130 Amp Alternator Upgrade

You won't cook your electrical system running the voltage booster. Thousands of people (including myself) are running it with no issue. The AGM booster thread linked above was conducted by a member that is an automotive lighting engineer, he does have the knowledge to be confident in the mod. You can also get the fixed setting booster instead of the adjustable because it get's our trucks right about to the sweet spot, is cheaper, and involves no fiddling/adjusting. Just swap the fuse

The mini blade version also fits in our micro blade fuse box if you want to save a few extra bucks. That's what I'm running, I saw no reason to spend an extra $20 for the micro blade version just to have it sit flush in the fuse panel.

https://www.hkbelect.com/product/24...nic-fuse-version-micro-blade-compatible-2015/

What you will do by not running a voltage booster with AGM batteries is slowly reduce their capacity and ruin them by never fully charging them.

 

I run this on my 130 amp alternator to boost the output in order to maintain a float charge on my AGM batteries. In no way does it increase the idle on the vehicle.

 

Once I get the 200A alternator installed, I will see what voltage it charges at. Then I can decide on whether or not I need to get the voltage booster. Thank y’all.

Anybody know how long mail takes from Australia to Florida?

 

The 200Amp Alternator is in, and it works. But it still didn’t solve the issue.

When it shut down today, I grabbed ahold of the red 0 awg CCA power supply cable, and it was getting very warm. I’m ordering 0awg ofhc power and ground cables. Maybe this 0awg CCA wire is half of the issue.

 

This is got to be frustrating for you. Is your 0 awg cca wire, cca is the brand name or a claim made by some brand? 0 awg wire for battery terminals should be plenty large enough. Along with the big 3 which I believe replaces the alternator big charge wire, and 2 yellow optimas, it should provide enough to keep that inverter running. The wire that got warm is the one connected to the inverter? If you have an amp clamp, see what the inverter is drawing. If you don’t have one, it needs to be able to read dc amps, they cost a little more.

You could look to see what others have done. Off road, camping, tailgating guys run things like winch, refrigerators that draw lots of amps.

You could try getting another pair of eyes on it. A smart neighbor, relative or a shop that specializes in high end car audio.

 

CCA (copper clad aluminum) cable/wire which is less conductive than OFC (oxygen free copper)cable/wire, but a fifth of the price. While technically, the CCA should handle the power needed, it is more prone to voltage drop than the OFC.

 

Sorry about the wait, spent two weeks in the hospital... God decided to give me more time on earth, so I’m still here.

I upgraded the wire.

I also bought an amp clamp. Inverter is pulling 68–73 amps. But only 43 of it is coming from the alternator. This alternator is supposed to be producing 100 amps at idle. So, technically, it should be able to run it just off of the alternator.

Battery meter says 13.4v at idle without any loads turned on. It goes down to 11.6 with AC and inverter on.

Batteries only read 12v. I probably need to float charge the batteries.

I ordered a voltage booster from voltage boost mods.com. It’s a inline unit that plugs in at the alternator pigtail. Supposed to up the voltage by 0.5v. Still waiting on it to get delivered.

 

13.4 is saying the alternator is not performing well. It should be ok under normal circumstances but what you’re doing probably needs more. Hopefully your booster thing will do it. I had a work truck charging to 13.3-13.1. It was fine starting and driving during the week. But Monday mornings it wouldn’t start if I didn’t start it up Sunday night.

A friendly fellow TW member turned me on to something called a buck booster dc/dc charger. For me it’s for 12v in, 24v out charging. But they also make 12v in, 12v out chargers. Ctek makes one, but not 24v out. There’s lots more options for 12in 12 out. Are your batteries optima? That could be why you continue having issues.

https://www.sterling-power-usa.com/

https://smartercharger.com/collections/on-board/products/ctek-d250se

Don’t go on us yet. I haven’t given up on hoping TW will get your project resolved.

 

Yes, they are yellow top optima batteries.

Mine always starts. It’s just a matter of reliably powering the inverter and AC while at idle for hours at a time (think traffic jam situation).

 

Try a starter voltage drop test. Hook your multimeter to a battery. Some meters have peak hold, if yours has it set it for peak low. Then start the engine. Before starting it should have said 12.5 or more. If peak low is low, 10.0 or so, the battery is weak. If your meter doesn’t have peak hold, it can still be done, just not as accurate. If it’s analog with a dial you can see it easier. Digital you just gotta see what the lowest reading flashes.

If your batteries both test good, I don’t know. You could contact the guy that sells the big 3 kits, get a pm going with him.

 

@Oldmantaco2

I’m wondering if you got your issues resolved.

 

@Oldmantaco2

Bump