# bigger alternator



## wisbiker55 (Feb 25, 2011)

I have a 1997 F-250 heavy duty with a 8' western plow. I want to install a bigger alternator. I have a 95 amp now and would like to go to a 135, lights dim, heater slows , when plow is lifted. Can i run another heavier wire ( 6awg to a 4 awg) to the battery from the alternator right to the battery with the old wire from the alt still connected? Will this work? Thanks for any help..


----------



## wastedwages (Feb 9, 2011)

Please see link below. I would also caution you on who you purchase an alternator from. There are some unscrupiouls people serving this market. I would ask for a test sheet and a video showing your unit on the test stand with verifiable marking on the alternator. So you know that your unit is putting out the advertised amperage. Also think about the other end of the ciruit, the ground side usually needs to be beefed up.

http://www.dbelectrical.com/p-3478-ford-chevy-high-output-alternator-fuse-block-wiring-kit-101.aspx


----------



## Ozark Hillbilly (Feb 10, 2011)

I think you would be better off to have your current alternator tested at the parts store if you want to, but I doubt that it is the problem. Your 95 amp alt should be able to handle things just fine as long as it is working properly and you are not thumping around with some hideous giant stereo system.

It is more likely that you have a poor connection or weak battery problem. As long as you have good clean contact the current wiring should work fine. If you really want to increase the reserve capacity of your electrical system I believe you would be better off to look at the battery end of things. Do you currently have dual batteries? If not then installing 2 new identical batteries and cleaning up the connections at the batteries, solenoids, plow, and alternator should give you plenty of power to run your plow as long as the current alternator tests ok. In fact, a 60 amp alternator vehicle can run a plow just fine as long as the battery and connections are good. A plow is typically going to draw 200 amps or more when activated, but the duty cycle is low enough that your current alternator should not be the issue. Even a single battery system can work fine but the dual batts will last longer sharing the load. And as wastedwages mentioned, don't forget about both the plow and chassis ground connections.


----------



## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

why not check our ford section for just this exact topic in the last week. Thumbs Up

and there is a lot of info posted on it in there. 

welcom to the site. :waving:


----------



## Mister Plow (Jan 21, 2009)

Go here and learn about the "Big Three."
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f202/big-three-big-3-upgrade-how-to-321330/
The alternator output will not have a drastic affect on the dimming problem. Having better electrical connections will.


----------



## wisbiker55 (Feb 25, 2011)

Thank you all for your replies I am going to try upgrading my wires first


----------



## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

www.the12volt.com has two threads on the site that will directly pertain to this. How to upgrade the Big 3 and What is a proper ground. Ohio Generator makes a stellar purpose built alternator.


----------



## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

this one ?

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp~TID~73496~PN~1


----------



## DIRISHMAN (Jul 30, 2010)

wisbiker55;1252986 said:


> I have a 1997 F-250 heavy duty with a 8' western plow. I want to install a bigger alternator. I have a 95 amp now and would like to go to a 135, lights dim, heater slows , when plow is lifted. Can i run another heavier wire ( 6awg to a 4 awg) to the battery from the alternator right to the battery with the old wire from the alt still connected? Will this work? Thanks for any help..


To answer your question.I to have a 97 F 250 HD 5.8 liter If you have the same egine as I do you can just bolt on a 130amp alt from a 96ford explorer. No change or cutting needed just unbolt old one and install new one. I just did it one month ago and also installed a deep cycle battey and what a difference. One more thing there is another web site like this that is mostly for broncos but guys with P/U trucks are welcome as well .There is a link/thread on there and pic and graphs of what alt can be used from what vehicle it is called www.FSB.com or FullSizeBronco.com Hope this help PM me for any other advise if I can help. Good luck


----------



## wisbiker55 (Feb 25, 2011)

Thank you all very much. I plow snow for the city here and have my own truck to do mine and some of the neighbors. Been plowing with it since it was new. Just got used to the dimming of the lights. I talked to my brother in law and he told me about this site. Glad he did. I stopped at Fleet Farm today after work and armed my self with 4awg wire and connectors. Went home and reworked the big three. Hooked the plow up and what a difference. Still might put in a bigger alt if I find one. I can put more lights on it then. Thank you very much


----------



## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

Did you fuse the + line from the alternator to the battery? If not, this must be done.


----------



## 2007gmchts (Feb 26, 2011)

Go with 2 batteries. I've been running 2 to power the stereo (big amp and speakers) heated seats, etc. I've never had a problem with lights dimming.


----------



## ProSeasons (Nov 30, 2000)

Ozark Hillbilly;1253156 said:


> I think you would be better off to have your current alternator tested at the parts store if you want to, but I doubt that it is the problem. Your 95 amp alt should be able to handle things just fine as long as it is working properly and you are not thumping around with some hideous giant stereo system.
> 
> It is more likely that you have a poor connection or weak battery problem. As long as you have good clean contact the current wiring should work fine. If you really want to increase the reserve capacity of your electrical system I believe you would be better off to look at the battery end of things. Do you currently have dual batteries? If not then installing 2 new identical batteries and cleaning up the connections at the batteries, solenoids, plow, and alternator should give you plenty of power to run your plow as long as the current alternator tests ok. In fact, a 60 amp alternator vehicle can run a plow just fine as long as the battery and connections are good. A plow is typically going to draw 200 amps or more when activated, but the duty cycle is low enough that your current alternator should not be the issue. Even a single battery system can work fine but the dual batts will last longer sharing the load. And as wastedwages mentioned, don't forget about both the plow and chassis ground connections.


This is just plain wrong. I had 2 group 31s and a 136 amp alt and it could'nt keep up with plowing. I had to upgrade to Wyldman's 160 amp Leece- Neville. A 95 amp alt is woefully underpowered for the demands of commercial plowing. A 60 amp alt is just ridiculous.


----------



## wisbiker55 (Feb 25, 2011)

I did fuse the wire from the alt to the battery


----------



## FordFisherman (Dec 5, 2007)

Go to the junkyard and grab a 130 amp from a Ford Taurus or many others. It'll bolt right up. Those 3G alts have been tested and put out up to 160 amps or so I've read.


----------



## Ozark Hillbilly (Feb 10, 2011)

ProSeasons;1253968 said:


> This is just plain wrong. I had 2 group 31s and a 136 amp alt and it could'nt keep up with plowing. I had to upgrade to Wyldman's 160 amp Leece- Neville. A 95 amp alt is woefully underpowered for the demands of commercial plowing. A 60 amp alt is just ridiculous.


The odd thing to me about this is it means you think a lot of people on this site are using plows that must not be working. I guarantee you a LOT of people on this site are plowing away just fine with alts you consider woefully underpowered and unusable. I do not have a 60 amp alt vehicle out plowing anymore. Our '79 Chevy C30 that has plowed for over 30 years only relied on its 60 amp up until sometime in the 1990s when the alt failed and I replaced it with an 80 amp. So I guess the 60 amp one did only last 15 years or so. Maybe the 80 amp one will end up doing better. That truck recently plowed for 2 days nonstop with driver changes.

Newer vehicles do have a higher base vehicle electrical load due to the requirements of computers, injectors, stereos, etc.. But even on a newer vehicle that load can still be handled by his 95 just fine as long as the battery and connections are good.

Of course you may be doing a completely different style of plowing than I am familiar with anyway Proseasons, It may well take a ton of juice to move a plow that is going at the speed you need 550 hp for. I'm guessing that by the time you reach 100 mph it is throwing the snow pretty far. Sounds handy.


----------



## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

2007gmchts - Batteries do not run the vehicle, the alternator does. If the vehicle was struggling to have enough current with one battery, by adding a second all you have done is increase the strain on the alternator. While the alternator may handle this on a temporary basis, the alternator is going to fail. It is only a matter of time. Yes two batteries are going to supply you with more current when needed, current that is dumped into the system when the alternator cannot supply the needed current. It does not solve the problem though. The vehicle runs at 14.4 volts, this is the supply voltage from the alternator. The batteries supply 12 volts. Get a meter out and check this for yourself as it will confirm instantly to you why you should be running a high output alternator for any vehicle that has a large current draw, from snowplows to stereos.


----------



## Mister Plow (Jan 21, 2009)

forbidden;1254263 said:


> 2007gmchts - Batteries do not run the vehicle, the alternator does.


Quite the statement here. I think you will get a lot of disagreement. The alternators main purpose is to recharge the battery, and it is the battery that supplies the large load power when needed. (Like, say, the starter motor for instance.) You can get by just fine with a small alternator if you have a large enough energy sink (battery) to supply your electrical needs.
When the battery does not have enough juice and is a drain on the alt, along with the standard electrical loads, is when the alt needs to be bigger.


----------



## Ozark Hillbilly (Feb 10, 2011)

forbidden;1254263 said:


> 2007gmchts - Batteries do not run the vehicle, the alternator does.


The vehicle just needs electricity. It does not care where it comes from.

If I just want to plow a couple of neighbor's driveways I could take my alternator belt off and go get the job done. I just can't plow for long that way. If I remove my batteries then I will be staying home.

It really just boils down to duty cycle of the equipment used. Plow manufacturers are able to effectively utilize electric instead of engine driven pumps on their plows because of the relatively low duty cycle an electric plow pump needs to be operated at.

As most anything dealing with something electrical does, the best way to look at it is with math. Just for fun and to illustrate how to do it with some real world example numbers in case anyone would like to know how the duty cycle is applied then here goes:

These numbers came off a '96 F250 5.8l with a 7.5' Western, two batteries, factory 95A alternator.. I used a digital ammeter with an inductive pickup and a separate multimeter that was just monitoring battery voltage.

The battery voltage at rest read 12.83v coupled together and uncoupled they read 12.81v and 12.83v individually. This indicates that the batteries are in good shape and charged.

Started the truck and I got steady 14.1 -14.2v. Everything looked good.

Put the truck in a typical plowing configuration with lights on, defroster blower on medium, radio on. Still showing 14.1v at battery. With my ammeter clipped over the alternator output wire I got about 42 amps that the truck is drawing in this configuration. I will round up to 45 amps so I end up with a conservative duty cycle.

To work the alternator hard I lifted the plow and ran it side to side continuously for about 30 seconds. This provided amp readings in the high 80's for the alt output while simultaneously dropping voltage at the battery to the high 11's while the pump was active. Voltage would recover quickly when the pump stopped. I will round down alt output to 85 amps. This minus the 45 amps that the truck requires leaves 40 amps of charge output headroom available to the battery to handle the plow load over the normal truck requirement.

After clipping the ammeter to the plow pump wire I got about 205 amps running the pump side to side and 215 or so while lifting though the numbers bounced around some. Again to be conservative I will round the plow draw up to 225 amps.

So the available duty cycle of the plow on this truck is 40 amp charge headroom divided by 225 amp plow draw equals 0.177. That gives a 17% duty cycle. So as long as the pump is running less than 17% of the time during a plowing session the alternator should keep up fine. Any more than that and it will be using battery reserve in excess of what the alternator can supply and is going to run out of electricity eventually while plowing.

I really have no clue what percentage of the time I have the plow activated when out plowing. I'm sure it depends quite a bit on the individual lot. I suspect it might not be more than 10%. Must be less than 17% anyway cause it has been working fine. Our electric pumps also will not be rated at a continuous duty cycle. Just like a starter motor, you can burn one up by overusing it.

I did not repeat the tests with just one battery but if I had what would have happened is the voltage at the battery would have been lower with the pump active while the single battery provided all the excess current on its own while absorbing twice the amp hour discharge of its capacity as it would have with dual batteries. The main downside to this would be shortened battery life as it was being discharged and recharged at higher rates.

This also shows that if you want an alternator truly capable of powering both the truck and the plow without needing to borrow from the battery reserve that even on this older truck with a small plow it would need an alternator in excess of 250 amp capacity.

A bigger alternator can get you increased duty cycle if your pump can handle the heat and will also let you have more lights and luxuries running, but often it just is not really needed.


----------



## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

Mister Plow, I read that after I wrote it and was going to go back to edit it out (the wife factor came into play). Both alternator and batteries are essential for the proper operation of the vehicle. A good alternator is no doubt a super important part of the equation in the case of any vehicle that has a serious electrical draw. It still stands to reason though that the alternator is doing the majority of the work when the vehicle is in operation and the voltage is not dropping below the normal charge state of the batteries. If the voltage is down below that of the batteries, then indeed it is the batteries that is doing the work as well as the alternator trying to keep up. In that case, not long before rather nasty voltage and currrent problems are going to develop.


----------



## ProSeasons (Nov 30, 2000)

forbidden;1254614 said:


> Mister Plow, I read that after I wrote it and was going to go back to edit it out (the wife factor came into play). Both alternator and batteries are essential for the proper operation of the vehicle. A good alternator is no doubt a super important part of the equation in the case of any vehicle that has a serious electrical draw. It still stands to reason though that the alternator is doing the majority of the work when the vehicle is in operation and the voltage is not dropping below the normal charge state of the batteries. If the voltage is down below that of the batteries, then indeed it is the batteries that is doing the work as well as the alternator trying to keep up. In that case, not long before rather nasty voltage and currrent problems are going to develop.


You got that 'wife factor' thing to deal with, too? I feel your pain, bro!:crying:


----------



## jklawn&Plow (Jan 8, 2011)

Good writeup Ozark.

Also should consider wire gage going to power unit and resistance of connectors/connections to GND. All that is wasted so use big wires, clean connections. Use biggest single battery, and a dual the same size just for the hell of it.


----------



## streetsurfin' (Jan 22, 2004)

If it wasn't mentioned yet, you may also be able to have your alternator rewound to put out more amperage.


----------



## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

Bad idea, all that does is increase the heat in the same small casing. Heat is a natural byproduct of the production of power. In the case of an alternator, heat is a sworn enemy. Same size case, more windings, more heat = failure even sooner.


----------



## wastedwages (Feb 9, 2011)

Here is one solution,

http://www.thedieselgarage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69679

Not sure if the link is an issue for the mods, if so remove and I'm sorry.


----------



## Ozark Hillbilly (Feb 10, 2011)

ProSeasons;1255838 said:


> You got that 'wife factor' thing to deal with, too? I feel your pain, bro!:crying:


Reading forbidden's signature line, his "wife factor" definitely sounds like the kind of problem that should not be allowed to get out of hand.


----------



## dsmer1991 (Jan 23, 2011)

Ford 3G write on fullsizebronco.com it is a sticky. upgrade your cables check your grounds. i pulled a 3G out a e350 van. works great bolted right up and have not had problems since my upgrade. before ihad dimming lights so bad the radio would cut out. now they dim a little after running the blade up a few times without driving anywhere(i do residential plowing) driving between houses allows the alternator to work at above idle engine speeds. charges the system right up.


----------



## ERWbuilders (Oct 5, 2010)

wisbiker55;1252986 said:


> I have a 1997 F-250 heavy duty with a 8' western plow. I want to install a bigger alternator. I have a 95 amp now and would like to go to a 135, lights dim, heater slows , when plow is lifted. Can i run another heavier wire ( 6awg to a 4 awg) to the battery from the alternator right to the battery with the old wire from the alt still connected? Will this work? Thanks for any help..


Go to advance auto and get the mitsubishi ambulance alternator $280...puts out a constant 215amps hot...youll never have a problem trust me...Napa sells the dual battery cable for $130 and im sure if you go to pick n pull or a junkyard you can get the second battery holder for cheap


----------



## ERWbuilders (Oct 5, 2010)

One more thing...you wont be happy with the 135 amp....it only puts out 135 amps at 6000 rpm or somewhere around 3000 rpm on a diesel....i wasnt happy with it. oh and it doenst charge at idle.


----------



## jsukow (Mar 5, 2011)

The alternator is the active supply for the eletrical system for recharging it. The snow plow is wired to the batteries or battery. When the soleniod is triggered it takes the power from the battery and the alternator is there to recharge. Your plow is a secondary system and if it was a primary it would be direct off of the positive terminal on the alternator as some OEM systems are. The most common issue with lights dimming is that the alternator (other than corrosion and poor grounds) is, failing suppling voltage and not the amperage. The best way to understand 12 volt systems is to compare it to plumbing and the flow of water through those pipes, We run amp gauge on our trucks lets you know way before there is a problem than any OEM voltage gauge. I am a master heavy truck tech / now a service manager (what a mistake) and I specialized in electrical systems. I am new to this sight but have been plowing for years. The most important thing in electrical systems in the ground then supply.


----------



## jsukow (Mar 5, 2011)

The best alternator if you can justify it is one spec.ed for an ambulance. max load at low rpm's and thats where you need it. Plus has generally 2 power terminals off the back and if you have the room have one battery / batteries for the plow and run the secondary terminal fused to that battery and then the system is now isolated and dedicated to plow systems only.


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

Ozark H,
I think you have answered your own question ........................ I have had same problems the last two Fords with the Fisher V plows . A tech told me that when lifting the plow it will draw slightly over 300amps and that motor obviously draws a little more than yours but to the same ending here. 
If you are running revolving lights and most of the other garbage we all have on while plowing it is way more than a 130 amp alternator can take care of. Both of my last two were WAY under to be able to let the largest battery in CCA available recover properly and after a few hours of plowing I would get big time dimming [grounds were fine] because we were slowing loosing voltage as the alternators just couldnt keep up with the demand on the battery all the garbage was drawing off from it!!! That simple 130 amps wasnt even close......................... I installed a 240 AMP HO alternator that puts out a true 240 amps at 800rpm idle speed [alt is turning about 1100 thru smaller pulley diameter] and it will crank out close to 300amps at about 1600rpms......] ANYONE telling that doesnt make a HUGE difference does NOT know what they are talking about . PROBLEM SOLVED................... no more dimming lights , no more noticable slowing of the rotating beacons. no more heater motor slowing down ETC....................... get yourself a bigger alternator as this line of thinking that you only need it 17% of the time is NOT valid. You need it constantly if you are whipping that plow around it is asking for alot more than you think it is. Not sure if you are firmilar with these Optima batterys with glass lined plates inside them but they will accept and recover faster than a reg battery and many plowers rave about how well they like them with a HO alternator.
*Good luck *and check your grounds and get the BIGGEST alternator you can afford and you will never look back!
As far as the 60 and 80 amp alternators working fine ?????? ...............................well I know a guy that says he has never lost a deer with a .22LR?????? but most of the rest of us have lost them with a 30/06????????


----------



## ProSeasons (Nov 30, 2000)

ERWbuilders;1260463 said:


> One more thing...you wont be happy with the 135 amp....it only puts out 135 amps at 6000 rpm or somewhere around 3000 rpm on a diesel....i wasnt happy with it. oh and it doenst charge at idle.


EXACTLY!!! If I had a truck from the 80s a 60 amp alt probably would keep up. My truck is an '01, all kinds of whiz bang electrical draw.....



FisherVMan;1261044 said:


> Ozark H,
> I think you have answered your own question ........................ I have had same problems the last two Fords with the Fisher V plows . A tech told me that when lifting the plow it will draw slightly over 300amps and that motor obviously draws a little more than yours but to the same ending here.
> If you are running revolving lights and most of the other garbage we all have on while plowing it is way more than a 130 amp alternator can take care of. Both of my last two were WAY under to be able to let the largest battery in CCA available recover properly and after a few hours of plowing I would get big time dimming [grounds were fine] because we were slowing loosing voltage as the alternators just couldnt keep up with the demand on the battery all the garbage was drawing off from it!!! That simple 130 amps wasnt even close......................... I installed a 240 AMP HO alternator that puts out a true 240 amps at 800rpm idle speed [alt is turning about 1100 thru smaller pulley diameter] and it will crank out close to 300amps at about 1600rpms......] ANYONE telling that doesnt make a HUGE difference does NOT know what they are talking about . PROBLEM SOLVED................... no more dimming lights , no more noticable slowing of the rotating beacons. no more heater motor slowing down ETC....................... get yourself a bigger alternator as this line of thinking that you only need it 17% of the time is NOT valid. You need it constantly if you are whipping that plow around it is asking for alot more than you think it is. Not sure if you are firmilar with these Optima batterys with glass lined plates inside them but they will accept and recover faster than a reg battery and many plowers rave about how well they like them with a HO alternator.
> *Good luck *and check your grounds and get the BIGGEST alternator you can afford and you will never look back!
> As far as the 60 and 80 amp alternators working fine ?????? ...............................well I know a guy that says he has never lost a deer with a .22LR?????? but most of the rest of us have lost them with a 30/06????????


Now THIS is what I'm talking about!!!! Good response guys


----------



## 100InchHammer (Aug 6, 2010)

I plow with a 79 Chevy 1/2 ton shortbed. It has 2 batts and a 63 amp alternator which functions just fine. You have more electronics on your truck but a 90 amp should be more than sufficient. I have never once wore my batts down to the point anything moved slow or any other function was sacrificed.

Good connections, good batts and a properly working alternator is all that is needed.


----------



## forbidden (Dec 22, 2010)

Did you even read the responses or are you just throwing in what works for you without knowing if is the proper solution or the correct solution?


----------



## 100InchHammer (Aug 6, 2010)

I read almost all of them, skipping a few that seemed redundant. I said a 63 amp works for mine and works well. None of the local plowers that I am tied in with need any more amps than what their trucks came with factory. Now maybe they got lucky and their trucks were accidently manfactured with upgraded alternators.


----------



## jklawn&Plow (Jan 8, 2011)

My tests show one good battery over 1000CCA at 32 degrees 820 at zero makes the difference. Did this with a brand new 135amp alternator and with a 160amp alternator. The 160 was with a new 600CCA battery same plow. The bigger battery -lights didn't dim, smaller battery larger alternator-lights dimmed. How many amps do you think your battery can put out and for how long. The larger battery can put out for longer time. TRy hooking up ten zero gauge wires in parallel straight to ground and measure the current if they don't melt. Better not it might not be safe. But the battery is the power warehouse the alternator is just the trucks bring in electrons.


----------



## FisherVMan (Jan 5, 2010)

Here is another example of this with our tractor ......................... it came with a 75 amp alternator. I have two top lights that have two 55w halogen bulbs in each unit. It has a twin 100w halogen revolving beacon on top of the cab. It has a set of strobes on the rear and the headlights that came in it both 55w halogens , there is also a set of floods on the back of the cab that draw 55w each but only come on when I turn them on to back up at night. Most of the time I only run the beacon and the running lights and am not running the double top cab lights at all..................... the plow is NOT even a consideration in this case as it is run entirely from the hydro of the tractor. It came with a 600CCA battery and in an hour and a half of plow with just the lights on mentioned the beacon will slow down to such a slow rpm that it is obvious that if you shut the tractor off you will NEVER get it started again...................[I know as I have shut it off a few times by accident an had to get a boost to get it started!] Now I checked the alternator with a guage I bought off ebay that reads up to 300 amps thru a 300/75mV shunt and it does put out about 72 amps at full draw but its ability to recharge this battery and the recovery is no where near enough to keep me ahead of the load ............ so I can only imagine that anyone getting by with very small alternators in a pickup must run about nothing for accessory's
as the numbers just dont work when you start adding lights and other gizmos.................. I am thinking about tig welding up a custom bracket so I can install a 130 amp Chevy alternator and see if that will cure it but if it doesn't I am going to tig up a custom box and set another battery beside the one that already lives there................... so even without a plow involved we have had poor luck with 75 amp alternators....................


----------



## damian (Jan 29, 2009)

american armature in california makes a nice high output unit from scratch not a hopped up stock unit.they are bolt on and ive used them,a bit pricy but they work well,150a at idle.


----------



## jklawn&Plow (Jan 8, 2011)

Fischer Vman-Tractor.
Not sure how old the battery is but when I added 110x5=550Watts divided by 12V I get 45 amps > I think your issue is the battery. The alternator "keeping up " is something that occurs once the battery is being drained. My lights start dimming right when I start out. 600 CCA is not enough for a plow truck. Bigger battery solved the problem. Driveways drain the most plower, have the highest cycle time and burn up the motors quicker than other plowing- lots etc..
But you do recharge between them no need to charge during a driveway with more than 135 amp alterenator just get bigger battery.


----------



## 100InchHammer (Aug 6, 2010)

When vehicles and machinery are designed there is an overdesign built into the charging system. If your vehicle can't run a few extra lights (You could always go LED to prevent excessive demand) and the intermittent use of a plow pump then I would look in 3 places. Wiring, adequate size (You need large, copper, multistrand wire. I prefer mine to be soldered into a crimp type lug, I don't use the lead type with the sheet metal clamps. These for one only have about 30 degrees of contact with a quality material able of conducting electricity, they are easily corroded and the sheet metal strap is useless as a conductor.), clean, soldered or crimped connections and always check your grounds at every location (These are typically the most overlooked part of elec systems and equally as if not more important to stay on top of.). Then I would look at battery size/quantity, type and age. Does the battery accept and hold a full charge? Has the battery been drained dead? This really hurts a battery's ability to accept and hold charges. Then I would address the alternator, the largest amperage alternator readily and reasonably available for your truck should be adequate.


----------



## damian (Jan 29, 2009)

looks like the gooks even found their way into plow site,is there nothing sacred.what does rebar bending have to do with snowplows.


----------



## DIRISHMAN (Jul 30, 2010)

damian;1288146 said:


> looks like the gooks even found their way into plow site,is there nothing sacred.what does rebar bending have to do with snowplows.


About as much as fortune cookies and chop suey does at Mc Donalds????????:laughing:


----------

