Alternators/charging systems

Rich

Rich

Asshole at large
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Location
Central PA
Alternators/charging systems (split from winch rope thread)

40 amp? :lol: yeah, upgrading would be a VERY good thing. Personally, I think a dual battery setup is over-rated. I've got the larger red top, and it's held up fine through a particularly nasty long, hard winch pull just fine.

If you honestly have a NEED for 2 batteries for winching, your winch should have a driveshaft. ;)
 
Rich said:
40 amp? :lol: yeah, upgrading would be a VERY good thing. Personally, I think a dual battery setup is over-rated. I've got the larger red top, and it's held up fine through a particularly nasty long, hard winch pull just fine.

If you honestly have a NEED for 2 batteries for winching, your winch should have a driveshaft. ;)
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Disagree Rich. I have had to winch when the Heep would not run(carb) ran it down to nothing, but was just enough to get it to where it would run again. so with isolated batteries, the winch battery was dead, but the starter battery cranked her right up. That being said, not many altenators can keep up with the amp pull of a winch, so it has to pull from the battery as well. A long pull will decrease the power in a battery. Two deadliest things for an electric winch is over heating it, and lack of power to it.

ANother good thing about dual batteries and a isolator setup is when you for some unknown reason leave on one of your gadgets and it runs your battery down, you can jump start yourself with a short jumper cable. When I have noticed my volt meter bending the wrong way, I have used the jumper to keep power to my winch.

A PTO winch is useless if it ain't running.
 
Point well made.
 
I'm not a big fan of the PTO winches myself. I'll leave them for the wrecker trucks. I will probably start with just my one battery first then work myself into a dual setup as I can figure out exactly what and where I want it. The first thing to go is the alt and external regulator.
 
i am a jackass, and maybe this is the wrong thread.

how much amperage is needed to efficiently run a winch?

how much (size alternator) is too much for a non serpentine belt?

if this is too off topic, sorry....guess i could start a new thread.

point being, i think my alternator is a stock 80 amp deal on my sbc, and i am hoping it is the weak link to my winch not wanting to pull like it should. i am interested in the alternator JB posted about, and the 180 amp one.
 
A warn at full load will pull between 400 and 600 amps. That's enough to outrun most any alternator out there.

A 2" double-row v-belt can do 150A or so... I think I've occasionally seen as high as 200A. But my 100A with a 1.8" serp will slip the belt at start and full load.

Personally, I'd stay away from any of the 'hopped-up' stock-type alternators. Get yourself a 100-150A stock alternator that puts out plenty of current at slower speeds, HAS A HIGH DUTY CYCLE, and is readily available at any parts house. Most of those hopped-up ones either have low duty cycles (small case, hard to cool, etc) or they don't put out much current until you bump the motor up to 2500rpm.

If you really want some heavy-duty stuff, get one of those monster Leece-Neville (or similar) alts that have 100% duty cycles at 200-250A at 12V. Big truck stuff.
 
pheery said:
i am a jackass, and maybe this is the wrong thread.

how much amperage is needed to efficiently run a winch?

how much (size alternator) is too much for a non serpentine belt?

if this is too off topic, sorry....guess i could start a new thread.

point being, i think my alternator is a stock 80 amp deal on my sbc, and i am hoping it is the weak link to my winch not wanting to pull like it should. i am interested in the alternator JB posted about, and the 180 amp one.
Click to expand...

Good question!

As far as I know a winch draw depends on the winch, and the load. I don't think there is a altenator that would take care of 100% of the winch draw all of the time. Of course, the higher the output, the better off you will be. Sometimes you have to use it intermitantly(sp) so your altenator can keep the battery charged. Another thing that is often over looked is the size of wire(cable) from the altenator to the battery and the size of cable from the battery to the winch. If you use too small there is amperage drop and it can and will over heat. This means damage to the winch motor.
 
Yeah, upgrade the case size, and stay away from the cheap high amp ones.

if you wanna get into the tech, there's 2 ways the alternator's stator can be wired - in a Y, or delta. Y's are found on most domestic stuff, 10si's, etc.. they produce high voltage, and lower amperage at low speeds. Delta wound produces more amperage at lower speeds

My Bosch alternator is rated at 95amps.. 2 things to note - Bosch rates their alternators hot, Delco rates theirs cold. expect a ~33% drop in output when the alt. gets warm. The Bosch is also a delta wound one. it was instrumental in keeping my 8274 pulling on that long pull, and I was able to lay my hand on the winch motor after that...

Merkur cars from the 80's had Bosch alternators. Mine came from an XR4ti, but the Scorpio reportedly had an larger alt.. It was nearly a bolt-in to my SBC in place of the 10si. $50 from the boneyard. Parts are readily available.
 
does upgrading the case size require custom fitting the alternator brackets and all? or is it a direct bolt on in place of the stock alternator?

would it be fair to say that my 80 amp alternator is my problem?
 
pheery said:
does upgrading the case size require custom fitting the alternator brackets and all? or is it a direct bolt on in place of the stock alternator?

would it be fair to say that my 80 amp alternator is my problem?
Click to expand...

If the engine you're putting the larger alternator onto was ever optioned with that series case, then you just need to source the brackets. Otherwise, yes, it's time for some fab.

As far as your alternator being the cause of a slow pull, I'd say no.

Mine pulls almost the same with the new alternator as it does with the Bosch on, at least initially. You would be well served to remove and clean every large electrical connection on the winch and battery... at that current level, it doesn't take much resiatance to make a big drop in current.
 
While we're on the subject of alternators, Since I bought the old 'yota, when sitting at a light with no consumers on,(This includes brake lights) the Batt light flickers. Soon as you hit the brakes, turn on the radio or anything that uses power it goes off. It's a reman and not a toyota(denso) alternator. Guy I bought it from said someone told him it's a loose connection on the back of th alternator, but I can't find anything that is loose. Any Ideas?
 
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