I've got an '04 TJ Unlimited with the piddly 117 amp stock alternator. I've got access to an '04 WJ alternator rated at 180 amps and it seems like a no-brainer to make the switch. Anyone done this swap?
I've got an '04 TJ Unlimited with the piddly 117 amp stock alternator. I've got access to an '04 WJ alternator rated at 180 amps and it seems like a no-brainer to make the switch. Anyone done this swap?
Is your current alternator not keeping up?
Actually, I've not had much of a problem with the stock alternator, and the more I look into it the less beneficial it sounds.
I couldn't give you any concrete info, but this is something I need to look into as well.
My dash voltage gauge drops significantly during winching, and I'm not sure whether the alternator or the old battery is the issue.
Has that always been the case or a recent change? I've heard (and this makes sense) that there is no way for the alternator to keep up with the draw from a winch, so it's pulling what it needs from the battery. I've just convinced myself that my money would be better spent on a quality AGM battery.
Has that always been the case or a recent change? I've heard (and this makes sense) that there is no way for the alternator to keep up with the draw from a winch, so it's pulling what it needs from the battery. I've just convinced myself that my money would be better spent on a quality AGM battery.
...how much HP is lost to the higher amp alternator.
I've had the issue since buying it stock. A Warn M8000 has a max amp draw of 435 amps, so it makes sense that the battery would be drained with a 117 amp alternator.
In my case, it's draining much quicker than on my previous vehicles, going down to ~10 volts shortly after beginning to winch. No voltage issues outside of that. So not sure, it might just be that a battery upgrade is in order.
Keep in mind how a DC motor works. It's basically a constant-power device (requires a certain amount of power to put out a certain torque), and as such, it will draw proportionally more current when voltage drops. I know from the research I did for my M8274 install, that Warn's current ratings assume 12V at the battery. So, if you are doing a max pull at 10V instead of 12V, that max current becomes 435A x 12V ÷ 10V = 522A!
So he just needs to find a 525a alternator, right?
(LOL, kidding)
I looked at higher-output alternators but settled on the 270A because none were big enough to supply the 623A max current for the M8274 (newest model with the bigger motor). There were downsides to going bigger than 270A, but other than cost, I don't recall what those were anymore.
The plan for our rig is a premier power welder, so hopefully that’ll cover welding and winching duties with their included high AMP alternator. I think it’s around 200 to 250-ish.
How much output does an alternator drop as temperature goes up?
What temperature are alternators rated at?