All this talk of upgrading alternators
 

I've been reading a few posts on upgrading your alternator and was wondering when you should actually do that. How many extra accessories would require the upgrade.

Here is what I got that did not originally come with the truck:
upgraded stereo no amps
foglights
back-up lights
12v outlet in bed
2 kc offroad lights 100w each
small light in the bed low wattage
lights around my switch panel for the above accessories low wattage

They will never all be in use at the same time.

Any opinions if I should or should not upgrade? Or wait till mine craps out and upgrade?

i say wait it out. My 2 KC's put quite a strain on my stock alternator, and when it ****s the bed, ima just get a 180amp alternator. why spend the money if u dont have to?

I think I'll agree with you and wait it out until it craps out. I rarely use the lights besides for the back-ups and the fogs. Hunting season is coming up so they'll get more use but not too much.
Thanks.

i upgraded my 95A alternator to a remanufactured 130A Explorer alternator when my stock died......tomorrow i am going to have to pull the second 130A alternator off my truck because i bought a reman alternator instead of a new one......<--that wont happen again......going on the second alternator in 3 months is rediculas.....the only thing extra i have on my system that a stock Explorer doesn't have is the Taurus efan (and yes it pulls a lot of amps at start up, but it isn't on constantly) and my blue lights (since they are LED's; i have 8 LED lights, 1 2-outlet strobe box, and a wig-wag on a 15A fuse; again they are not on all the time either).......

i am going to get a 200A alternator from Jusnes Modified when i get back from the Jamboree this weekend.......hopefully that solves the problem...

My headlights and headunit dim when my sub hits, and I got an amazing deal on the 200amp alt. So why not...

UDP's make the problem worse........

yes they do, BUT there is a pulley that goes on the alternator alos....

Maurice, what years for the bolt on 130A Explorer onto a '97 4.0L? Is it still 1995-2000?

any Explorer alternator from '95-'01 will bolt on to your 4.0.....the 4.0 OHV and 4.0 SOHC have the same alternator....

Yea, I can never remember with Explorers 2000 or 2001. Thanks...


UPD's for the OHV have the balancer in with the crank pulley, and it's not gonna help out in this case...

that 200amp at idle produces no more amps than your stock one.

^---exactly. run a junkyard, reman or new large case 130A 3G. they crank out 150-160A at 2,000 rpm.

IIRC the stock small case 3G puts out about 50A at idle. multiply this by 14.4V to get total watts. that leaves us with roughly 720W at idle.

lets do the same for max output, which is 95A. this leaves us with 1368 watts. so, if u are questioning weather or not ur stock alt can handle the load simply add the watts and divide by 14.4 to get total amp draw. i am unsure of the head light, blower motor or any other accessories but add that to ur total. if u are within 10% of max load to max output id say its time to upgrade the alternator.

how do i tell if i have the 3G large case? most of my stuff doesn't run unless i am at or above 2000 rpms...

he posted a link to a site a while back that laid out each alternator and described the differences i cant find it tho

If I went with a 130a would I still need to upgrade the wiring?

i know....i remember seeing it, but cant find it in a search...

i did....and i saw better voltage because of it.....i upgraded to 4 gauge wire for + and -...

Cool, Thanks all!

the 200A is built on the 130 case. the 130 case is a large case 3G. the 95A (and another but i dont recall what size) is the small case.

plus the large case has three set of vent holes, small case has 2.

so i will know if i have the 3G case if i have 3 vent holes....gotcha...

You can't really see the vent holes, but you can definetly tell how much larger the case is.

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...81_43_full.jpg

i have to take the alternator off tonight to put on the new pulley, will i be able to see the vent holes then?

You should. They're evenly spaced around the casing.

is it possible for a 130A alternator to have just 2 vent holes?

Sorry for the late reply....been out of town.

I think so. When I was looking to upgrade mine, several Ford guys told me to just get the 130amp. It was the same size as the 95amp, could still use stock wiring, etc, etc, were all their selling points.

As for how to tell the difference from part numbers....not a clue.

well crap....i have a AC amp meter, but not a DC amp meter.......that sucks...