DC Power Engineering h.o. alternator issues

Ha yeah, well it'll be quite a while before I get my entire setup done the way I want. Super slow going. Ha. But that does give me time to think things thru! Lol.
But yeah, I think any other alt will work just fine. As long as it has the beefier case support up top like oem does. Its really sad that their alts aren't reliable all due to their mount. Oh well.

And again, bills alt is legit. I think I just need to pull the trigger on a dual battery setup and be done with it. The more I think about it the more it makes sense to go that route. Waiting for Bill's response to that.. But I'm not sure when I'll get around to it.. Hopefully soon. Got a few other matters to tend to before I put more time into accessories. I guess it really boils down to how much power you need though. And how big your wallet is. Ha. I'm hoping the 250a will be sufficient even after I'm all done adding more lights and subs. But should be especially with a dual bat setup. I kinda crave those insane idle outputs though with the top tier name brand ho alts. Ha. But they can get crazy expensive. I'm still learning stuff about charging systems though so I couldn't say if theyre really worth it over a somewhat budget friendly alternative, for those basic to mid range power hungry systems. Again it would depend on how extensive your setup is and your power requirements. People keep tending to believe I've got a crazy setup as is, but it's really not all that much atm to be honest. Once all is said and done, sure, but even then I've seen some far crazier lighting and sound setups, with crazy dual to quad alternator setups to pair with it! lmao.

 

You can always try a smaller pulley to spin it faster.

 

I don't think that's the issue here though. Unless you're talking about in general to get more power out of an oem alt or something. I've heard about that but don't recall the specific applications for changing the pulley size.. I really think I just need a dual battery to isolate my lights and other accessories. Because as it is, my sub is drawing lots of power in fast increments thus affecting the power output to the lights being wired to the same source.

 

OK so I will say first off that using the ground from your headlight as the ground for your off-road lights isn't the best idea. Heavy draw like that should be grounded directly to the body or frame. Using a control solenoid to do this, allowing the headlight output to control the solenoid would be the best, and safest way.

So let's start adding up current:
Lights 21.6
Lights 20
Fan 5.6
Amp 90.0 (at 75% or more output)
Truck 30.0
Total draw with no lights - 115.6
Total draw with lights - 157.2

So with those numbers, I can understand not getting the best output at idle. The 250A unit puts out around 60% of max output at idle speeds of about 700-750 rpm. Using raw numbers (which of course don't always match perfectly) alt output at 700 RPM would be about 150A. At an RPM of 600 the alternator could drop to 130A of output.

There are the numbers. Adding a second battery would certainly help a LOT, by moving the amp draw to the second battery, and having a true isolation system, you should remove all flicker from your lights. I feel also that a 1 Farad capacitor is too small for a 1200W amp. I have a 1200W amp and utilize a 2 Farad capacitor. With my dual battery setup and a 200A alternator I get no flicker of my offroad lights at idle with volume at 75% of max. (Any higher of a volume and I get clipping which I HATE, so I never go above 75%)

 

Cool thanks for putting this into a better perspective. Makes sense now and those numbers are adding up to more than I thought they would so makes perfect sense why I seem to be on the verge. Shit adds up quick! Ha.

And as far as that wiring goes, not sure if it matters but.. Iirc I have the relay wired as such:
85: high beam ground on headlight socket
86: the 12v constant on headlight socket
30: fused 12v blue sea block
87: 12v to light bar
Ground from light bar is wired to ground terminal on blue sea block.

So the relay is grounded through the headlight socket. But the light bar itself is grounded properly to the blue sea fuse block. Not sure if it makes a difference or not?

 

ok, good, so the relay itself is controlling the lightbar. That is the way it should be done. I would check the BlueSea ground block to be sure that it is getting a good ground as well.

 

Alright cool. As you can tell I'm not exactly an expert, but thought I did things properly for the most part. Ha. Was curious about how my relays were grounded tho.. I'm gonna try and find a different source from the high beams when I rewire everything. I'm still not happy with it. Especially my rats nest of wires.. Which my next project will be, with a bussman fuse/relay box, along with a dual battery and your stage 4 kit!

Speaking of, is that stage 4 kit fairly simple to install? I mean, is there anything I should know or is it pretty straightforward? Curious how everything's wired up. Like, do you include a simple diagram with the package?

 

It isn't that difficult to install, but I would say to plan out a good 3 or 4 hours from start to finish.

 

@BamaToy1997 or anyone know of a good clamp meter to use for testing alt amp output, as well as other accessories? I'm really curious as to what my lights are drawing as well as other accessories. Wanna start learning how to test these things but the two clamp meters I bought were fails. One wouldn't test dc amps. Other one is supposed to measure up to 400a but only reads like 14a iirc on the alt wire. I wanna say it's due to the cheap $40 model I bought but other functions seem to be accurate. But wanna see if anyone's used anything besides the higher end and expensive klein models.

 

I have a Fluke 374 it's rated at 600A. I use it for work, if I didn't it'd be hard to justify the cost..$200 on eBay.

If you're ever near Prescott you're welcome to use it.

 

Yeah I'm not too worried about it.. I'm new to using meters, but researched them a bit and they seem fairly easy, especially the clamp meters. I just wanted a cheap meter to start testing things out, out of curiosity. Like the light bars. To see if they're actually performing like they're claimed to. Since there's been debates on generic/overseas budget lights having exxagerated specs like the amps and wattage ratings.

 

I've found cheap meters to be lacking in precision. Lacking in 10's of amps in some...

If you try a cheaper meter, just check the voltage & amperage rating on the unit so it's suitable. And use 10GA wire to make your jumpers and of equal length. Any clamp amp meter I have had experience with can only give readings from one singular wire on the circuit.

 

The problem with cheap meters is just that: They are cheap, unreliable, and inaccurate. To get a good clamp-on meter you need quality. I use a Fluke 87 with a clamp meter probe.

 

NightProwler- how's your alternator setup working out? Any issues with that lower adjustment bracket?

A little update on my saga (and not trying to thread-jack ya)....

I didn't need the output you were after, so went with a Mean Green unit which was rated around 140A. Took it to a dedicated auto battery shop and they were able to test its output with a clamp on meter which came out to around 115A. It also seemed to run pretty hot. I wasn't impressed, so tried the 160A LC engineering alternator. It wouldn't charge at idle, and I didn't want to fuss with changing out the pulley so back to LCE it went. Frustrated, I put the original alternator back in and started researching the GM CS-144 as my last resort.

The 140A CS-144 for a 1995 Buick Roadmaster / Cadillac Fleetwood with the 5.7 was the best fit for my application. GM made about a half dozen variations of the CS-144. The Roadmaster uses the smallest diameter pulley of the bunch and the terminals are "clocked" right where they need to be. Alternatorparts.com makes a really nice Denso to GM harness for these, so it's plug and play. The battery light still functions as normal (I checked).

The oil cooler hose was shortened so it cleared the alternator. Perhaps not necessary, but it frees up some space for belt adjustment and eliminates contact. A 4PK1054 belt is the perfect fit, giving plenty of adjustment space left over after it is tightened. The lower adjustment bar fits up perfectly. There is still room to fit the YZZD3 (larger oil filter).

The CS-144 yields 13.9 to 14.3 volts during a hot weather idle, 14.5 volts during a cold idle, and 14.2 when moving (engine at 2K RPMs). That's right where the voltage should be. The 15 volts of the DC Power Alternator irked me a bit! The voltage will drop slightly at idle when charging the aux battery after camping overnight, but it catches up quickly. Alternators aren't designed to charge batteries anyway.

My Taco is no longer the daily driver, so other than a recent 1000 mile road trip, it'll be a while before I know how it truly holds up. I should probably post this write up, but there are plenty of other good how-to's out there....

Good luck, if all else fails, consider the CS-144 option. There are high output versions out there. Still need to stop by the shop and get the output tested, but I'm very pleased with it so far.

 

No issues since ive slapped the h.o. denso oem replacement unit in. I still get very slight dimming when my sub is cranked. But im still only running two light bars. Havent done shit all to my setup. Or truck in general for that matter. If I ever get around go it, it's all getting yanked (lights, wiring, relays, alt, etc) and redone professionally, so to speak. Dual battery, bussman relay/fuse box, wiring, new alt, etc. And yeah I'll definitely keep the gm alt option in mind if I do need to upgrade further.