Electric guru's? Anybody?

[88Xj]

Hey fella's having doubts about my electrical system currently! Maybe you can help me?

I have a 88/89 Xj. Its been upgraded with a Cs130 100A alternator, thats less than 3 months old. I've got a brand new Sears platinum battery which is said to be a renamed Odyssey. I've got a complete grounding kit from KWIP. Its all 0-2 gauge, with a few added grounds. Also has a ANL fuse kit with it, running a 150A fuse. The whole electrical system is virtually new!
The factory gauge is reading 13-14 volts...BUT, at idle my headlights dim slightly but brighten up as soon as your moving, and when I turn on my heater the volts drop to around 9.
Thats where I'm dumbfounded, should my voltage drop that much? I know its normal to drop but that much?:Wow1:

I run a aftermarket headunit, and 4, 5 1/4" speakers..nothing big or special at all, no big bass or anything lol. I run a Cobra CB, thats never really on. And thats it..nothing else has been added.
I have 4, 50W fog lights that I'd like to run, but feel it'll stress my electrical systems. They are wired but never on because of this!
I also have a 3000W inverter I'm waiting to install until I figure this out! It'll power phone chargers, lappy charger, coffee maker. ect. I'm worried that all this will hinder the system more!
Battery checked out great, Alt checked out great! Idk what else to do at this point..why my voltage drops, or why my headlights dim at idle..
Headlights are the Sylvannia silverstars with a HD headlight harness. Output is great but the dimming concerned me.


My questions are about alternators I guess. Is 100A enough to power 4-6 50W lights, and the 3000W inverter and whatever it runs and will it be enough to charge dual batterys?
Should I upgrade to a 140A? Should I try to get a smaller/underdrive pulley so it'll give off more AMP's at idle?
Nothing currently warrants a dual battery setup, but I will have one eventually. At that point, I'll run all my AUX lights & inverter off of it.

 

[hoaxci5]

(6*50 + 3000) = 3300 watts @ 12 volts is a 275 amp draw.

I'd check your grounds to see what the issue is with your current problem. Assuming your alt is good and your batteries are good.

 

[INSAYN]

You probably have lead oxide between your battery posts and terminal connectors.
Remove the terminals from the battery, scuff both the terminals and the battery posts till shiny. Apply some dielectric grease to the posts and reattach everything.

You could also go ahead and clean up and add some dielectric grease to all the wires to and from your alternator, and battery to chassis ground.

 

[88Xj]

All grounds cleaned, battery terminals are as clean as can be...thats whats got me stumped..everything is new! Less than 4 months old.
Battery is less than 2 months, alt 3 months & grounding kit is about 4 months old.
I picked up 2 more grounds over stock, the old jeeps like mine didn't have a neg-chassis ground as I added and another block-chassis ground.
The battery was checked recently and came back great! Alt can be checked but it doesn't seem to be the issue either.

I'm running the 100A CS130 alternator. I'm thinking about upgrading to the Cs140 which is a 140A alternator and running a smaller pulley to get more apms closer to idle.
I'd assume my heathly 100A alternator would be able to charge 2 batterys? 1 normal battery and 1 deep cycle battery? Obviously the 140A would have a easier time doing it but would my 100A alt be ok or is it worth the upgrade?

 

[SilverBullet]

The math above it the big issue. Ohms law kills us every time. You need more power output to run the system. Your batteries are supplementing the alternator, but not enough to keep the system fully charged.

Try turning things on/off with different combinations. Initial turn on is the biggest draw of any device, your amp could be drawing too much to start up and get the system powered. Same with the inverter.

 

[Bdiddy11]

I would suggest pming 5-90 over on naxja. He's got a wealth of knowledge with electrical stuff. Sounds like your alt isn't up to the task... Especially with headlight harness upgrade, it shouldn't be dimming lights. Perhaps GoJeep would be another source. He runs dual batteries and other aux stuff.

 

[Gooseberry]

Bad alt I bet.

It should be running a 14.7 or close to that.

Like he said above turn everything off or unplug ( best to unplug and disconnect all but the basics) then see with a volt meter what you alt is putting out.

 

[wardrow]

DO YOU HAVE A VOLT METER????????? DVOM? digital volt, ohm, meter?

 

[wardrow]

Whenever there is a charging system problem, make sure the battery is thoroughly checked 1st, even if it is believed to be in new condition. The battery supplies the electrical power for the charging system. If the battery is bad, the charging system cannot be expected to work its best. AC generators are designed to maintain the charge of the battery, not to charge a dead battery. Go to a parts store and have your battery load tested with a vat 40 or similar. A good battery will be tested at 1/2 of it's CCA (cold cranking amp) rating for 10-15 seconds and should not drop below 9.6 volts.

After you have done that, come back here and will do some more test, also if you don't have a DVOM, get one at the parts store cause your going to need it.

 

[HenryJ]

The CS130 alternators do not put out enough at idle to be sufficient. You can swap the stock 56mm pulley down to a 52mm pulley and resolve the issue of the lights dimming at idle. Even then when hot the CS130 will struggle to put out 50 amps at idle speeds.

I did some extensive testing and modifications chronicled in this thread:
Bigger alternator

I would suggest swapping the CS130 for the newer and slightly physically larger AD244. Even a junk yard AD244 alternator will out perform the CS130 by at least double. My "junkyard alt" benched well over 200 amps cold and still maintained over 100 amps at idle speed hot. Best $50 I ever spent.

 

[88Xj]

Battery checked today, it was giving a little over 700CCA so its deffinetly good..its a brand new sears platinum.
Alt check out great as well. Tested them both at Napa today.

What is this AD244? Is it an internally regulated alternator, what does it come on? I know we have 2 old cop cars in our yard, but they have the dual ALT setup which is a 160A/140A combo. We have an ambulance here as well and a few RV's...
I'm gonna go hunting for a Cs144 from the junkyard, get a warranty on it and then take it to have it tested. If its bad I'll go get another under warranty. Alts here are 13 + 3 for core. So for under 20 bucks I can get a 140A..I'm really wanting to upgrade to a Cs144 for bigger. The bigger case will handle the heat better, and give me more room to grow.

I don't mind custom mounting brackets at all since I'm deleting my A/c and moving my ALT to its location but I want to stay with an internally regulator ALT. I don't want to have to hassle with swapping to a external setup.

 

[shogun]

I would suggest swapping the CS130 for the newer and slightly physically larger AD244. Even a junk yard AD244 alternator will out perform the CS130 by at least double. My "junkyard alt" benched well over 200 amps cold and still maintained over 100 amps at idle speed hot. Best $50 I ever spent.

And the very first, guaranteed question at the yard will be: "what make/model/year vehicle?". They probably wont know what a AD244 is.

Keeping in mind that nothings free (present administration excepted). Running a larger alt than necessary costs more engine loss, but this may not be easily measurable. OP might want to consider using new headlight harness with relays.

 

[HenryJ]

Check out that thread that I linked. The AD244 is the big brother of the CS130 and the next generation of the CS144. Fans are internal like the CS130. It is a bolt in replacement for the smaller CS130. Don't waste time on the CS144. I did lots with one and never got idle output that was acceptable. Terrible heating problems when pushed too. The AD244 is an improved version of the CS144. Better cooling. Better bearings. Regulator and diodes move external for better cooling. Same stator as the CS144.

This one was mine:

Here is a comparison photo (left CS130D - right AD244):

I picked up a Delphi AD244 130A alternator at the salvage yard for $50. It was off of a 2002 Suburban 1500 with a flex fuel 5.3L engine.
It uses the same 56mm pulley that the stock CS130D has, so I swapped that for a 52mm that I had laying around. This same alternator was used on many applications and may have been rated as high as 145 amps. Ask for an application with the HO alternator. I did buy a new one from NAPA too. Add "HO" to their part number for the High Output version. Mine was computer tested to 212 amps and $12 cheaper. Go figure?

The AD244 was replaced by the DR44G some time around 2003-2005?. The regulator is different, but it does mount the same. They are rated up to 165 amp versions.

 

[88Xj]

Ok so the AD244 is internally regulated just like the CS130 and cs144?
Anyway to get another 50mm pulley? I've looked around and can't seem to find anything on smaller pulleys for these alternators?
I'll start my research on the Ad244 now. I know just about everything on the Cs144 lol, what cars its in, whats better/worse. I always try to get ahead of the ball before I make a play
I already have 0-2gauge wire for all wiring. With a 150A ANL fuse, I'll probably upgrade to a 200A once I get a bigger ALT. I picked up 2 extra grounds as well, neg-chassis & block-chassis. My jeep never got a neg-chassis ground from the factory so it was logical to add it.
I'm thinking about pulling my extra engine-chassis ground since its already ground that way 2 times, and adding a ALT-chassis ground. Any issue with that?


Its odd I did all this at the same time virtually. Grounding kit and alternator went on the same day. I actually ended up blowing the original 100A ANL fuse on the first start up:Wow1: figured that ment the alt pushed to much juice through lol, tossed in the 150A and haven't had an issue since.


Any advice on what the AD244 came in? Which cars?

 

[wardrow]

OK, so have you checked your voltage drop on your ground side and insulated side yet?