JeepNoob
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Pueblo, Colorado
So, with the summer heating up and pretty much all of us running the A/C in our rigs, I've noticed my voltage gauge hasn't exactly been sitting where I want it to. With the radio on (I'm not blaring it. Just a good level you could still have a conversation over), the A/C on (Switch in max, full cold, not sure what the difference between max and normal is. My guess is re-circulation?) and the blower motor on pretty much any of the higher speeds (M1, M2, High), my voltage gauge is almost sitting in the red zone at idle. Yikes! Doesn't really seem to change going down the road either. With just the radio on, it'll sit just a tick below the middle of the gauge. Well, I know gauges can lie, so today I did some testing with my voltmeter (not the best way to do it, I know. I don't have access to a charging system tester at the moment.) My battery's the top of line one from NAPA, their premium gold or whatever it is, blower motor and electric fan have been recently replaced, as has the radio, and I've got 4-gauge battery cables. The battery at rest was reading about 12.8 volts (a quick flash with the headlights knocked the charge off the plates and it went to 12.6 or so volts, slowing climbing), but with the engine running at idle, I was only getting about 13.5 volts no matter what accessories I turned on, the gauge kept doing the same thing it does. I know, not a super-accurate test, but I'd like to see that voltage figure at about 14.4 volts. I was looking at parts store alternators, and 90 amps seems to be about the standard rating. That honestly seems way too low to me and with me suspecting my alternator might be getting long in the tooth, I thought about upgrading. My question is, do you guys have any advice on factory replacement alternators? I really don't see the point in dropping $400 or $500 on a high-output, 175-amp alternator, but is there something that might give me a bit more oomph for say, $200 or so? I noticed that 4WheelParts sells 150-amp alternators for a '93-'98 ZJ with a 4.0. Would something like that fit my '96 XJ 4.0? Anything else I should check as being faulty before I throw an alternator at it?