Alternator output

[russ0943]

I have an AMC 360 with the stock alternator (CS10 63amp) 2 yr old 800cca battery and taurus fan.

I experienced some weak starts last time I was out on the trails and then at one point it wouldn't start at all. I fixed part of the problem by tightening up a gnd at the battery.

My question is: Is this alternator undersized considering I have a taurus fan running on high nonstop? I've read that it draws 30A on high. If so I could be expending more juice than it is being charged (assuming the alternator puts out less than 30A consistently.)

Also, I don't have an ammeter to measure DC amps to know for sure.

Any help is appreciated from guys with a similar setup.

 

[lugnut]

If your crawling along at low RPM your fan may pull more than the alt. puts out. They charge alot less than the rated amps at low RPM. Do you have a volt meter in the Jeep? What does it read at the RPM your running at while wheeling? You say you cleaned the ground connection at the battery. What about the engine siide of the ground cable. Clean it also. It could also be a heat problem with the starter. One of CJs had a set of headers that ran close to the starter and it would turn over very slowly when the engine was hot. If I let it sit 20-30 mins it would be fine. A heat shield for the starter solved that problem.

 

[russ0943]

One of CJs had a set of headers that ran close to the starter and it would turn over very slowly when the engine was hot. If I let it sit 20-30 mins it would be fine. A heat shield for the starter solved that problem.

I have inframe headers and that could definately be the case. All my ground connections are legit. I've checked them and ohmed everything out. The alternator is put'n out 14v when it's running so I believe it's working, just maybe undersized.

I'll try the heatshield. Thanks for your help!

 

[witchdoctor]

hey russ mine was cranking fine when cold but when i hit the trails and shut it off for a couple minutes it would drag and barely spin fast enough to crank. i wrapped the starter with some heat sheild material from auto parts and no more trouble.

 

[russ0943]

Hopefully this fixes it.