Whats up with my alternator

[jeepdude832]

I have gone through two alternators in a month I thought it was from mud but tonight I got stuck and didnt spray mud up in there. I was winchen for like 2 minutes @ 3000 rpm and my voltage guage went dead. Everytime this happened my alternator was dead in the past but after I was done wheelin my voltage is back I am confused. Is 117 enough for a 9000 milemarker @ 2 or 3000 rpm

 

[Lost_Highway]

I have gone through two alternators in a month I thought it was from mud but tonight I got stuck and didnt spray mud up in there. I was winchen for like 2 minutes @ 3000 rpm and my voltage guage went dead. Everytime this happened my alternator was dead in the past but after I was done wheelin my voltage is back I am confused. Is 117 enough for a 9000 milemarker @ 2 or 3000 rpm

By saying 117 Im assuming you are meaning amps. While this is a good amp rating you are still killing your batteries. What you can do is a couple things. You can:

1: Convert to a dual battery setup
2: Convert to a deep cycle battery with a higher amp rating than the battery you already have.
3: Get a higher amp alternator


What is happening is your winch is draining your battery faster than your alt. can recharge it. I would first switch to a dual battery setup and put a couple large amp deep cycle batteries in there since they can be recharged over and over many times without killing the battery. If you are still having a problem then go to a high amp alt. since it is the most expensive of all your options

 

[TwistedCU]

I would think that by the time you buy 2 high-end batteries & all the associated heavy guage wire and connectors, it would not be too much more money and a whole lot easier to just drop in a higher output alt.

JMO

 

[XJNick]

What is happening is your winch is draining your battery faster than your alt. can recharge it.

It should be noted that situations such as this where the full load of the accesories is being place on the alternator is BAD for the alternator. Mainly what will result is an overheating alternator, which will quickly ruin it.

Putting in a higher amp alternator might help, but you really do need to either use a battery with higher amp capacity or consider using two batteries.

Ah, the joys of a low voltage system resulting in high amperage loads :mrgreen:
-Nick :!:

 

[MudderChuck]

I´d put a Marine fuse in line from the main cable running from the alternator (keep a few extra in the tool box)to the battery. A least 10 amps lower than the rated output of the alternator, 20 would be better.
Didn´t get which year jeep you have, different years different alternators. The old style SS alternator can be cooked and develope a run away regulator, which will fry a whole lot more than the alternator.
Build a custom battery box and stick the biggest battery in there you can (or two). I always used my winch with just the battery power, I´d stop, run the motor for awhile and winch again. I´ve fried alternators just jumping another car, with a dead battery and the motor running, don´t do that anymore.

 

[jeepdude832]

WTB: YJ Factory soft top hardware

I have a 99 and a brand new optima blue top

 

[TwistedCU]

I don't have any experience with winches, but when high powered amplifiers were killing batteries in customer's cars, a high amp alternator always solved the problem. It seems if the winch is drawing more current than the alt is putting out and it is killing the battery, adding another battery would just make it take longer. Batteries are for starting automobiles, not running their electrical system. If the problem is additional current draw, why wouldn't adding a good alternator with a higher output that met the needs of your accessories be the best fix?

 

[Bounty__Hunter]

A 136A NipponDenso from a Dodge truck, van, Grand Cherokee will fit perfectly, run about $40 to $50 at the junkyard.

 

[XJNick]

Batteries are for starting automobiles, not running their electrical system. If the problem is additional current draw, why wouldn't adding a good alternator with a higher output that met the needs of your accessories be the best fix?

Batteries can be and are used for way more than starting cars, they are the backbone of the power system. An immidiate image that comes to my mind is that of a Battery-Electric Vehicle. EVs are proof that batteries can be the source of power for an automobile. Now, to apply that to conventional (gas-powered) vehicles: An alternator may be rated at say 100 amps. That is the Alt's max load capacity. If you pull 100 amps from such an alternator for ANY length of time without a battery, you will overheat it, resulting in a damaged alt. Another factor to consider is that the amperage capacity of the alternator is sensitive to the speed at which the alt is being driven.

You place the bulk of a heavy load on the battery. Most batteries can handle much longer periods of high current draw without being damaged compared to an alternator, provided the battery doesn't get completely discharged. Once you've removed some or all of the load, the battery gets a break and begins to recharge. This is why extended periods of city driving (when the engine RPMs remain low) with lots of accesories on is hard on the charging system, and therefore puts alot of stress on the battery and alternator.

With all that said, I'm sure you could have an alternator capable of handling the load of say a winch for extended periods of time if the max amperage output of the alt was significantly higher than the current draw of the winch. I hope I made some sense. :mrgreen:

-Nick :!:

 

[TwistedCU]

"I hope I made some sense.

-Nick"


Yes it does. I did a little poking around on the web and apparently some winches at full working load could draw as much as 300-400 amps. That's way more than even the best alternator you could buy could provide. Even under normal to light winching with a high output alternator, the battery will take the brunt of the load. Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Snitty]

i'm no electrical genius... i'm the mechanical man... if one were to run dual batteries... how would such be wired

 

[XJNick]

Snitty,

When you use a dual battery set-up you would wire them in parallel.

This means, you'd leave everyting wired the same as it is with the single battery setup, then run a cable from battery #1's red (Hot) terminal to Battery #2's red (Hot) terminal, and run another cable from Battery#1's black (ground) terminal to Battery #2's black (ground) terminal. Or you could probably just connect Battery #2's black terminal to the chassis.

This setup takes the Amp-hour capacity of battery #1 and adds it to that of Battery #2. Therefore you'd be able to draw higher currents or draw a certain current for longer times without draining the batteries.

Of course be sure to use thick battery cables... :mrgreen:

P.S.: Be Sure you DON'T wire the two batteries in series, or you'd fry everything with 24 volts.

-Nick :!:

 

[Snitty]

I have a plow.... this might be a decent option for me... plus... NY winters make for cold starts