electrical guru's : dual alts

[chrisw91 10+ year member]

since im the tight *** that i am, instead of buying one high output alt i went ahead and bought a second standard 120 AMP alt for my 93 dakota. made brackets and have them both mounted, only problem now is that these things are externally regulated. and supposedly originally the one alternator is regulated through my computer? not one on my firewall... so what are my options with this second alt? any way to make in internally regulated, or can i buy a regulator and hook it up? only problem is they dont mention what voltage they regulate at, just say if it fits your vehicle or not. any suggestions to make this second alt work?

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

LOL. After you paid for the brackets, cheap alternator, and external regulator you could have just bought one good alternator.

 

[chrisw91 10+ year member]

pretty sure not. i made the brackets, and the alt was $150... where do "good alternators" start. looks like $300

 

[keep_hope_alive Premium Member]

ah, that is an issue. that is something you should have looked into first, but live and learn. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

you'll need to start with a schematic of the charging system, including the regulator. you can't do anything (and feel confident about it) without the schematics/wiring diagrams.

so before you do anything else, get your hands on a shop service manual. i don't know if a standard Haynes manual will be detailed enough.

you may be able to control both alts from the same regulator, but they each need their own rectifier.

 

[RangerDangerV2 5,000+ posts]

how did you make the brackets??

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

ah, that is an issue. that is something you should have looked into first, but live and learn. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
you'll need to start with a schematic of the charging system, including the regulator. you can't do anything (and feel confident about it) without the schematics/wiring diagrams.

so before you do anything else, get your hands on a shop service manual. i don't know if a standard Haynes manual will be detailed enough.

you may be able to control both alts from the same regulator, but they each need their own rectifier.

Yea I was thinking the same thing might be able to just get the plug and wire it with the main alt but you may wanna ask a local alt shop if it will work before you do it the external regulator should work but that's another $150-$$200 for it

 

[chrisw91 10+ year member]

how did you make the brackets??

still have to paint them and what not. and have a couple modifications to make, but thats pretty much all they are...

 

[chrisw91 10+ year member]

Yea I was thinking the same thing might be able to just get the plug and wire it with the main alt but you may wanna ask a local alt shop if it will work before you do it the external regulator should work but that's another $150-$$200 for it

Duralast/Voltage Regulator (VR733) | 1991 Dodge W250 3/4 ton P/U 4WD 6 Cylinders C 5.9L Turbo Diesel | AutoZone.com

this is what is on my other dodge. the alt on it is also rated for 120amps. the truck are two years apart in age, and within those two years they switched from this type of regulator and started using the computer...

 

[mylows10 5,000+ posts]

like i said if you have a local alt company that makes them , ask them what you need to do to make both work