Alternator Question

[fbksurferjoe]

I know a lot has been discussed about alternators on this site but i havent seen any suggestions on brands or suggested amperage.
Right now i am running a lot of electrical and know i prob need a new alt.
1x1000w amp for subs
1x500w amp for speakers
2x12" flex a lite fans
4x piaa offroad lights
2x kc amber lights
1xcb radio
I have no idea what my stock alternator amperage it is a 96 toyota tacoma xcab 4x4. prob around 80 or so.
Anyway if anyone has any suggestions on a bolt on upgrade for my tacoma let me know.

 

[calamaridog]

Do you run all that stuff off the starting battery? If so, I'd consider an auxiliary battery for the accessories.

 

[Mlachica]

When doing research for my dual battery setup, I also looked into upgrading the alternator. And after talking to the guys at www.perfectswitch.com and a few other electrical guru's I was steered away from aftermarket alternators. Mostly because of deception, apparently alternator manuf. may measure the amp output under optimal conditions, ie. no heat. They mentioned other things but I don't recall the details. I remember it enough to leave me skeptical.

I have heard good things about having your factory alternator rewound. Over on TTORA a fairly popular place to have it done at is Boyle Tech and their number is 530-888-6290. Apparently a rewound alt. was clamped at over 100 amps.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Alright i guess ill start by adding a battery and go from there. I know of a couple places around me that can rebuild my alternator and maybe wind it to run a higher amperage.
It doesnt seem like too many ppl on this site have a problem with running all of there accessories off of the stock alternator, it just seems like i am drawing quite a bit running all of that at once.
I am running all of that off of my starting battery suprisingly i havent had a problem with a dead battery. The funny thing is i am using a kirkland battery aka costco brand. Thats a disaster waiting to happen right? lol

 

[OnlyNaTaco]

Youd be surprised how good your stock alternator is, especially toyota ones, i know the tacoma alternators put out 60amp. Good battery is crucial, get an Odessey battery, optimas are crap, and you will be good to go, no need for a 2nd. maybe carry some spare parts for the alternator.

 

[Willman]

......get an Odessey battery, optimas are crap.....

Optima still makes a good battery.....You have to be careful on how you wire it into you system and keeping track of how much amps you are pulling out with all you lights, winch etc....

That my 2 cents....

:costumed-smiley-007

 

[Willman]

I have heard good things about having your factory alternator rewound. Over on TTORA a fairly popular place to have it done at is Boyle Tech and their number is 530-888-6290. Apparently a rewound alt. was clamped at over 100 amps.

Do you know what the biggest they can rewound you factory alternator to?
(130A or 150A etc...???)

 

[Mlachica]

get an Odessey battery, optimas are crap

I agree that odyssey batteries are great, optima red tops are good as well. Be wary of the yellow and blue tops. The odyssey batteries are well rounded, as far as starting capacity and deep discharges. That's why they don't have different 'colors' like optima does.

I don't recall exactly what a rebuilt taco alt. can put out. Give em a call and let us know :sunflower

And I believe there are two different alternators for the 3.4L, I think a 60 amp and a 75amp. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[Grim Reaper]

If you don't need to mount it upside down stick with a conventional battery. I have had really good luck with the Duralast batteries from Autozone. I had buddies with Optimas on their 2nd or third $120 Optima and my 6year old $60 Durlast with 8 year warranty still going strong. Put the money you save into a battery management set up. The inexpensive set up would be a 60-80 amp Isolator and a Battery switch like these.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...297&subdeptNum=207&storeNum=9&productId=91533

Just to show you what to look for but you can find these at PepBoys a lot cheaper.
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product/10001/-1/10001/268439/10001/12106/544/9

I am a BIG believer in not adding much to the stock electrical system of the vehicle. If I need to add any circuit that draws more then a couple amps I go straight to the battery. Usually I add a second fuse box to make sure I don't inadvertantly damage the vehicles wiring system.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Wow thx for all the info. I would honestly like to go with a cheaper battery like a duralast. I too have had excellent luck with duralast. Also the Costco batteries (kirkland) are made by the same company as duralast from what i hear.
I am kind of confused on isoators on which one i should go with and how i should wire it up. i know there have been a lot of articles on them in this forum but i still dont quite understand it.
Basically the setup i would like to go with is something all uner the hood. I would like it to charge both batteries when my car is running, use the starter battery to start, when the ignition is off i would like it to use the backup battery. Anyone have a simple way to explain how to wire it?
right now i am running all of my accessories directly off the battery so i have not messed with the stock electrical. I basically put a junction block in my engine compartment and have a 2guage wire running off my battery to the junction block. all the accessories are fused and connected to the junction block.

 

[OnlyNaTaco]

Its very simple, leave your stock battery as is, when you connect your 2nd battery simply splice into the power wire of the alternator and route it to the positive terminal of your 2nd battery, ground it as usual. Then run that 2 gauge wire to you 2nd battery instead of the original, and your done. Now your original battery powers only the stock componenets and your 2nd battery powers all your extra stuff. And you dont need that isolator switch as both batteries will always be in operation and alwyas charged by your alternator. I would recommend, having a volt guage with a switch so you could switch from one battery to the other to check its voltage instead of having 2 guages. One thing i dont know is how bad it is for the alternator to always be chargin 2 batteries instead of one.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Oh great now i read the response lol. I ended up getting a knock off optima deep cycle battery for 120 bucks from Kragen auto parts. I also got a sure power isolator. Now i researched it a bunch this afternoon and have figured out how i am going to wire it.
I have 1 question about the isolator though. I see terminals 1, 2, A, and E.
1, 2, and A are obvious. But i have no idea what the E is. Is it something that i need to connect?

 

[p1michaud]

Dual Battery Installation

Oh great now i read the response lol. I ended up getting a knock off optima deep cycle battery for 120 bucks from Kragen auto parts. I also got a sure power isolator. Now i researched it a bunch this afternoon and have figured out how i am going to wire it.
I have 1 question about the isolator though. I see terminals 1, 2, A, and E.
1, 2, and A are obvious. But i have no idea what the E is. Is it something that i need to connect?

Hi,
I'm not sure what you have read to date, but BajaTaco from this site has a great article on his Dual Batteries. He has posted his info on TTORA as well and I had added my install information there as well: Dual Battery install article.

As for the "E" terminal it's the field exitation wire. From the Sure Power Installation instructions on 3 for Toyota installs: "Locate the small ignition wire terminal labeled "IGN" that runs from the alternator to the wiring harness. Check that you have the right wire by stripping a small section of wire and then determining that voltage is present only when the key is in the "run" position but not in the "accessory" position. Do not interrupt wire." Let me know if you don't have a copy of the installation instructions, I can e-mail them to you. The file is too large to upload to this forum.

I'll give you some heads, I'm using the Sure Power model 9523A and would burn out the 5A fuse that I originally used on the "E" terminal because I could not find a 6A fuse. I then went to a 7.5A fuse and burnt that out as well. Now that's because I use my aux battery to supply my winch and I've had to use it heavily on the last few runs where I burnt the fuses out. I've since been in contact with the local distributor for Sure Power and Sure Power's Tech people. They recommend that you use a circuit breaker instead of fuse due to all the noise that this fuse would see. They also recommended that for my configuration that I change to a Battery Separator/Interconnect (model 1314-200 similar to Scott's set up) to alleviate these fuse burning issues. I'm running a starting battery and aux. battery with the following loads:

• Warn M8000
• Light Force 100W light
• CB radio
• Full time power outlet mod (typically charges cell phone and GPS unit)

Good luck with your install!
Cheers :beer:,
P

 

[Grim Reaper]

Oh great now i read the response lol. I ended up getting a knock off optima deep cycle battery for 120 bucks from Kragen auto parts. I also got a sure power isolator. Now i researched it a bunch this afternoon and have figured out how i am going to wire it.
I have 1 question about the isolator though. I see terminals 1, 2, A, and E.
1, 2, and A are obvious. But i have no idea what the E is. Is it something that i need to connect?

Some isolators have a trigger voltage to "excite" the alternator. The alternator will need a 12v source to kick it into charging. Did it not come with any sort of instructions? Have you looked for the manufactures web site to see if they have any sort of information available?


Just a FYI for anybody that may read this post.

The Isolator is very important in that it keeps the batteries for draining each other. You would not want to gang the batteries together in your application. It would defeat the ability to isolate you accessories like Refer from the battery that will start the truck.

If a Isolator is not used then some sore of switch or High Amp solenoid should be used to separate the batteries when the vehicle is shut off. The Isolator is passive and will charge each battery as needed and requires no input once installed.

A ganging switch will allow both batteries to be joined for high amp needs like winching or self jump off. Personally I like manual battery switches that will allow you to switch between either battery or both. The advantage is you can exercise your battery easily. A high load from time to time helps chemically stir up the battery and fight off "sulfation". Sulfation happens when the plates of the battery developed a layer of deposits that prevent it from performing to its potential. More detailed information: http://www.canadus.com/home/sulfation/index.htm

You also avoid a problem where one battery will not recover and even with it ganged to a good battery it may not allow the engine to start. So the ability to just switch to the second battery and take the defective off line is of great benefit.

 

[fbksurferjoe]

Thx for the info. I had the instructions and read through them but it just didnt make sense why i would need it, but it makes sense now. Luckily the side i am puting the isolator on is right next to the alternator so it shouldnt be a hard splice. By chance does anyone know what color the wire is that is the "IGN"? so i dont have to go looking through a wiring diagram