TECH DISCUSSION
HIGH VOLTAGE: ALL ABOUT HIGH-OUTPUT ALTERNATORS
Unless you’re one of the few who actually has the “Ambulance Package” that door sticker always warns us about, your charging system isn’t really designed to handle many more electronic devices than are already installed in the truck from the factory. Adding an aftermarket stereo with subs? Some LED lights? Or maybe a winch? The OEM alternator may be able to handle one or two of those things, but not all of them, and definitely not for very long. A good high-output alternator and good set of batteries is a must for any vehicle with multiple added electronic accessories. Project 600-HP 7.3L sees a ton of hours being used out in the middle of the California desert for camping or as a support rig for construction, off-road racing and photo shoots, among other things. The 17-year-old truck has a 5K inverter used to power whatever we need it to, and trust us, every bit of the 5K rating often gets used. On top of the inverter, the truck has more than 1,000 watts of stereo equipment and a large on-board air system, plus a multitude of aftermarket lights and other low-draw accessories. The only way we could get the inverter to work for long periods of time was to shut any other large load off and run the truck at an elevated 1,500-rpm idle. Even then we were going through batteries every 18 months or so.
While an alternator of this size is extreme overkill for most, for our needs we decided to go with a massive 300-amp unit from Mean Green. Mean Green offers more “sane” units for those with lesser needs than ours, and they install in much less time too. Our 300-amp Mean Green alternator offers nearly 300% more power than the stock 105-amp unit, and on top of all the parts that make it do its thing it’s built with a tool steel rotor shaft, double-sealed bearings and high-temp-rated insulation, all lending to extreme durability. In the end, our install took less than 45 minutes, with the added time dedicated to beefing up the wires to the battery. A 200-amp install is a quick swap and shouldn’t take much more than 5 minutes.