When is it necissary to get a new alternator?

[onearmedbastard 10+ year member]

when your lights dim

lol my domelight already dims with my fosbreaks

could i just not blast my new setup much and be fine for now? Ill get one eventually but i wanna get this new system outta the way

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

If you've not already upgraded your Big 3 then do so at your earliest convenience.

You're looking at around $20-$30 in materials and you'll gain MUCH for your troubles. It won't increase the capacity of your charging system but it will provide a considerably more efficient path for the current that is already available to flow upon.

Outside of that make certain that your gear is installed adequately (proper sized cabling, good ground connections, etc) and you just might get by for a great long while with your current alternator. Do you know what its amperage output capacity is, by the way?

 

[onearmedbastard 10+ year member]

If you've not already upgraded your Big 3 then do so at your earliest convenience.
You're looking at around $20-$30 in materials and you'll gain MUCH for your troubles. It won't increase the capacity of your charging system but it will provide a considerably more efficient path for the current that is already available to flow upon.

Outside of that make certain that your gear is installed adequately (proper sized cabling, good ground connections, etc) and you just might get by for a great long while with your current alternator. Do you know what its amperage output capacity is, by the way?

i wanna say in the 90's

 

[Gods_Prototype 10+ year member]

My alt. is a 95a and I go through one every 6-12 months, they are warrantied though or else I would have upgraded a while ago. How do you guys get you alternators rewound to put out more amps, will any garage do it or is there a special shop I need to go to. Im usually running between 1500-3000 watts in my explorer.

 

[onearmedbastard 10+ year member]

My alt. is a 95a and I go through one every 6-12 months, they are warrantied though or else I would have upgraded a while ago. How do you guys get you alternators rewound to put out more amps, will any garage do it or is there a special shop I need to go to. Im usually running between 1500-3000 watts in my explorer.

x2 thats what i need to know

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Running too small of an alt till it dies is not a good idea. Hard on the vehicle, hard on the battery, poor stereo performance the entire time. Bad plan.

Respuns are simply stock alts that have had the guts taken out and new added, adding more windings and increasing the alt's output potential. Generally you need an alternator shop to find this sort of service.

There is no golden rule of when you need an alt. After so many watts? Uhm no. Two guys with exact same stereos and vehicles (and charging systems), one guy's system might fall flat on its face the firsat day while the other guy never needs to change his alt. Why> Listening preferences. How often/loud you listen to your system as compared to stereo-off driving time will also affect your charging system needs.