Upgrading the alternator??

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Well, as I continue to add electrical accessories to my rig, I notice more and more the drain it's putting on my alt and battery(revs need to be up for the lights to be as bright as they should be). It could just be that the stock alt needs replacing, but I find it hard to believe that the stock alt is up to the task up powering 6 pairs of lights(yes, I like to imitate the sun on the trail ), a power inverter, and subwoofer as well as the rest of the stock load the alt has to support.

I've searched and found that the Mean Greens don't put out what they advertise. So what are my options?

Thanks,

Ary

 

[RavenTai]

I dont beleave you have any,

fad a mount for a 2nd alt?

80 series dim the lights at idle anyway, unless you spend a lot of time idling (if so then why?) I would not worry about it.

 

[JerryLX450]

Same prob here, was thinking to replace the OEM one with one of these. Any suggestion?

 

[IdahoDoug]

Just put new brushes in my alternator while it was off for the HG on the 97 and this helps the idle thing a bit. I'll be doing the same on the 93's alternator tomorrow when I finish up. The brush kit's about $15 from Dan IIRC. Clean things up while you're in there and see how you fare before dropping big coin on what might be a wild goose chase.

DougM

 

[nickw]

6 pairs of lights?

I would love to see a few pics of the front of your truck.

Cheers,
Nick

Well, as I continue to add electrical accessories to my rig, I notice more and more the drain it's putting on my alt and battery(revs need to be up for the lights to be as bright as they should be). It could just be that the stock alt needs replacing, but I find it hard to believe that the stock alt is up to the task up powering 6 pairs of lights(yes, I like to imitate the sun on the trail ), a power inverter, and subwoofer as well as the rest of the stock load the alt has to support.

I've searched and found that the Mean Greens don't put out what they advertise. So what are my options?

Thanks,

Ary

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

A lot of the trails I run don't require more than like 1000 rpms in low range. I just don't want to be stranded with a dead battery after idling all day. I also use my rocklights and overhead lights to light up camp at night.

Ary

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I actually don't have any auxiliary lights on the front of the rig at the moment, but I'll be adding a set of Hella 4000's I have laying around as soon as I get a front bumper.

Ary

 

[RavenTai]

Same prob here, was thinking to replace the OEM one with one of these. Any suggestion?

search

that is the alternator refrenced in the first post, they have been tested and suposedly do not produce any more power than the stock alternator.

 

[-Spike-]

And what does the stock alt put out?

-Spike

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

80 Amps from everything I've read.

 

[Cruiserhead05]

dual batts?, werent you planning that at some point?

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

dual batts?, werent you planning that at some point?

Yeah, and still am, but all that does is increase my reserve capacity. I'd like to not worry about discharging my battery while the truck is running.

 

[Photoman]

I got a Mean Green alternator (see pic) from their store locally and had it tested. The alternator shop did a carbon pile load test or something like that and it put out 78 amps. This was maybe four years ago. Maybe something has changed now or maybe they have two lines, but I asked for the hi amp alternator and this is what I got. The alternator shop did tell me that many outfits ramp up small case alternators, then shorten the warranty’s as they tend to run real hot and go bad. They said to get a true long lasting hi amp alternator it takes one with a larger case. These will not fit as far as I can tell in the stock location. Again, this was around four years ago and I am no expert so don’t know for sure. There are many companies that make hi amp alternators and I am not looking to dispute any claims; just stating what was said to me. Anyway, in the second pic is a 100 amp Delco that I adapted on to the stock location. I made the spacer this size and painted it this color reasoning that if I had to change it out in the backcountry and dropped the spacer I could easily find it. The adjustment bracket was a little tough figuring the radius using the same stock type of adjustment bolt. Wiring adapter was figured out by the alternator shop I have dealt with for years. Stock is supposed to be 80 amps so this is a little more but I understand these particular Delco’s may not be too good, so I bought a spare.

Bill

 

[RavenTai]

hmm smaller pulley?

might be worried about how many extra R's the alt can withstand though, I have nto doen the math but just lookign the alt already probably turns at twice crank speed.

also where would you source the pulley,

 

[C6H12O6]

I would think you might have trouble keeping belts where you want them if that pulley got much smaller. That would be a pretty sharp angle for a belt to make — you might start burning through belts pretty quickly as well. Of course, $10 worth of belts every few months might not be a big deal if it noticeably improves output.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Is anyone running a MG Alternator in their rig?

 

[bjowett]

Some Toyota Tundra V8's are equiped w/ a high output 130 amp alternator. There is one out in my barn, it is bigger than the stock 80 amp unit, the double pulley bolts on... and that's about as far as it went. I can say it won't be a drop in, but a bracket and a bolt or two may fit it in there... I'll post some pics should folks want to see it.

 

[LukeO]

I was going to give Mean Green a try, but I'm having doubts now if they don't really do what they advertise.

 

[Photoman]

RavenTai,

The black pulley that is on the Delco in the pic is the stock pulley from the Toyota alternator. The shafts are the same so was just a switchover IIRC. Maybe a washer adjustment? Can't remember. So the Delco will turn the same as the stock alternator. I very quickly measured the outside of the Mean Green pulley, which is not going to mean much, and it was just slightly bigger than stock. The Delco came with a ribbed pulley.

Bill

 

[RavenTai]

oh sorry Bill, that was not directed at you, was just trowing out a general idea to solve the original problem, low volts at idle. and the side effects

I like the idea of the Tundra alt, more power from an OEM part.