A shout out for Mean Green alternators...

[McFly2003]

So last week I ordered a Mean Green alternator from Man-A-Fre. This afternoon, when I went to instal the thing, I couldn't get the mounting points to line up. I call Man-A-Fre and the tell me that they don't have any experience installing these on 4runners (understandable...they are a Land Cruiser shop), so I call Mean Green directly.
All I can say is that I have never dealt with such incredible customer service. I explained my issue to a tech support guy. He asked me what the part number was and when I told him, he said that the unit I had was in fact meant for older land cruisers and not for a 3rd get t4r. What had probably happened was someone handling my order made a slight slip up as the part numbers are almost exactly the same (LC: 1379 T4r: 13794) and the wrong unit got sent to my me.
I explained to the gentlemen that I was shipping out in a week and that however I dealt with the issue, needed to be the fastest way possible. He understood completely. He said that instead of exchanging it through Man-A-Fre, to do it through MG since they were the supplier and were 300 miles away instead of on the opposite coast.
He even offered me free installation If I wanted to drive 4 hours to do the exchange in person. He just kept telling me how sorry they were for the inconvenience and wanted to make sure that everything was made right.

SO, if anyone on here is looking for a high output alternator or started, even though they are definitely not the cheapest option, I can't recommend Mean Green enough.

Cheers everyone! :beer:

 

[the great him]

i have wanted one of their alts for a long time, but the cost was making me lean towards the CS144, but now i might just go with a Mean Green... thanks for your report, and let us know how well this thing works and holds up. im running a ton of lights and a winch as well as an after market stereo(not a super big system but dual amps)... so far the stock factory unit has kept up and has handled the load ive asked of it but i know one day it will say "no more" and then i will need to upgrade... i want to know im getting something as good as the OE NP unit i have

 

[McFly2003]

I'll give a report as soon as I can. I am shipping out next tuesday for six months and wont have access to my truck for the first three. My alternator has been on it's way out for a while now, unable to hold a solid charge and dipping/wavering between 11.5 and 13. With the lights I am running, a winch and OBA on the way, I wanted something that could handle to load without hesitation. I am an extremely firm believer in overkill. I chose Mean Green by chance. I was just surfing the interweb and Man-a-Fre's sight and happened on them. After some research, I decided to go with it. They are expensive, but it made a great 25th birthday present haha.
After dealing with them today, I couldn't be happier with my decision (assuming they get things ironed out without hick-up). Customer service like that is so refreshing. Sierra Expeditions is another example of wonderful service.

I will keep everyone posted as best I can :biggrin2:

 

[quicksilvr]

Great to hear. I was curious what "not the cheapest option" meant, because I'd never looked into them. After only spending like $60 on the CS144 for my sisters rig...I was thinking maybe a MG was going to be like $200.


$399. Holy cow. It could be made out of titanium and wound with solid gold and I don't think I'd be able to force myself past the sticker shock.

 

[McFly2003]

I agree, it is a bit outrageous. The only reason I got one was because it was my birfday

 

[revenantdead]

holy f-balls. cs144 for me. i'm glad they back up their product though. it's refreshing to see that these days.

 

[jmt2404]

I wanted one of these for a long time but ever since I did my big 3 mod and dual batteries I think It would be overkill. I get an overcharge alarm alot on my national luna controller. I have to run random electronics so I am not overcharging it. The alarm comes on when I am pushing more than 14.5 volts.

I am curious to know what kind of power those things push at idle and moving.

 

[Tucson4runner]

I wanted one of these for a long time but ever since I did my big 3 mod and dual batteries I think It would be overkill. I get an overcharge alarm alot on my national luna controller. I have to run random electronics so I am not overcharging it. The alarm comes on when I am pushing more than 14.5 volts.

I am curious to know what kind of power those things push at idle and moving.

Big 3 mod? Got a write up on your set up?

 

[McFly2003]

x2! I'd like to see that as well

 

[the great him]

I wanted one of these for a long time but ever since I did my big 3 mod and dual batteries I think It would be overkill. I get an overcharge alarm alot on my national luna controller. I have to run random electronics so I am not overcharging it. The alarm comes on when I am pushing more than 14.5 volts.

I am curious to know what kind of power those things push at idle and moving.

bigger alts dont so much push more volts, but rather higher amps... meaning it will still charge the same stuff or to the same level, but just wont take as long to do it. its still gonna make the same power, just it will make the power faster/at a much higher rate. -i hope that makes sense. you can always buy a voltage regulator. infact optima and gel-cel batteries do not like to be over charged, they light to be charged at 12v but most auto motive charging systems charge at 13.5+v so "over charge" the gel-cel from the begining. this is why so many people complain about their optimas and what ever else not lasting like they expected ect. get a good adjustable marine voltage regulator and use one of those in your charging system and you should be good to go.

 

[jmt2404]

I get it. I guess I haven't sat down and thought about it that way, but it makes sense. The alternators I was looking at was measured in amps and not volts. I don't understand the relationships between amps, volts and watts. So I don't know how it works.

But with the deep cycle optima batteries can they handle the higher amps? I tried to recharge one at autozone and it wouldn't do it cuz it needs a trickle.charge instead of high amps.

 

[the great him]

im not sure about that, i want the higher amps though for a greater load, ie running the winch and lights at the same time...