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Altenator output

Discussion in 'Mini Lounge' started by Fore by fore, May 24, 2020.

  1. Fore by fore

    Fore by fore New Member

    I have a 2009 Suzuki Carry that has ac. I am thinking of adding a light bar but I can’t find any info on how many amps the alternator puts out. Would anyone have an idea
     
  2. Limestone

    Limestone Well-Known Member

    Fore,
    There are other post's with this info in it! I know when I had mine checked, the Denso Alternator was putting out 35-40 amps! I increased my output to 65-70 amps! In other threads, guys have gone up to as high as 90 or 95 amps, if I remember, correctly! Also remember, if your adding an LED light bar, does it really increase the amps required in output?
    Limestone
     
  3. Fore by fore

    Fore by fore New Member

    The led light bar i am getting is 390 watts witch equates to 32.5 amps if my math is right. My concern would be if this would leave enough Amps for the motor to run right. I wouldn’t be running anything else at the same time except maybe the heater
     
  4. Limestone

    Limestone Well-Known Member

    Under post "lighting idea" in the forum. Jig's and fixtures has some great info, that I think will help! Just type that into the search bar on the forum!
     
  5. Limestone

    Limestone Well-Known Member

    There is more great info that I know will help you, under, "LED Lights, are the wattages correct"?
     
  6. Ohkei Dohkei

    Ohkei Dohkei Active Member

    You might want to double check the watts on that light. That seems really high for LED's. I had old school Halogen light bars that didn't draw that much.. If you are looking on ebay or amazon, many of the Chinese products far over state the real wattage to make it look like it is a brighter light than their competitor. You might want to ask them directly how many amps it draws. It might not be an issue after all.
     
    Limestone likes this.
  7. Ohkei Dohkei

    Ohkei Dohkei Active Member

    Limestone likes this.
  8. Fore by fore

    Fore by fore New Member

    Thanks for the reply i was thinking the same thing, that if its led it shouldn’t be an issue. I will recheck the light bar. Thanks again
     
  9. Fore by fore

    Fore by fore New Member

    Thanks I will try that
     
  10. Jigs-n-fixtures

    Jigs-n-fixtures Well-Known Member

    After i invested a lot of time and effort, and installed wiring to match the listed wattages of the lights I bought off Amazon. I finally gat ahold of a clamp style, DC Ammeter.

    They all drew about a third, or less, of the claimed Wattage. You can get a decent clamp type DC Ammeter from Harbor Freight, or on Amazon.

    I should have been suspicious when they claimed 400-Watts, but the factory leads to the lights were 18-Guage.
     
  11. Fore by fore

    Fore by fore New Member

    That is something I didn’t think about. The wiring harness they sent would never handle the wattage. I think I will mount the light bar and just see if it will work. Thank you for the info. It’s great to be able to talk with people like you that have been through this before.
     
  12. Before Going All Crazy and replacing your stock alternator - get it bench checked . I wheeled into to a local alternator shop during their lunch break (quickly became the topic de jure - "What yu drivin!) - I took out my stock "45 amp rated alternator" - and had the "lunch" boys bench check it between their guffaws on their bologna "sandwiches" - (at )RPM my 26 year old stock alternator produced 72 amps at 14.1 volts. "Best damned atlernator they have seen it quite some time" they quipped given it's size and age. So before tossing your ol' stock alternator - Pick up a pound of Hormel's finest and a loaf of tube bread and head down to your local alternator shop - you will be a hero and just might be impressed with what your "little o' stock" can produce!
     
  13. Limestone

    Limestone Well-Known Member

    G C,
    That's exactly what I did, in an older post, on this topic! Checked it out first, at a reputable Alternator/Starter shop, and then I new what to do!
    Limestone
     
  14. Jigs-n-fixtures

    Jigs-n-fixtures Well-Known Member

    With the 90-Amp alternator I installed, if I plow at night with all the lights on, the voltage will still drop down to about 11.8 volts when I adjust the plow with the electric over hydraulic system.

    Before folks start upgrading alternators, I’m recommend that they install one of the digital voltage meters to see what is going on while operating the truck.

    I think I’m going to look at the schematics and see if I can get the idle kick up for the A/C, set up with a dash switch, so I can turn it on when I’m plowing. The engine is running at or just above idle when I plow, because I tend to go slow and let thing just move along. You get too rambunctious and you break things.
     
    Limestone likes this.
  15. Jigs,

    I’m a neophyte at these things currently troubleshooting the carb cooling /high idle thing – had it licked & now it’s back - but anyway I digress. A couple of days ago when I had it idling low at idle – I noticed that electrical demand would make the idle kick up when the demand went up – items such as the radiator fan kicking on, A/C, Headlights, even the HVAC Blower motor on high The radiator fan seemed to have the most pronounced impact. Another thought if you wanted to go the mechanical route – just blocking off the carb cooling via a small electrically activated servo "normally open" on the inbound carb cooling line – if that would give you enough tick up in alternator RPM – it certainly makes mine idle high. Might be less complex than tapping into electrical demand route.

    Great idea on the voltmeter, I do plan to install a voltmeter (one day) – in a previous older thread about tach installs I observed a picture of dash mounted dual pod setup with glow shift products – a tach in one and a voltmeter in the other.

    Bob
     

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  16. Jigs-n-fixtures

    Jigs-n-fixtures Well-Known Member

    I’ve got a simple digital one, about 1X2-inches in the dash for now, and it works.
    I’ve bought the GlowShift Tach and am deciding on whether to go with a three gauge pod, or a four gauge pod. Definitely installing the tach, and oil pressure. Trying to decide what else I’d use besides tach/oil pressure. Trying to decide on vacuum, water temp (stock cluster has a gauge for that), voltmeter maybe and air fuel ratio gauge. I though about an oil temp gauge but don’t normally run hard enough to warrant that. I’ve got a couple of months to get it all figured out.

    But am leaning toward a 4 gauge cluster with tach/oil pressure/vacuum and volts.
     
  17. Poor man's Voltmeter - actually pretty handy and cheap (around $10 bucks on AMZ) - Plugs into stock Cig lighter receptacle with vehicle off and key turned to accessory - voltage shows around 12.2 then drains down to 11.9 when phone is plugged in. As soon as I fire up the engine (and alternator) voltage shot up to 14.1 to 14.3 - shows alternator is working . When a load is plugged into USB port the display alternates between amperage output through USB and line voltage. Anyway beats hardwiring a voltmeter (both in aggravation & price) plus you get two USB ports to boot.
     

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