would have 0 concerns. They used a new case, OEM bearings (per my understanding), undersized pulley and I think a better output stud.

I had dual batteries, upgraded lights and aux lights, a reasonable sound system, a massive elective radiator fan, aux transmission cooler with fan, an onboard PC (fan and heat pump cooled) under the passenger seat with an in dash touch screen. The PC ran music, phone, a Phidgets board for analog to digital input (inside and outside temp, etc), a hard-mounted wide band o2, my AFM to programmable MAF conversion (for minor tuning of the stroked 2FE). And a bunch of other stuff. Once you have a PC onboard and start writing code for all this stuff it stacks up load pretty quick. And all of this needed to work at idle.

Point being, I beat on that alt pretty hard and never had a single issue. Granted, I only had it for maybe 30k before the truck was destroyed but I wouldn't hesitate to go it again.

Heck, stick your stock alt in the rear quarter panel as a back up if you're really worried about it going out in some remote place.

The thing that I would be very worried about is the gauge of wiring. For my set up I ran 1/0 welding cable (super flexy).

Edit: I believe that the company that built mine was called "DC Power Products". It might be worth a call to see if they used to go by this name. This was ~12 years ago.

 

[FrazzledHunter]

At some point you'll have to upgrade your ground wiring to the chassis right? I guess it depends on just how you run your ground wires in your new circuits.

EDIT: also what about the OEM wiring from the alternator? How much current can that handle?

 

[adashoe]

I just got a DC power 270 Amp externally regulated alternator for my LC200 (130 is the stock one) along with a wakespeed alternator controller (WS-500). I'm planning on fast charging lithiums so needed the extra juice (150A charging should do nicely)

You have to be careful with over burdening your alternator. It'll get hot fast and then start smoking on you which is why I run the wakespeed alternator controller. It's got a couple of nifty features (shunts, temp sensors, etc..)

 

[FrazzledHunter]

I just got a DC power 270 Amp externally regulated alternator for my LC200 (130 is the stock one) along with a wakespeed alternator controller (WS-500). I'm planning on fast charging lithiums so needed the extra juice (150A charging should do nicely)

You have to be careful with over burdening your alternator. It'll get hot fast and then start smoking on you which is why I run the wakespeed alternator controller. It's got a couple of nifty features (shunts, temp sensors, etc..)

The information at Wakespeed's website showed a wiring example which clears up a lot of questions I had. I was thinking that one could not just drop in a 270A alternator and keep the OEM wiring. Thanks for posting!