Upgrading stock alternator to 130/150 amp

[Photoman]

I've already greatly upgraded the main + cable from the alt to the fusable link as a result of my electrical failure at CM09 this spring. However the fusable links have really prevented me from doing this mod. Mr. T had to choose the size they did for a reason. But, I have not had the time to try to determine that reason. Was it to limit the OEM alt's output or protect other parts of the electrical system? If anyone kows please chime in. I hate chasing electircal gremlins so I'm reluctant to make mods to the OEM system without doing my homework first.

The fusible links and fuses are sized to protect the wires and components in that circuit. There also are unprotected wires on a vehicle. For example the wire from the battery positive to the starter has no fuse so there can always be problems. Fusible links are now mostly outdated and have been replaced with mega fuses. The 2003-2007 Toyota Sequoias where many of the upgrade alternators are coming from use a 140 amp fuse on the alternator circuit. See 2 in picture. In this upgrade it has been recommended that the charging wire from the alternator be increased in size and the fusible link replaced with a mega fuse. This is basically duplicating the Toyota Sequoia alternator “B” terminal to battery positive charging wire. .02 worth.

Bill

 

[alaskacruiser]

I replaced the B+ and the ground to the engine block, along with running a new ground to frame with 2/0 wire.

Ivan80- This may be a dumb question, but I'm working on the wiring upgrade now, and while I changed the ground to the engine block, I can't seem to find where the ground to the frame is. Would you (or someone else) mind describing or preferably posting a pic of this ground wire?

 

[superjuice]

i beleive the frame ground is about one foot of wire connected from the neg. batt. terminal to the drivers side wheel well, right next to the battery. this is what i have seen on my 97' setup. But of course I was wrong once before

 

[superjuice]

I would just like to thank PHOTOMAN for putting all the time and effort into making this sweet dream a reality. The bracket is amazing as well as the instructions and support. If anyone needs more amps this is the way to go! Thank you sir

 

[96r50]

Bump for a very nice piece of hardware. Photoman was kind enough to ship me one of these last week and it arrived yesterday. As others before me have said, it is a very nice piece of craftmanship. Thanks Bill!

Now to find an alternator... and some wire... and a fuse...

 

[IBCRUSN]

I worked with my alternator/starter guy on locating or fabricating a smaller diameter pulley when I accomplished my installation. We came to the conclusion that if we retained the V belts there wouldn't be a significant enough improvement to warrant the time or $$ spent.

If there were a means to replace the V belts with a serpentine or multi-rib belt, the diameter of the alternator pulley can be reduced with significant improvements in output. At one time I did ask Beno to research multi groove pulleys on other Toyota's that would fit the 1FZ. So far I haven't needed it so I never prodded him. I haven't had any issues winching with only one battery.

If someone has the sizes of the original pulleys you can easily determine alternator speed at the web site below.
Pulley And Belt Information Calculator

Use the calculator to determine what speed the alternator will spin at with various diameters. The Sequoia alternator is rated at 18,000 rpm which means there is a safety margin built in. Throw some numbers into the calculator and see how small of a pulley can be installed relative to the engine redline rpm. Bear in mind most people don't drive an 80 series on the rev limiter. I bet you'll find the pulley size that spins the alt to 18k - 20k at redline will be nearly as small as the nut.

 

[rhyary]

Got the 150amp in today. Went right in like the instruction said.
The wirings were done first two weeks a go.
I had the benefit of other experiences, so I had no troubles with the belts.
Used the bolt and socket to pull the bushings out.
Used the tilt method to get the belts on.
The OEM alternator came out with just the radiator hose removed but to get the 150amp in I had to removed the shroud and the fan. No big deal. The battery and the tray has to come out first of course.
Thanks for the bracket and answering all my tedious questions Bill.

 

[Photoman]

Got the 150amp in today. Went right in like the instruction said.
The wirings were done first two weeks a go.
I had the benefit of other experiences, so I had no troubles with the belts.
Used the bolt and socket to pull the bushings out.
Used the tilt method to get the belts on.
The OEM alternator came out with just the radiator hose removed but to get the 150amp in I had to removed the shroud and the fan. No big deal. The battery and the tray has to come out first of course.
Thanks for the bracket and answering all my tedious questions Bill.

You are quite welcome. It was a pleasure to talk to you. Did you get a new, used, or rebuilt alternator?

Bill

 

[concretejungle]

BIll,

as another proud owner of your crafty bracket and a upgraded alternator, there was some talk about upgrading the remaining wiring to to the fuse box? Does this ring a bell? I'm about to go searching, but was wondering if you could explain which additional wires could be upgraded to take full advantage of the higher power output?

Thanks.

 

[cruiserdan]

You are quite welcome. It was a pleasure to talk to you. Did you get a new, used, or rebuilt alternator?

Bill

I sent him a reman Bill.

 

[Photoman]

BIll,

as another proud owner of your crafty bracket and a upgraded alternator, there was some talk about upgrading the remaining wiring to to the fuse box? Does this ring a bell? I'm about to go searching, but was wondering if you could explain which additional wires could be upgraded to take full advantage of the higher power output?

Thanks.

That’s a good question. In my opinion, the only wires that need an upgrade are the wire that goes to the battery positive from the alternator, and the battery ground from battery negative to ground. The other alternator feed wires were designed by Toyota to directly feed some circuits in the under hood and interior fuse boxes. Hopefully, Toyota sized these wires correctly. If they did there would be minimal benefit from upgrading them as they now with the upgrade alternator should be receiving full power all the time. With that said, we know there is an improvement with upgrading the headlight wiring so it is possible there could be an improvement with upgrading these feed wires.
Here is the feed wire routing. Alternator “B” post smaller white wire feeds in the under hood fuse box, the 15A EFI and headlight light relay. In the under dash fuse box it feeds, 10A ECU-B, 15A OBD, 20A Defog, 10A Stop, and 40A FLheater.
The Black with Blue stripe wire comes off battery positive, through a fuse link, through the little plastic AM1 to the under hood fuse box. It feeds the Horn relay, 60A ABS, 50A AM1, 7.5A Charge, 15A Haz/Horn, and 10A Dome.
So the wires that potentially could be upsized would be the smaller white wire off alternator “B” to the 2 fuse boxes, and the Black with Blue stripe from the AM1 plastic box over to the under hood fuse box. I don’t know if upgrading these wires would make any difference; although upgrading the wire that feeds the headlight relay on stock wired rigs sounds interesting.

Bill

I sent him a reman Bill.

Thanks Dan. Not only do you remember all those parts and numbers, you never forget a sale.

Bill

 

[rhyary]

As Dan said, reman. I did not want to go thru the install to find out the unit is bad and cdan's parts seems to work most of the time

About the wiring. I thought it was pretty much covered in previous post so I will quickly summarized what I did. All wires are welding cables and the lugs or soldered.

1. ground - 1/0 transmission to frame
2. ground - 1/0 engine block to new battery terminal. #6 cables from ground post to fender.
3. positive - #2 from B post to West Marine "battery post 150amp fuse.
4. positive - think wire fusible link - detached from AM1 and heatshrink for isolation
4. positive - B post original harness too thick to fit on B post.
5. short #8 wire with lugs on both side. One lug went together with the #2 positive charging cable on the alternator B post.
6. The other side of #8 patch cable connected to the original harness via a bolt and heat shrank. wire loom on top for protection.

It gets kind of confusing describing it for someone who has not seen all these wires. I can take pictures of there is interest.

Rami

 

[rhyary]

So, how do I measure the amps from the Alternator without taking it apart and bringing it to the shop?

Can my volt meter also test the 150amps? I am curious to know (read measure) what this alternator really produces.

 

[Photoman]

So, how do I measure the amps from the Alternator without taking it apart and bringing it to the shop?

Can my volt meter also test the 150amps? I am curious to know (read measure) what this alternator really produces.

If you have a DC clamp meter it can show how many amps the circuits are drawing at a given point. Make sure it can handle over 150 amps just in case. Cheap one here. Many volt meters have an amp setting but usually the maximum they can handle is 20 amps. If you want to know the maximum output of the alternator it would have been better to have it tested before if was installed at an alternator shop. However, you can buy a carbon pile load tester to put a load on the alternator. A cheap version can be found here or EBay. Another thing that can be done is a "full field test" where you ground the alternator field terminal (on many Toyota alternators). This bypasses the regulator and she runs wide open. Talk to an alternator shop before trying this. HTH

Talking about clamp meters makes me want to try something. Tomorrow I will try to do a hard pull with a Warn M10000 winch to see how many amps it draws. I know they publish figures but I think I will try it myself and meter it.

Bill

 

[sledge916]

Here is a pic of my finished install, everything went super easy and the bracket is top notch quality, my steering box is out so it was easy.

Sethro

 

[Dave 2000]

Isn't it sad that it worries me that the fan belt names are on the wrong way around?

regards

Dave

 

[hntashdjian]

Are those the correct belts or are they different because you need longers ones for the new alternator ?

 

[sledge916]

Are those the correct belts or are they different because you need longers ones for the new alternator ?

I used the same belts, I had no issues with the belts at all

Sethro

 

[Corbet]

Isn't it sad that it worries me that the fan belt names are on the wrong way around?

regards

Dave

I don't know how you'll sleep at night.... I must share your OCD.

 

[sledge916]

Isn't it sad that it worries me that the fan belt names are on the wrong way around?

regards

Dave

yes that is sad, I will change them for ya,

Sethro