bignoel Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 been advised i need to run a bigger alternator on my feildman if i double battery it can i get a bigger alternator that will fit is my question .advise lads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 why do you need to? I ran a large battery on mine and never had an issue whether lamping or in general use. making sure the system is in good nick is the most important thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted January 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 i do quite a bit of lamping and poodleing along at 5mph side lights on heater radio on i never use this truck throu the day so it doesnt realy get a chance to charge it self up and basicly i am draining the battery ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Just fit a second battery and a split charger relay kit, readily available from motorhome shops/ebay. Dead easy to fit and means you won't drain the car battery when using the 'leisure' battery. Most big diesel motors have huge alternators as standard, so will easily cope with recharging both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glensman Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 My fourtrak has a Lorry battery. Works a treat, I do the same kinda stuff as yourself. Your next step after lorry battery is split charging system as mentioned above. You could take it out of an old Hilux. Last option is not a bigger alternator but a second one. I checked and it could be done by someone with a bit of talent, but you'll need a second idler pulley as well. It could be done but the other options are way easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 a new alternator and battery is all thats needed. You can trickle round all night with a lightforce and not drain the battery in all my last trucks. No need for anything extra you just need the battery and charging system to be in decent condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckyshot Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 Your battery should be fine mate my Defender runs an incar pc 15" screen,reverse camera 7" screen, lightforce 170 roof mounted lamp, 4 75 watt spot lights and all the standard stuff a Defender has. This is also only used as a shooting truck as I use the car for work so sometimes it stands for 2-3 days without moving and it starts first time every time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted January 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 had the voltage out put checked slowly turning everything to see if there was a drop and guess what there was,nt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) Noel, at a guess your alternator is probably capable of knocking out 55amp at 14.4 volts, thats more than 790 watts of power, alternators don't need the engine to be spinning fast to produce close to peak power, in fact most are very efficient just above 1000rpm engine speed, so trundling around the farm should be just fine, the light force sucks up between 55 and 100 watts depending on which model you have, the head lamps 55 watt a piece, heater motor may be 250 watt, side light bulbs 5 watt a piece so should be plenty of juice left to charge the battery make sure your fan belt is adjusted up and the battery is good Edited January 18, 2011 by Paul223 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted January 18, 2011 Report Share Posted January 18, 2011 (edited) I would say a normal diesel alt gives more, my 1.7 astra TD is 75 amp, my Renault Master 2.5 TD is 90 Amp replaced the van one last year, and the astra last week. The astra internal regulator had gone, it was giving 18 volts! Luckily I noticed how bright the lights were when I revved it and gave it a check, as above, max should be 14.5 ish Volts with 12 or more at tickover. Test your car, dead easy with a £5 multimeter, if alls well I'd defo go for the leisure battery and split charger option, that way you will never drain your main battery Edited January 18, 2011 by jacksdad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted January 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksdad Posted January 19, 2011 Report Share Posted January 19, 2011 Well, I've just googled Fourtrak alternator, it appears that they are indeed only 55A :blink: Even so, I would still go for the split charger/ 2 battery option If you use the vehicle most days it will charge both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignoel Posted January 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 no she is like a vampire she only goes out after dark . and guess this is why she drains the battery lights radio heater all on .she was idleing at 6000 revs but have turnd it up to 9000revs to see if this will help certainly runs smoother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 if the alternator is running properly it should run all those with the battery disconnected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul223 Posted January 21, 2011 Report Share Posted January 21, 2011 no she is like a vampire she only goes out after dark . and guess this is why she drains the battery lights radio heater all on .she was idleing at 6000 revs but have turnd it up to 9000revs to see if this will help certainly runs smoother cor blimy that must be a quick fourtrak or do you mean 900rpm are you doing lots of start and stoping the engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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