went wheeling today and i have some questions bout everything (1 Viewer)

[lx450landcruiser]

Alright i just got back from wheeling a bit in my lx450 and i have a few questions.
1. when i engage into low range what should be lighting up on my dash? as of right now the diff lock sign comes on and stays on and so does my ABS light.
2. what speed should i stay under while in low range? it almost seems like my speedometer doesnt work when im in low but i think it might be cuz i dont go very fast.
3. are there any after market alternators out there that have high out put for off road lights? how hard are the to install?
4. My cruiser should stay in position on hills while im in drive right? when i go up a incline not extreamly steep but its up and i let off the gas completely my cruiser tends to roll back.
is this normal? shouldnt it be able to hold on hills or is it just too heavy and its normal? ???
thanks mike

 

[cruiserdan]

Rolling backwards is not abnormal at all. ABS and Difflock lights should light up and stay lit in low range on an un-modified vehicle. As far as top speed goes, Don't exceed 5000 rpm
I haven't messed with aftermarket electrical parts, can't say there.

D-

 

[Cruiserdrew]

Mike-It's all good and normal. The center diff locks and turns on the light, the ABS is disabled, and that turns on the light. If the hill is steep, idle in low range drive will not hold it-you have to give it gas.

Also, I think the 80 alternater has plenty of juice for more lighting, I wouldn't sweat it unless you are running WWII spot lights off-road.

Forget speed off-road. Watch your tachometer. When you get uncomfortable with the revs, it's time for high range.

 

[lx450landcruiser]

thanks for all the help guys its quite comforting.
as for the power i was running four 5 inch lights and two 6 inch lights plus the head lights on high beam as i like to four wheel at night and see everything. The red warning light came on after a little while and i had to shut them off. i drove it awhile and went to a friends house parked it of a couple hours then drove home later and when i got up the next day the battery was dead. I jumped it drove it allot to get the juice up to norm and then parked it again and a few hours later it wouldn't start and the bat was dead so i had to buy a new one. maybe dual batteries would be better then the alt?
thanks again mike

 

[DRTDuck]

Mean Green alternators are 300amp I believe.

Sounds like maybe you battery was about ready to go anyway. Consider getting a deep cycle battery, an Optima yellow or blue top.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Mike,

With high beams and my Hellas on, I'm using 500 watts and have had no such problems over 10 years of this use. You should check the alternator's condition and as mentioned above the battery may have been on the way out. All else sounds normal.

IdahoDoug

 

[Hltoppr]

[quote author=IdahoDoug link=board=2;threadid=5988;start=msg47728#msg47728 date=1065416801]
Mike,

With high beams and my Hellas on, I'm using 500 watts
[/quote]

...and with 1.21 Gigawatts you become a time machine...

-H-

 

[Gumby]

Only at 80 mph. Better use high range.

 

[Shortbus]

[quote author=DRTDUCK link=board=2;threadid=5988;start=msg47717#msg47717 date=1065413621]
Mean Green alternators are 300amp I believe.

Sounds like maybe you battery was about ready to go anyway. Consider getting a deep cycle battery, an Optima yellow or blue top.
[/quote]

Here........

http://www.man-a-fre.com/feature_items/meangreenalternator80ser.htm

Install shouldn't be too bad. If you havn't got the FSM yet, you outta pick one up. 8)

 

[GXO]

May also want to check to ensure your ballpark illumination system is properly switched and grounded. If it is even drawing a little it would sap your battery quite quickly.

Very good calls on the deep cycle and the alt if you insist on helping out your local sports teams play at night.

 

[lx450landcruiser]

well just out of curiousity why are all these people doing dual batteries in there cruisers? I've seen at least 6 or 7 with the dual set up. is it mainly cuz of winching?
thanks mike

 

[Beowulf]

LX-Mikey,
There are as many reasons for dual batteries as there are people running them.
* Winching
* Redundancy for starting
* Running microwave ovens from true sinewave DC-AC converters (Darn, I miss Junk)
* High powered stereo systems
* Running all accessories off a deep cycle battery
* Additional 12v capacity for camping and expedition trips
* Lotsa lights

-B-

 

[CDN_Cruiser]

LX:

Here is the equation you should be using (if you are running that many lights, have it tattoo'd onto your arm):

Amps = Watts/Volts

So, you are running the following:

4 lights @ (assume) 100W Amps = 4*(100/12) = 33amps
2 lights @ (assume) 120W Amps = 2*(120/12) = 20amps
2 lights @ (assume) 80W Amps = 2 * (80/12) = 13amps

+ radio (6amp), dash lights (4amp), AC (15 amp), heater (12amp), wipers (6amp), other lights (4amp), defroster (15amp), ABS (10amp), seats (3amp), windows (10amp) etc (all from some on-line source)

So, you are pulling something like 66amps for just your lights. Stock is 85amp (? correct Dan) so you are boarderline (ie assume heat and rain and radio, etc and you will quickly be >100amp draw)

If you look at past threads, you will see that the critical thing with the lights is to make sure the wiring is up to the job. It ensures that lights are operating at full power (they likely aren't if you are running thin wire) and that you don't melt down the system. The point is, you can probably go to 4 lights vs 6 with better wiring and not notice a difference

If you assume 15% loss from wiring (not hard to do), running all 8 of your lights would provide ~600W of output. Alternatively, running with better wiring would allow you to produce the exact same output with 6 lights (saving 16-20amps)

Cheers