Scoop on Alternators? 80, 90, 130, 140, 150A. Do I hear 220...? (1 Viewer)

[jaymar]

Electrical is not my strong suit. I understand about aftermarket alternators with too many wrappings and too-small cases and ratings that will never kick in unless you're drag racing but...

When it comes to OEM equipment: is there any real functional / use-related difference (other than output, of course) between an alternator designed for a beast like the LC, a hauler like the Tundra, a mostly-street machine like the Sequoia, and an all-street machine like the Jaguar? Is one tougher/more durable than another? Or is an alternator is an alternator is an alternator and it really doesn't matter?

Also, why are all the options discussed so old they're now reman only? (I think I saw one still available new.) I mean, electronics have advanced a bit over the past decade or two. So why no current-production alternators? Are they wimps? Too sophisticated to play nice with our ECUs? Or what?

Clue me in here...

 

[mudgudgeon]

My uneducated understanding. . .

You want an alternator with enough output to run all your systems and keep your battery fully charged, but no bigger than necessary to meet the maximum current draw.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Fitting a 225 amp alternator when you only have a 100 amp draw means your engine is driving a bigger unit than necessary. It takes energy to drive an alternator. This saps power, and uses more fuel.

The power drain on the engine varies depending on current draw

 

[jaymar]

My uneducated understanding. . .

You want an alternator with enough output to run all your systems and keep your battery fully charged, but no bigger than necessary to meet the maximum current draw.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Fitting a 225 amp alternator when you only have a 100 amp draw means your engine is driving a bigger unit than necessary. It takes energy to drive an alternator. This saps power, and uses more fuel.

The power drain on the engine varies depending on current draw

Yeah I just threw 225 in there because I saw a post calling an (aftermarket) alt a fire hazard. At this point, I have no idea what max draw will be. I have read that the actual horsepower draw to run a larger-than-stock amp is really low, like 1hp. If that's accurate, I really don't care, if it's the only downside. Not like I'm racing up 300-foot sand dunes. I've also read that these alts don't put out more than needed at any given time, so it's not like they're going to fry anything in normal usage (before accessorizing ). Not sure it ups fuel usage if it's just vamping off existing hp(?)

My question at the moment is, if I'm gonna get one of these now--does it really matter (reliability, durability and performance-wise) whether it was designed for a Cruiser, Tundra, Sequoia or Jaguar? For example: deep-cycle batteries are different beasts than standard batteries. Are these alternators fundamentally different in some way (even that's just one taking more abuse than the next), or does it really not matter (other than rating and load) which one you use?

 

[mudgudgeon]

Charging voltage matters for deep cycle.
Older alternators charge at 13.5 volts.
Deep cycle need 14.4 volts to fully charge

 

[landtank]

I went through putting in a higher output alternator mainly for higher output at idle.

I have a water to air intercooler going in which means there will be a constant draw from the circulating pump when the engine is running. Can’t remember the amp draw but it was substantial. Add lights and and other items while crawling off road and I wanted some cushion when charging during idle.

The spec of the alternator I used is 90 amps at idle which is the total output of the stock alternator.

Couldn’t find the idle output of the stock alternators but guess it’s around 60amps.

 

[ChaseTruck]

We have the 140A Sequoia alternator in the '93. It's the second one, regulator failed on the first one after a few years. No remans; new from Toyota each time. Not sure I would do this again, and that's why the stock alternator remains in the '97.

 

[jaymar]

How many people here are running Tundra alternators, and what years would those be?

 

[Outsane]

I am running the Jaguar alternator.

Needed the bigger alt so that the bcdc wouldn't drain the main battery way down in the morning after using the Lipo most of the night. The 90amp oem could not keep up.

 

[jonheld]

I have all sorts of accessories, a Warn M12K winch, ARB refrigerator, etc.
I run a single Interstate MTZ battery with the stock 80 amp alternator.
Never had an issue.
Keep it simple, limit the amount of failure points, use high quality cable and connections that are rated for the load.

 

[sunrk]

Factory 110 amp alternator on my 1hz that replaced the factory original 80 amp. Don't need to upgrade beyond that. Super-mega-hyper-ultra capacity alts are just dumb.

 

[ZackR]

I have all sorts of accessories, a Warn M12K winch, ARB refrigerator, etc.
I run a single Interstate MTZ battery with the stock 80 amp alternator.
Never had an issue.
Keep it simple, limit the amount of failure points, use high quality cable and connections that are rated for the load.

This is the answer.

For short duration high current loads (like a winch, a starter, or if diesel glow plugs) you want more reserve battery capacity than anything else.

For long duration high current loads (like an ambulance or anything with a ton of electric systems that are always on) the larger alternator comes into play.

 

[robnicko]

running the stock alt in my 95 cruiser with a Pirahna DBE180s isolator to the 2nd battery - been this way since 1999
all accessories except the winch run off the 2nd batt which also receives solar input when camped - driving lights, UHF, Fridge(s), camp lights, anything else that may need power

only the brushes wore down on my ALT last year however was a simple fix to install new ones.

the standard alternator is perfectly fine

 

[on the rocks]

Electrical is not my strong suit. I understand about aftermarket alternators with too many wrappings and too-small cases and ratings that will never kick in unless you're drag racing but...

When it comes to OEM equipment: is there any real functional / use-related difference (other than output, of course) between an alternator designed for a beast like the LC, a hauler like the Tundra, a mostly-street machine like the Sequoia, and an all-street machine like the Jaguar? Is one tougher/more durable than another? Or is an alternator is an alternator is an alternator and it really doesn't matter?

Also, why are all the options discussed so old they're now reman only? (I think I saw one still available new.) I mean, electronics have advanced a bit over the past decade or two. So why no current-production alternators? Are they wimps? Too sophisticated to play nice with our ECUs? Or what?

Clue me in here...

I would not waste your time on a huge upgraded alternator on an 80 until you know you need one. The stock Alternator should be sufficient for the most part unless you run a 10,000 W stereo system and 4 subs. The amp draw need isn't what it once was as most are converting to LED accessory lighting and there really isn't a need for high amp draws on the started battery I can think of. A winch could be considered but when is the last time you used yours and how long did it run without the engine running?

I also wouldn't sweat the voltage output of the stock alternator as generally when adding a dual battery setup you should be budgeting in a DC-DC converter. Any good converter will adjust voltage depending on the house battery you choose and charge accordingly. Most of these convertors will also be 30-50 amps max charge to your house battery and leave plenty of charge feeding the main.

IMO there would be better areas to focus your budget and attention on and keep the simple low output alternator.
I need to tie in my starter battery to my Redarc yet but once done it will monitor the OEM system and I may change this opinion but see nothing that would state otherwise at this time. This is also running a solar setup and a smart manager. In some cases the house battery wont even use the alternator to recharge and I would think you would have it fully charged before even heading out to your adventure.
Depends on what your looking to achieve.

 

[landtank]

Toyota is putting in larger alternators in its vehicles for reasons other than its fashionable to do.

It has to do with system load and all the battery capacity in the world won’t save you if you are drawing more amps than the alternator is putting out.

The critical time is during idle.

Some of what people are installing that I would consider as a draw might be

Heated seats
Aux lights
Onboard air
Aux pusher fan
Intercooler pump
Air bag suspension
Winch
Inverter
Sound system
Communication radio
Refrigerator
Remote start
Alarm
Larger fuel pump

I’m sure there is more and the individual draw of each system can vary greatly as well. Especially when convenience comes into play such as an air compressor and how fast you can air up that 35” tire from 16lbs.

So how many addition loads have you installed and how many of those will run simultaneously?

 

[Outsane]

A shunt can tell you if you need a bigger alternator.

https://amzn.to/3JY4pkT

This one is blue tooth and easy to install.

Run everything you might at once...

Usually more draw at night,
All the lights, and everything Landtank mentioned.


Also you can know when your battery starts crapping out so you can get a new one.
Or what your parasitic draw is.

 

[jaymar]

Readers see this post (and the one linked from it) for more info:

High-Output Alternator Options for 80 Series Land Cruisers

Alternator tech has vastly improved since these rigs were made. Time was, you had to drag race to get good numbers from an aftermarket alt, and most of them were overwound and subject to overheating and burnout. But you CAN now get more power in a standard-size case, AT low rpms. And a LOT more...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[sunrk]

Must be purely a USA issue My 80 has a 110 amp alternator for a 79 series 1hz motor and the only big loads are the starter and the 12 v air compressor. The main headlights are LED though the hi-beam inners are still standard halogen H1's.

If you really need 200+ amps then you're going to be doing a lot of wiring upgrades to deliver that level of DC current to where it's needed.

 

[jaymar]

If you really need 200+ amps then you're going to be doing a lot of wiring upgrades...

Yup. More new that upgraded.