Thank you!
Group buy : DC power Engineering 270amp alternator
- Thread starter Okki
- Start date
Diver Deuce
New member
Sorry I get terrible service at work. It's standard threading as stated by Barry. Good luck man and may the odds be in your favor.
Thank you too! I hope it goes smoothly. At least I know all the bolts involved and some of the wiring issues. I'm a bit disappointed there is no attachment point for the wiring harness, like the OEM. I'm sure it will be an easy relocation and securing project once I get everything open. It is a bit tight in that area to see exactly what is going on.
I'll post some pictures when I am done. I'm currently waiting on a quote for the custom length wires I'm choosing to run.
Thanks again,
Mike
I'll post some pictures when I am done. I'm currently waiting on a quote for the custom length wires I'm choosing to run.
Thanks again,
Mike
Jeffy
New member
Hey all-
After completing a dual battery system recently I'm in the market for an upgraded alternator. How have these been holding up? I'm seeing a decent amount of complaints on other forums about DC Power for failing alternators, I'm a little apprehensive to drop this much money for something I'm not sure is reliable.
Thanks for the feedback!
After completing a dual battery system recently I'm in the market for an upgraded alternator. How have these been holding up? I'm seeing a decent amount of complaints on other forums about DC Power for failing alternators, I'm a little apprehensive to drop this much money for something I'm not sure is reliable.
Thanks for the feedback!
carlos.elmotor
New member
No issues with mine to date.
High output at idle was a must for me so I could run the fridge in the summertime without having to drive at high RPMs. Just crank the truck parked and idling tops off my dual setup.
Would buy it again.
barryhiram
New member
No issues here, would buy again!
Engineer
New member
So far no issues, noticed the truck this winter started much better in the cold. My belief is this unit was able to keep my OEM battery topped off better then the OEM unit ( I also have a very short commute so if I had to drive 30min each way, it may not have made as big of an impact). Like others said I would do it again, and I still have the OEM battery......
If you are DIY'ng the install just a heads up, I have installed everything but my tires on the truck and this job elicited the most curse words of any. Its not all that hard its just the space to work with is tiny and even with dainty hands my knuckles looked like I just boxed with a bear so A) Wear gloves,B) Take your time
If you are DIY'ng the install just a heads up, I have installed everything but my tires on the truck and this job elicited the most curse words of any. Its not all that hard its just the space to work with is tiny and even with dainty hands my knuckles looked like I just boxed with a bear so A) Wear gloves,B) Take your time
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Jeffy
New member
Thanks all... I've seen a few bad reviews about their alternators on other sites so wanted to check before dumping that much money into this. The alternator alone is gonna cost as much as my entire dual battery setup :ybrick:
Jeffy
New member
Well I finally got one and I'm currently installing it. I don't know what the hell is going on here, but this thing just DOES NOT fit.
I got the old alternator out in about 30 minutes. 6 hours later I'm still trying to get this new one in. The bottom of the case is too large and hitting the water pump, when I plug in the OEM plug it sticks out too far and is hitting the shock tower, and the mounting holes weren't aligned properly so I had to enlarge them slightly to work.
The sticker has the right part number but I seriously think they accidentally put that on the wrong alternator. I don't see how I'm gonna get this in here and I'm about to just give up and throw the old one back in
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
I got the old alternator out in about 30 minutes. 6 hours later I'm still trying to get this new one in. The bottom of the case is too large and hitting the water pump, when I plug in the OEM plug it sticks out too far and is hitting the shock tower, and the mounting holes weren't aligned properly so I had to enlarge them slightly to work.
The sticker has the right part number but I seriously think they accidentally put that on the wrong alternator. I don't see how I'm gonna get this in here and I'm about to just give up and throw the old one back in
:mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2::mad2:
Still don't understand what the need for this high output alternator is for. For a fridge? WHAT? Fridge takes hardly any power. To charge your depleted secondary battery at idle? WHAT? You don't need a bigger alternator for this at all, maybe I'm missing something. The stock alternator puts our 70-80 amps at idle, perhaps that's wrong, but even if the stock alternator only put out 30 amps at idle, that would still be plenty to charge up a depleted battery at idle.
I personally think all you guys are wasting money, but I'd love to be proven wrong, perhaps I'm missing a good point somewhere.
I personally think all you guys are wasting money, but I'd love to be proven wrong, perhaps I'm missing a good point somewhere.
I don't have a good understanding of that either.
Everyone seems to be in agreement that there is a voltage regulation circuit after the alternator.... or part of the alternator circuit?
Then they say the HO-Alt puts out 14.x... So does that simply mean it has a different regulator? If so, why not just build a different regulator?
I know one of the people that were on the HO-alt bandwagon was also into hi-end audio. Like a gazillion watt system in the 4R. But for a regular 4R with a few extras... it seems like removing the voltage regulation bottleneck is the only thing needed.
If you are sitting idle are you going to have lights, seat heaters, wiper heaters, fan, fridge, wipers, turn signals, stereo, winch.... are you really going to have all that running?... and if you do is the voltage regulator and ECU going to let the voltage rise to AGM battery levels?
I wish someone would explain it that doesn't have a horse in the race.
4RnR Grl
New member
IMO I think many are running this for insurance.... that being said.... based on the research I did before my DB install, it's not necessary. Stock alternator will still charge both batteries... just slower. So far no issues.
Jeffy
New member
The reason for installing was discussed pretty thoroughly I thought. Here's my scenario:
Stock alternator puts out 130 amps MAX.
Say I'm having fun in the mountains at night with some friends. And I'll assume the car itself pulls 40 amps of power for fuel pump, sensors, etc (probably higher than that). Now throw into the mix headlights, high beams, bumper lights, LED bar, my decently large stereo system bumping, A/C blowing hard, fridge running full power, some cell phones charging in outlets, trying to recharge my aux battery after not driving all day, etc. I can very easily pull over 130 amps, and that's still assuming the alternator is putting out the max output. If I go to idle, alternator drops to 90 amps and all my accessories are definitely pulling more than that.
Hence the need for bigger alternator.
My stock alternator whines heavily if my aux battery is run down even a little or if I turn on too many accessories. It's starting to fail and I definitely need something more robust. I just need to figure out what the hell happened and why mine won't fit
Stock alternator puts out 130 amps MAX.
Say I'm having fun in the mountains at night with some friends. And I'll assume the car itself pulls 40 amps of power for fuel pump, sensors, etc (probably higher than that). Now throw into the mix headlights, high beams, bumper lights, LED bar, my decently large stereo system bumping, A/C blowing hard, fridge running full power, some cell phones charging in outlets, trying to recharge my aux battery after not driving all day, etc. I can very easily pull over 130 amps, and that's still assuming the alternator is putting out the max output. If I go to idle, alternator drops to 90 amps and all my accessories are definitely pulling more than that.
Hence the need for bigger alternator.
My stock alternator whines heavily if my aux battery is run down even a little or if I turn on too many accessories. It's starting to fail and I definitely need something more robust. I just need to figure out what the hell happened and why mine won't fit
Your stock alternator whines because it's doing it's job as it should. As for power requirements, the lights are the big ones, and maybe the seat heaters, other than that, nothing else really pulls much.
In the old days, you could drive a car all day long with no alternator charging if your lights were off. Basically the car takes hardly anything, I'm sure the newer ones take a bit more, but still can't be that much. 40 amps for the engine and sensors without the lights? doubtful, probably more like 5 amps, but honestly I don't know, maybe someone could throw an ammeter and let us know. I'd be interested.
The thing I can agree with is if you got lots of extra stuff like a massive stereo system or huge sets of lights pulling huge currents then having the larger alternator would really help as it's load would be reduced and lifespan increased. I would think it would take a lot of extras though to justify the huge alternator.
That does seem like a lot of amps being drawn. I get it if you are indeed pulling 90 amps or more.
I'll have to turn on everything I have.. .which isn't much... adn see how many DC amps it pulls.
This is an interesting thread... Does anyone know who CruiserNet is?
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/alternator-voltage-booster.503895/
His post at #14 is really interesting. Again suggesting many could go a long way with stock gear. Obviously if you have outrun your alternator with too much gear, then you would need a bigger one. But the voltage issue doesn't go away even with the HO Alt (unless it is designed into it, which is a whole different situation from simply more amps).
I'll have to turn on everything I have.. .which isn't much... adn see how many DC amps it pulls.
This is an interesting thread... Does anyone know who CruiserNet is?
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/alternator-voltage-booster.503895/
His post at #14 is really interesting. Again suggesting many could go a long way with stock gear. Obviously if you have outrun your alternator with too much gear, then you would need a bigger one. But the voltage issue doesn't go away even with the HO Alt (unless it is designed into it, which is a whole different situation from simply more amps).
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That is my feeling as well, however, after reading the posts by "CrusierNet"
in the link I posted above, I believe there is still a voltage issue present and for most, until that voltage is corrected you won't be getting the full potential from the OEM alternator. You won't get more amps, but probably don;t need them anyway as you found. But you probably do need more volts and it would not be readily apparent in many instances.
I'm trying to figure what the maximum potential the OEM Alt can operate up to with AGM battery. Especially if going from 'good enough' to 'best it can do' only costs 25 cents for rectifier diode. Which right now is what I'm finding.
The only stumbling block or question I have right now is ... will the 5th Gen Alt and ECU allow for the diode install. The 2010 service manual shows a 7.5Amp ALT-S fuse on a green wire. I just need to find that and see how hard it would be to splice a diode in and see if the computer plays nice with that new info.
Sleeter
New member
Here is thread about a diode "voltage booster" that I installed. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/5th-gen-t4rs/216665-voltage-booster-31m-agm-battery-2.html
The fuse is working great for me.
Jeffy
New member
WARNING!
I want to update why I couldn't get mine to fit. I ordered the alternator with part # 11139-270XP, as referenced in the original post. However, there are two different cases for the 4th gen vs 5th gen. As referenced in this post, the actual part number is 11517-270-XP for the 5th gen. After speaking with DC Power today, they confirmed that the two part numbers are for the different gens. The only difference between the two is the frame. 4th gens have a "13" stamped near the mounting brackets (part 11139) vs 5th gens having a "14" stamped (part 11517).
Just wanted to put this out there for anybody else who stumbles across this thread and wants to buy one. Please call DC Power and verify you're getting the right part before going through what I did trying to get the wrong one to fit.
On another note, Bryan from DC Power gave me incredible customer service and helped me out immensely. I won't go into detail but he went out of his way to fix my situation, even though I bought the alternator from a different distributor. I've rarely had such good customer service from a company, I would recommend them to anybody.
I want to update why I couldn't get mine to fit. I ordered the alternator with part # 11139-270XP, as referenced in the original post. However, there are two different cases for the 4th gen vs 5th gen. As referenced in this post, the actual part number is 11517-270-XP for the 5th gen. After speaking with DC Power today, they confirmed that the two part numbers are for the different gens. The only difference between the two is the frame. 4th gens have a "13" stamped near the mounting brackets (part 11139) vs 5th gens having a "14" stamped (part 11517).
Just wanted to put this out there for anybody else who stumbles across this thread and wants to buy one. Please call DC Power and verify you're getting the right part before going through what I did trying to get the wrong one to fit.
On another note, Bryan from DC Power gave me incredible customer service and helped me out immensely. I won't go into detail but he went out of his way to fix my situation, even though I bought the alternator from a different distributor. I've rarely had such good customer service from a company, I would recommend them to anybody.
I was going to ask you if you had checked to be sure you got the right 4R model. I remember from reading that thread there was a 'non-inventory' model that fit the new 4Rs.
So can you say what the overall difficulty is in installing. Let's say for the shade tree mechanic, no lift.
Do you have to pull a lot of stuff apart, or what exactly is the ordeal?
Glad you got squared away.
So can you say what the overall difficulty is in installing. Let's say for the shade tree mechanic, no lift.
Do you have to pull a lot of stuff apart, or what exactly is the ordeal?
Glad you got squared away.
Seems like ideally the solution here would be to replace the voltage regulator. These guys make one that allows selectable battery types.
Of course, the fuse is so much easier and cheaper solution, waiting to hear back to see if that fuse will allow for a fully charged battery. Anyone with a fuse check their AGM battery voltages after they know it's been fully charged from their vehicle and compare that with a full charge from an 110v wall AGM battery charger? Should be around 12.9 - 13 volts resting, correct? Should also note, if you install the fuse and then later put back an OEM battery, your probably going to overcharge that battery.
Power Accessories | Xantrex Alternator Regulator | Xantrex
Of course, the fuse is so much easier and cheaper solution, waiting to hear back to see if that fuse will allow for a fully charged battery. Anyone with a fuse check their AGM battery voltages after they know it's been fully charged from their vehicle and compare that with a full charge from an 110v wall AGM battery charger? Should be around 12.9 - 13 volts resting, correct? Should also note, if you install the fuse and then later put back an OEM battery, your probably going to overcharge that battery.
Power Accessories | Xantrex Alternator Regulator | Xantrex
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