Which High Output Alternator??

Ok, I'm getting a winch soon, and I want to upgrade my battery to a Yellow top Optima and I need to buy a high output Alternator for my 1988 Commanche with a 4.0.

WHAT ALTERNATOR SHOULD I GET? Where should I get it from??
I don't want to spend a sheetload of money for an alternator.

I frequently run for extended periods with 2 150w lights on the front of my jeep and have winched for hours on end. (Hi Josh!)

I run a 90a alt I picked up at a junkyard for $11 as a trailspare. I keep meaning to buy a new alternator and put this back in the spares box, but for more than a year now it has been a trooper.

I get better performance out of the red top than the yellow top.

hi Cal.

Mean Green alternators are really nice...but they do cost a sheetload.

http://www.bc4x4.com/tech/2004/jeepalt/

Old but good thread on PBB that is an extention of the writeup:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=172316&highlight=alternator

I did the 136 amp alt. off of a Dakota a few years ago and it works great.

I run the Powermaster and have been happy with it and if I ever feel the need for an onboard welder the alternator is good to go. But you could do like Cal said and get a high amp unit from a junkyard. If you find a Cherokee with lots of electrical options (power windows, power locks, fog lights, etc.) it should have a higher amp alternator from the factory.

XJeremy23 said:

I run the Powermaster and have been happy with it and if I ever feel the need for an onboard welder the alternator is good to go. But you could do like Cal said and get a high amp unit from a junkyard. If you find a Cherokee with lots of electrical options (power windows, power locks, fog lights, etc.) it should have a higher amp alternator from the factory.

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I think you missed the point; I don't have a high amp one .. I have the low amp one - and its been more than enough for everything I do.

Grand cherokee 136 amp was easy and fast.

Your model year would take a Delco alternator, rather than a Denso like the HO years. (The durango alternator is large case 136 amp denso, the 90 amp versions are small case denso.)

PM 5-90, one of his pals in San Jose rewinds the Delco stator to higher output, and 5-90 himself sells a heavier alt to +PDC cable for the higher charging amperage.

If your looking for high output at low rpm, expect to spend the most, like a mean green alternator.

i got one of these..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/87-9...009QQitemZ190102992199QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

seems to do the job.

I use a stock alternator with an Optima Red Top battery. That combo works fine for the amount of winching I do.

i have a 160 amp MSD from my old car that was wayy more then enough power... when i get myself unlazy its goin in the xj, and i run a optima red top

I have a yellow top in mine. The yellow deep cycle batts. only real advantage is that you can drain it for a longer period of time. The red tops actually crank better for starts. If you're running a winch, I would go with a yellow top.

Lots of good advice given WRT the Optima Yellow Top battery - take it.

If you still want a high-output alternator, the 1988MJ takes the Delco CS-130. You can get a CS-130 from a later GM product, and net an increase - or just order one (there's a link in my sig - click it, and go to "San Jose Generator." It's the shop I use, and I finally talked him into doing mail-order. I'm sure you'll find good reports from the field here - I know he's gotten orders from my site to date.) You'll be dealing with Rod directly if you want to talk to him - going through me would just add markup, and that's not what I'm about.

If you do uprate your alternator, you're going to want to upsize the output lead from the alternator, and replace the fusible link with something a little sturdier (since the 10AWG fusible link wire is only good for ~80A.) I can help you with that as well, if you like.

5-90 said:

If you do uprate your alternator, you're going to want to upsize the output lead from the alternator, and replace the fusible link with something a little sturdier (since the 10AWG fusible link wire is only good for ~80A.) I can help you with that as well, if you like.

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Could you give us some more info on that? Some of the threads I have been reading only talk of replacement of the alternator and nothing of the wiring, I was looking at getting a ZJ V8 136 amp alt. but I was concerned with the wiring.
Thanks 5-90

selarep said:

Could you give us some more info on that? Some of the threads I have been reading only talk of replacement of the alternator and nothing of the wiring, I was looking at getting a ZJ V8 136 amp alt. but I was concerned with the wiring.
Thanks 5-90

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Chrysler (and Ford, come to think on it...) are both notoriously cheap on wiring. They use just enough wire cross-section to handle anticipated current loads, and no more (that's why the AMC harnesses will handle up to 80W on headlamps, while ChryCo tops out at 65W, for instance.)

While you're alternator doesn't "live" at full output (typically, it's down around 50-60A for most modern vehicles,) the first time you need all of it, you're going to either blow out your fusible link or just melt down the output lead. And just try finding fusible link wire anywhere in 10AWG (Hell, I've been looking off and on myself.)

Early PDCs use a pair of MAXI 60 fuses in the PDC for alternator output circuit fusing - since MAXI fuses can be had up to 80A, you can honestly get up to 160A of protection for that circuit. However, I usually suggest replacing with an ANL fuse - which can be had up to around 600A (so 200A for Mean Green units isn't a problem at all - I carry them from 100-200A in various "steps.") Upsize your output lead, install an ANL fuse block, and you're good. Upsize your alternator later? Install a larger fuse (keep the smaller one - you can "limp home" on it if you identify the problem and turn a few things off.)

Typically, the OEM output lead is 8AWG or thereabouts. Fine for an OEM alternator - but once you go up past OEM levels, you're going to want something bigger. 4AWG will carry you safely up to 150-160A - beyond that, just do 1AWG and call it good (since 1AWG, in the lengths usually used, is good for somewhere around 350-375A without overheating.)

Make sense now?