bjohn118 Posted October 16, 2013 Report Posted October 16, 2013 if i wanted to up the voltage in my truck what would be necissary. say i just wanted 14.5 volts at all times would i just have to upgrade the alt and do 14 volt batteries or would i have to dig deaper into protectiong the trucks factory shit from seeing that i understand it charges at that voltage but i didnt know if it would hurt anything having that all the time and how i would go about getting more out of it.
Guest DC Power Kyle Posted October 16, 2013 Report Posted October 16, 2013 Your alternator voltage output is controlled by the PCM. It's best just to leave it alone.
rockFord_Expedition Posted October 16, 2013 Report Posted October 16, 2013 And 14V batteries need 16+ volts to charge. Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire
bjohn118 Posted October 16, 2013 Author Report Posted October 16, 2013 Well that sucks I guess I will just try to add a couple of xs batteries in the tool box and call it good can I upgrade to a bigger alt or would it do any good
rockFord_Expedition Posted October 17, 2013 Report Posted October 17, 2013 what are you trying to accomplish? Obviously you want to hold steady at 14.5v but is it strictly for car audio purposes? Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire
bjohn118 Posted October 17, 2013 Author Report Posted October 17, 2013 im just trying to keep a steady voltage because the lights are dimming and i was saying 14.5 because i have been browsing around and the amps i have been looking at have power ratings at that voltage but in a reallity im just wanting to beef up the electrical system to handle 8000 watts eventually and im just trying to learn and yes the 14.5 was stricktly for audio only i have no ther reason to need that much
rockFord_Expedition Posted October 17, 2013 Report Posted October 17, 2013 Go with the biggest alternator you can afford. Don't skimp on electrical whatsoever. I would look at DC Power, MechMan, Singer to name a few. My personal preference is DC Power based on the research I did. I have a DC 270XP in my Expo and I love it. It is solid. For 8k rms you will definitely need extra batteries. I like XS Power over all others, but there are lots of choices. XS Power has a wattage guide here check it out, you will be surprised how few batteries you need compared to what many people will recommend. If you went with dual D6500's under the hood to replace the OEM units, one additional would be more than enough. Upgrade the return path to your alternator directly to the frame with as short and large of a run of OFC as you can, make sure you have good solid gounds everywhere (I like Sky High's 2/0 OFC but Tony at CEAutoElectric has some Tinned OFC 1/0 marine grade wire that is really good as well) and your voltage should hold as steady as possible. Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire
bjohn118 Posted October 17, 2013 Author Report Posted October 17, 2013 pk thanks man i have been looking at the mechman alts for about a month now but wanted to see what i need to do first i tried to reaserch it all but to no avail. im not exactly sure if there is enough room for two alternators with it being a diesel there is absolutly no room in that thing. but i will see if i can fab something up because if memory serves me correct from doing some motor work there should be a second alt mount for the ambulance package trucks. if i did do the second alt how would i tie it into the system without it going crazy and overcharging everything, i guess what im asking is how do i make it pcm regulated just like the factory one or how do i deal with it. also by return path on the alternator im a little unsure of what you mean by that. sorry for my ignorance still very new at this and trying to learn as much as possible and thankyou for your help.
rockFord_Expedition Posted October 17, 2013 Report Posted October 17, 2013 pk thanks man i have been looking at the mechman alts for about a month now but wanted to see what i need to do first i tried to reaserch it all but to no avail. im not exactly sure if there is enough room for two alternators with it being a diesel there is absolutly no room in that thing. but i will see if i can fab something up because if memory serves me correct from doing some motor work there should be a second alt mount for the ambulance package trucks. if i did do the second alt how would i tie it into the system without it going crazy and overcharging everything, i guess what im asking is how do i make it pcm regulated just like the factory one or how do i deal with it. also by return path on the alternator im a little unsure of what you mean by that. sorry for my ignorance still very new at this and trying to learn as much as possible and thankyou for your help. Kyle @DC Power is more fit to answer the dual alt PCM question than I. Regarding the return path, I am talking about grounding your alternator case to the frame. When done right it will allow any alternator you have to work to it's full potential. Old School/New School RF Build March 2015 SOTM Winner How to crimp large wire
bjohn118 Posted October 17, 2013 Author Report Posted October 17, 2013 Ok thanks man you have been alot of help I will try to get ahold of kyle and see what he says but as soon as I get a chance im gonna upgrade all my wires I have about 100 foot of sky high to run so I have some work to do lol and for powering for wiring up batteries and amps is it a good practice to run wires straight off the alternator or do I just tie them in with the batteries. I dont know if that question made any sense or not but to me it did lol
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