55a alt./amps

how big of an amp can we use n the stocker before it messes it up, reason being i might get another 55amp if i can handle a big nuff one. my 1200rms dominated it...thanks -bf

It depends.....do you run fog lights, neons, or high power headlights....I usually recomend not going beyond half of the rated power of the alternator, just due to the fact that the vehicle will draw power, and dependind on accessories, such as listed above you can get into an overdraw situation very quick.

But also keep in mind that most amps will not draw 100 percent of their rated power 100 percent of the time....Most amps will run in the 25 - 75 percent range for normal music listening....and only really draw their full amps at small intervals.

I would not recommend using ANY "bigger" amps without using either a capacitor or extra battery. Extra batteries might be overkill, but that is what I use. These trucks come with a 55 amp alt. just like you mentioned. The lights (stock), the air cond., dash lights, etc. pretty much take up what little power the itty bitty alternator has got. I used to have a 600 watt BOSS amp (its a generic amp, so it didnt pull very many amps), no a/c, in my B2000 5-spd. When my little bass would hit, my headlights would dim to the beat!! Now that I have a '93 B2600i with the same puny alternator, I hardly think that it would keep up with what I have now. If you would like to know more about my setup, I would be happy to tell you about it. Hope this helps....L8RS!!

yeah man i dont care to run extra batteries, but sure ill be willing to grab any amount of info that you give me. thanks alot yall -bf

extra batteries are great as long as the alternator can keep up....a truck with 10 deep cycles and 1 55 amp alternator only has a 55 amp capability...you need to upgrade everything to match....

and perhaps instead of running more batteries fanninator get a bigger yellow top in there in place of the factory one...an d a bigger alt of course.

well i donno what alt to get. i donno of anyone else that makes them for us and does anyone know how big the biggest amp i could run would be? -bf

Since you dont run your amps 100% of the time you're driving, the low amp alt is not a concern. Adding extra batteries is like adding more reserve amps. So I am going to have to disagree with "gravity5", that is not true. You might be able to get away with a low end 200 watt amp without reaking havoc on ur system. I am running my stock altermator (55 amps) and it is keeping up with the dual electric cooling fans that took the place of my clutch fan, and the two amps I mentioned ealrlier. Both of these amps together easily pull well over 100 amps. As far as "bigger" alternators, good luck with that, I have been looking, and have not found anything. The only thing I found was a 110 amp alt from an early 90's 3000GT, you would need to change the pulley, and machine the housing and bracket very little but it might work, it has the same electrical connector as mine ('93 B2600i). That is the only thing I found that might fit without going to a full custom fabrication job to fit something else in there.

I upgraded to a 80amp unit from a Mazda MX-6. Youll have to change the pully (no biggie) and massage the mounting bracket a lil bit (no biggie)

Theres a company (Star tech or Startac, something) that sells alternators rebuilt to put out like 300 amps but they go for $300!

They never ever replied to my inquiries about providing their services for our alternators, however.

MSD has a big "universal" alternator on the market but I never looked into that one either.

Enjoy!

If your stereo and vehicel systems draw more than your alternator can supply, you need a bigger alternator period. If you keep the smaller alternator, and add batteries, and caps that is great, but it only create more load on the alternator when it is charging those extra storage devices.

Think of it as a garden hose running at a constant flow rate, lets say 10 gallons an hour....if you have one 10 gallon bucket that it is filling, it will take on hour....correct. Great now lets say that the bucket drains at a rate of 15 gallons per hour, we have an overdraw situation. Even if the drain is intermittent, it is still too fast for the hose to keep up. So lets add more buckets, lets say another 10 gallon bucket for the fun of it. We now have a 20 gallon reserve instead of 10 gallons.....so it will last longer, but the hose still fills it up at 10 gallons per hour. It will still eventually draing completely. And the hose will have to run constantly. Thats over a 100 percent duty cycle. And as far as I know alternators are not 100 percent duty cycle devices.

All you will do by adding more reserve is make the power last longer, in the end the alternator still has to charge all of those extra devices, and will overrun itself doing it. Which in the longrun will cause premature alternator failure.

I hardly think that a "storage device" is going to put a "load" on the alternator. The alternator is working or putting out 100% of the time, so it will not be "over ran". Anyhow, like I was saying earlier, I seriously doubt anybody is going to be cranking it up the entire time the truck is running. So the charging or recuperation period should not be an issue. I have been running oversized sytems for about 10 yrs now, and have yet been forced to upgrade my alternator. It only took one time for me to learn my lesson. I burned the alternator in my '86 B2000 using a 600 watt amp bridged at 1 ohm. That was my first and last incident, LOL. I am not ssaying you have to use batteries or capacitors, but it would most likely take care of your issues for a significant time period, especially if upgrading the alt. is going to take a pretty penny. I have even taken mine to a couple of reputable alt/starter shops that do upgrading, they all said the same thing, no can do, parts not available to increase the amps on "these" alternators.