few questions

[hammer1]

i have a few nagging questions, of which i know the answers are here:

1. when i turn off my 60, i get a faint smell of rubber, like a burning belt, or a hot hose type smell. all guages read fine ( temp). fluid levels are good. but i cant pin it down. the belts seem fine, but could one be too tight?

2. I have these killer 6" off-road lights id like to mount on my roof-rack. since the truck is 22 years old, i dont mind drilling a hole or two in the roof. I am pretty sure that i can seal it well. Id like to perhaps mount some switches in a SOR overhead console, which leads me to the NEXT question:

3. the pic in SOR's web page does not give me a good idea of what the console entails. any info would help.

4. last q. with (4) 100w lights lit, is my stock alt okay? even now, at idle with my lights on, i can give it gas, and the lights brighten up. Is this a sign of a bad alt?

thanks in advance, and sorry for any typos

Hammer

 

[hammer1]

edit. my lights dim with just my regular lights on. of course with the 100's it dims accordingly

 

[hammer1]

bump

 

[TheGr8Doughboy]

I wouldn't drill a hole anywhere. You should be able to snake the wires out of the hood and up the rain gutter without inviting anymore rust.

Chris

 

[lovetoski]

4. last q. with (4) 100w lights lit, is my stock alt okay? even now, at idle with my lights on, i can give it gas, and the lights brighten up. Is this a sign of a bad alt?

Hammer

Kind of depends on how/when you use them. The stock amp puts out about 55 amps max, which is at higher rpm's (not sure how high, but probably over 2000). Lots less at idle. Judging by my voltmeter and brightness of the headlights, there's a big difference between 650 and 850 rpm on my truck...

Your 4 100 W lights need 33 amps. (400/12). What other loads will be on while you use these? Will you be crawling, or well above idle? Do you have stock headlamps (~10amps) or higher output (100/80 H4's would draw nearly 17 amps on high, 13 on low).

You could be OK, but could easily max out your stock alt - which would mean you are drawing down the battery as you drive...

Hope this helps?

 

[hammer1]

stock headlamps.
I'll most likely be driving slowley, at night, down dirt fire-roads in the Pine barrens of NJ.
would a larger alt. be all i need? I've got a rebuit on there now, so it wont last forever.
hammer

 

[lovetoski]

If you keep the engine above 1500rpm, no wipers, fan on low, no radio, then your stock alt can handle it. If you drop down to idle, the battery will be discharging.

One option is to install a heavier duty alt. If you decide to run the 4 roof lights, I would recommend the bigger alt.

Another option is to upgrade the stock headlamps (which most of us think suck). With a nice upgrade in the headlamps, maybe you won't need to install the roof lights? Hella's or Cibies with 100/80 bulbs run fine with the stock alt. Best to use an upgraded headlight harness though. This upgrade will give you better lighting for all nighttime driving (on or off road).

If it were me, I'd upgrade the stock lights first, and see if it meets your needs. If it doesn't then go for the 4 roof lights and an upgraded alt.

Lots of posts on here about upgrading the stock headlamps. I don't think anybody's regretted it.