Larger alternator for 2 12"s?

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Chewy1576

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Xanatost is a member here making custom Big 3 kits and additional upgraded cables. Look for his post in the Classified section. I have one and it’s made very well.


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df2x4

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You're welcome! Keep in mind that you'll be right on the edge of your 110A alternator's capabilities, though. If you notice any voltage drop at all once you get everything hooked up then I'd hit up a junkyard and grab one of the higher capacity alternators that came on these trucks.
 

RawbDidIt

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You're welcome! Keep in mind that you'll be right on the edge of your 110A alternator's capabilities, though. If you notice any voltage drop at all once you get everything hooked up then I'd hit up a junkyard and grab one of the higher capacity alternators that came on these trucks.
Any service truck in this model year should have a good electrical setup. You may luck out and find an old ambulance, police, or fire department vehicle that was picked up at auction and nobody has stripped yet. You can also see if you can find a dual alternator bracket for cheap and just rig a second alt. That's what I was planning on doing when I get around to upgrading my system

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Ken K

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Your OEM alternator is probably a CS130 or CS130D from 84-04. The diode bank is stacked on top of each other and are prone to overheat failure during periods extended use of high output. The AD244 uses staggered diodes and the plastic back cover has venting around 180 degrees over the rectifier. This alternator can be found in salvage yards on everything truck or van after 1999-2007. Check the website Alternatorman.com and search parts upgrades that have USA made copper diode plate w/80 amp diodes, regulator for one wire operation and a new set of brushes for about $150. The range of parts allow you to produce from 145 - 350 amps. He has YouTube videos for identification and mounting issues. Your AD244 will bolt right in, just pick the number of regulator wires your truck has. Remember, the battery starts the engine but the alternator runs the electrical system and trickle charges the battery. Save your money on a second battery unless you live up north, and put your money in the alt., cables, eyelets, star-washers and some dielectric grease. I buy my dielectric grease at the local Mercruiser boat store or eBay, in large tubes for about $20. I use it in flashlights, bulbs, connectors, etc.
 

kennythewelder

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Your OEM alternator is probably a CS130 or CS130D from 84-04. The diode bank is stacked on top of each other and are prone to overheat failure during periods extended use of high output. The AD244 uses staggered diodes and the plastic back cover has venting around 180 degrees over the rectifier. This alternator can be found in salvage yards on everything truck or van after 1999-2007. Check the website Alternatorman.com and search parts upgrades that have USA made copper diode plate w/80 amp diodes, regulator for one wire operation and a new set of brushes for about $150. The range of parts allow you to produce from 145 - 350 amps. He has YouTube videos for identification and mounting issues. Your AD244 will bolt right in, just pick the number of regulator wires your truck has. Remember, the battery starts the engine but the alternator runs the electrical system and trickle charges the battery. Save your money on a second battery unless you live up north, and put your money in the alt., cables, eyelets, star-washers and some dielectric grease. I buy my dielectric grease at the local Mercruiser boat store or eBay, in large tubes for about $20. I use it in flashlights, bulbs, connectors, etc.
Grate post Ken
 

RawbDidIt

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Your OEM alternator is probably a CS130 or CS130D from 84-04. The diode bank is stacked on top of each other and are prone to overheat failure during periods extended use of high output. The AD244 uses staggered diodes and the plastic back cover has venting around 180 degrees over the rectifier. This alternator can be found in salvage yards on everything truck or van after 1999-2007. Check the website Alternatorman.com and search parts upgrades that have USA made copper diode plate w/80 amp diodes, regulator for one wire operation and a new set of brushes for about $150. The range of parts allow you to produce from 145 - 350 amps. He has YouTube videos for identification and mounting issues. Your AD244 will bolt right in, just pick the number of regulator wires your truck has. Remember, the battery starts the engine but the alternator runs the electrical system and trickle charges the battery. Save your money on a second battery unless you live up north, and put your money in the alt., cables, eyelets, star-washers and some dielectric grease. I buy my dielectric grease at the local Mercruiser boat store or eBay, in large tubes for about $20. I use it in flashlights, bulbs, connectors, etc.
Excellent info, I'll be looking here rather than my usual Mechman upgrade when I put my system in.

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I own a 95 k1500 z71 with the tbi 350. Inside I have an alpine radio hooked up to the alpine 445 in-line amplifier, required a 15 amp fuse. It powers 4 6.5" polk marine speakers for my mids/highs. In the back I have a Rockford Fosgate p1000x2 amp powering 2 10" subs in an under the seat box. Total rms wattage is 1484.

I did the big 3 before I put the sub amp in and noticed a big difference in how it started. I bought and used 2 awg marine rated cable and crimped on quality lugs at the ends with a handheld hydraulic press. I then used adhesive heat shrink to seal the connection area between the lugs and cable. Cost me less than $100 for everything including the press from harbor freight.

When my old regular battery went bad, I went with an optima yellow top. I know its not the most popular option here, but I grew up with my dad putting an optima in everything. That was around 2 1/2 years ago and I haven't had an issue with the battery, but I can only attest to this period and we shall see how long it lasts. I regularly go offroading with it and live in the California desert just north of southern California, we don't get mountain cold but the winters are usually down in high 20's or low 30's when I leave for work in the morning.

Alternator wise, I put a DLG1912-6-11 alternator on from Autozone about 2 years go. The casing is a 155mm size but the bolt holes are nearly identical. It was maybe 1/4" off if I remember right and I just used a drill bit to slightly enlarge one of the bolt holes. The factory size belt for my engine fit right back on and works fine with the tensioner. I got a 1 wire cable from Oreilly's by BWD that had the correct rounded 4 hole plug to go into the alternator, and I soldered and heat shrinked the wire to the existing factory alternator plug in wire. The larger 155mm alternator I looked up was the high output from a 2007 Silverado and rated at 160 amps. I run over 13 volts even with the bass turned up with no problems.
 

N_nick

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Had the subs in for 2 weeks now and no problems! Still has the junk battery (replacing soon) and voltage stays the same, everything seems fine. Didn't even do the big 3!
 

kennythewelder

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Had the subs in for 2 weeks now and no problems! Still has the junk battery (replacing soon) and voltage stays the same, everything seems fine. Didn't even do the big 3!
If you are not running a big amp, then you don't have to do the big 3 up grade, but no matter what size amp you are using, you should. It is just a lot better for the charging system. I have a 680 watt amp pushing 1 Sony 10. I had the truck like that for years, but after doing the upgrade, I saw an improvement in the charging system. Even my wipers got faster. Think about it like this, how big of a wire did you run to your amp ? did you run another wire the same size to ground the amp ? And look at how small the OE wire is that charger the battery from the alt. Its very small. All you battery is, is a storage tank for electricity. The alt is what powers the truck, not the battery. Also the big 3, should be a big 5. + from the alt, - from the alt body, to the battery, - from the battery to the engine, - from the battery to the frame, and - from the battery to the body of the truck.
 
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