# Dual Battery and Alternator insite



## ptrkptz (Nov 30, 2008)

I am looking for advice from the expert...

I bought a '74 chevy pickup last year and put a plow on it... the 'backup'...

I ended up using it a few time this last year... but I start to lose battery power. I end up shutting the headlights off and run off park lights and still push the limits. 

I have asked mechanics and auto parts place... no one can give me a straight answer.

So I hope that someone can help me out... i need advice on the type, size of batteries and alternator.
Thanks in advance


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

you can get a alt from a newer like pontiac transport with rear air i think is the model. its a 140 amp unit. and super close to direct bolt in.

www.ck5.com has some good info on it . i cant recall much on it as my stuff runs newer style stuff.

went over and checked for ya. here is a search with some good threads in it.

http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241070&highlight=140+amp

http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185231&highlight=140+amp

http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166006&highlight=140+amp

http://www.coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233723&highlight=140+amp


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## MeeksCo (Oct 31, 2008)

I am no expert... I will say that. 
Though, I added another battery to my system. I have a 96 K1500 Cable operated Western. I took an old battery from my garage upto Autozone and had them charge it. 
I crossed over another positive cable from the other battery and grounded the extra battery to the frame. That extra battery alone has given my original battery (which is not that new anyways) so much backup its incredible. I am planning on beefing up the alternator but it seems like just by adding this battery i'm ok. 

If your altentor is not charging the battery back up after you rev the engine, then you may need either a new battery or a newer altenator. It doesnt hurt to add an extra battery. Go to your local junk yard and buy a used refurbished battery for like $25 and a 2' black cable and a 4' red cable all for like $35-40 bucks total. 

My 2 cents....


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## ptrkptz (Nov 30, 2008)

*Alternator*

So the alternator that is currently on there is 63 amps... i can put on a 140 amp alternator w/o doing anything else (except adding the other battery)?


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## drivewaydoctor (Nov 26, 2008)

ptrkptz;657112 said:


> So the alternator that is currently on there is 63 amps... i can put on a 140 amp alternator w/o doing anything else (except adding the other battery)?


As long as it will fit you sure can.

I just upgraded my alt from a 90amp to a 130amp and it made a huge difference. I'm going to buy a second battery and add it as well.


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## MeeksCo (Oct 31, 2008)

Yea...like the other guy said. If the newer altenator will fit...you may just be ok with that. Though, in the longrun, I recommend adding a backup battery for tons of reasons. You can just keep it in all year long. 
You will still be at 14-14.5 volts if you look inside your truck (which is what is normal)...though you times that by two...because it will take double the amount of energy to kill two battery's then one. 
It's a cheap and great preventive maintenence. 

But get the new altenator first!


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## adksnowo (Dec 14, 2005)

cwpm410;655223 said:


> I am no expert... I will say that.
> Though, I added another battery to my system. I have a 96 K1500 Cable operated Western. I took an old battery from my garage upto Autozone and had them charge it.
> I crossed over another positive cable from the other battery and grounded the extra battery to the frame. That extra battery alone has given my original battery (which is not that new anyways) so much backup its incredible. I am planning on beefing up the alternator but it seems like just by adding this battery i'm ok.
> 
> ...


You should always replace-install dual batteries together unless you are running aux. battery through isolator. Dual batteries should both be purchased @ the same time & be of same type. Otherwise parasitic draw will ruin the batteries, batteries will charge improperly and can ruin alternator.


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## juspayme (Jan 4, 2006)

its a must in my book, had the engine stall many times in the olden days . get the 2nd bat.


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## snowandgo (Oct 26, 2008)

A second battery will get you a long way. You should be able to get a 100 amp or larger alt. from NAPA or Auto Zone for your truck. I never had trouble plowing with a 100 amp and a big single battery. You might get away with just a larger battery. Two would be better, but then you have to buy extra cables, rig up a mount, etc.

Maybe your pump motor is going bad and drawing too much juice.


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## adksnowo (Dec 14, 2005)

Not just plow drawing power. There is a lot of juice being used on our trucks. Defroster so you can see, beacon, strobes, lights, aux. lights, back-up lights and sat. radio.


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## Duncan90si (Feb 16, 2007)

This is how I set my trucks up.
Two batteries.
Good quality 4 ga wire connecting both batteries from + to +.
Run a 4 ga ground from the 2nd battery to the motor or frame.
I'm surprised I didn't see this posted in this thread yet.... Run an additional 4 ga wire from the + terminal on the second battery to the back of the alternator. All the batteries and big alternators in the world won't make an enormous difference until you run a bigger charging wire to take advantage of the increased amps of the alt. and/or increased capacity of dual batteries. The factory 10ga - 12ga wire is not sufficient. 

My opinion.
The way I look at it is, power cables on most plows are around 4 gauge, correct? Plow manufacturers use that large of wire because obviously the plow uses enough electricty that its needed. Well combine that with your lights, heater, radio etc, how do you expect the battery/batteries to charge fast when they are being supplied with power from the alt. through a wire thats 1/3 the size of the cable that just the plow is drawing through, not to mention all the other electronics being used.

To give you an example:
Just today actually I rewired my K3500 like this. It already had 2 new batteries in it. The second battery was wired + to + and - to - onto the 1st battery. At idle with the heater, lights, roof light, wipers, radio etc. on it was reading high 12s to low 13s on the factory volt gauge. 

I then eliminated the ground cable between the batteries and grounded the 2nd battery to the motor. I then ran the 4ga cable from the alt. to the + side of the 2nd battery. Now with all the same accessories on, it reads slighty about 14v at idle. 

Hope this info makes sense and helps someone out.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

Use the search function on the gray line above the post. Search "charging" "Duel Batteries" etc. It's beat to death every couple of months. There should be hours of reading there.


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## jonniesmooth (Dec 5, 2008)

I have an '85 chevy, it's a 4 speed. 
got a alt, isolater, and all the essentials from these guys:

www.wranglernw.com

they know their stuff


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## RODHALL (Nov 23, 2005)

if you don't have an isolater in the system your going to burn something up.
regulator, alt, batt all work togather. what will happen when you add a second batt is regulator tells the alt how much charge to send to one batt, second batt will either over charge or under charger, under charge it is usless over charge and it can explode. if one of the two batts over charge it could back feed and make the alt and or regulator stop working al togather.

jacking a second batt in truck improperly has caused more then one fire...

an 80 amp isolater is like $40...


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## In2toys (Jan 25, 2006)

Duncan90si;661878 said:


> This is how I set my trucks up.
> Two batteries.
> Good quality 4 ga wire connecting both batteries from + to +.
> Run a 4 ga ground from the 2nd battery to the motor or frame.
> ...


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## Duncan90si (Feb 16, 2007)

In2toys;675589 said:


> Duncan90si;661878 said:
> 
> 
> > This is how I set my trucks up.
> ...


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## In2toys (Jan 25, 2006)

kool thanks


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## IGETPLOWED (Dec 15, 2008)

Will upgrading to a higher alternator give you any electrical problems? I was told you could 'overcharge' your electrical system. 

Dan


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## festerw (Sep 25, 2003)

RODHALL;663518 said:


> if you don't have an isolater in the system your going to burn something up.
> regulator, alt, batt all work togather. what will happen when you add a second batt is regulator tells the alt how much charge to send to one batt, second batt will either over charge or under charger, under charge it is usless over charge and it can explode. if one of the two batts over charge it could back feed and make the alt and or regulator stop working al togather.
> 
> jacking a second batt in truck improperly has caused more then one fire...
> ...


If you put an isolater in you may as well just run one battery for a plow truck, the extra reserve capacity is what you're looking for and the isolater destroys that.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

As long as the "Voltage regulator" is working right it will not over charge the batteries. If it is an external one, buy the heavy duty one if you replace it. The alternator is regulated by the total system voltage. If the load is pulling from the batteries the voltage drops. The "Voltage regulator" senses this and sends 12 volts to the field part of the alternator. This causes it to put out voltage / amps over what is being drawn up to the rating of the alternator and the RPM it's total output peaks at. keep in mind an alternator only puts out 1/3 of it's rated output at near idle RPM'S. Most trucks plow at near Idle speeds. Combine low amps-high draw, low air flow and coolant flow. You can see why Plow Trucks have charging and cooling problems. Your battery system should be about 12.6 + volts with the truck not running. With it running it should be 13.5 to 14.5 volts.
A stock OEM dash gage is for the most part is useless. If you really want to keep an eye on your trucks voltage status. Install an after market Volt gage with a good volt scale on it. Don't even bother with amp gages, they are useless, they just show you it has output or not. You can be on the plus side for days, but if the battery is bad, it will not be in a charged state to start the next day.


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## FLASHMAN (Dec 6, 2003)

festerw;677784 said:


> If you put an isolater in you may as well just run one battery for a plow truck, the extra reserve capacity is what you're looking for and the isolater destroys that.


Ok, I got what I think is going to be a pretty good setup from my local guy that rebuilds alternators and has been setting up plow truck electrical systems for far longer than I've been alive... Here's what he advised, and what I'm in the process of setting up for my '98 K1500:

Stock alt case, rebuilt to 190 amp output. 2 1000 CCA batteries with 115 minute reserve. connected via 2ga wire through an isolator, with an extra 4ga hot coming from the alt to the positive of one of the batteries.

Here's why he reccommends an isolator: Regardless of battery power, your lights and other electrical functions WILL be affected by the plow if you just run an extra battery in parallel. With the isolator, you run the plow off of the secondary, while all the rest of your electricals run off the main, while the alt charges both simultaneously. This takes the effect the plow has on the electrical system completely out of the equation. with a 115 minute battery, and a proper alt, you'll NEVER need the 230 minute standby that the 2 batteries without the isolator would provide, AND you get the added benefit of the plow not effeecting the rest of the electrical functions. I picked up the 190 amp alt he built for me yesterday, and I'm getting the rest in the next couple of weeks.


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

One thing most people don't know is most Alternator's output is 1/3 of their rated output at idle. A place that most plow trucks operate at. If you have a good rebuild shop in your area they can rebuild your stock alternator up to the amp level you want. For about a $1.50 an amp.Then it will go into the same space it came out of. Upgrade the wire leading to the batteries and your good to go! For more info use the search function on the gray line above.
Search: charging etc. There is hours of reading!


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## gottaluvplows (Dec 20, 2008)

*I NEED HELP QUICK *

Im getting a strobe from notherntool for my snowblower while doing sidewalks and drives by the street. Can i cut the wire then put it on a 6 volt battery like this: Then here is the site to the light/strobe http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_352686_352686










PS Must be on snow blower with no alternator for Honda Snowblower HS520A (4-stroke)

THanksssssss tons


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## timmy1 (Apr 9, 2008)

I run a Diesel and They are equipped with two Batteries 12V stock OEM.

There is no isolator (diode) to separate the plow function draw from everything else.

And I think an isolator is a great idea for an add on battery.

Plowing does require a tremendous amount of amperage and if your alternator is not providing enough, eventually your voltage will drop.

Think of your battery as a swimming pool, if more water is being pumped out (amperage used plowing) than being pumped back in (Alternator charging) eventually it will empty out.


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## gottaluvplows (Dec 20, 2008)

I NEED HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im getting a strobe from notherntool for my snowblower while doing sidewalks and drives by the street. Can i cut the wire then put it on a 6 volt battery like this: Then here is the site to the light/strobe http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w..._352686_352686

:help

PS Must be on snow blower with no alternator for Honda Snowblower HS520A (4-stroke)

THanksssssss tons


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

I would think the strobe needs 12 volt power. Why not a cheap small tractor battery? You can recharge it and it should last a while. That way you don't have to keep buying batteries


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## artic429 (Feb 20, 2008)

I wish i had a dime for everytime i seen Micki say that. Id be rich. What he says is the truth. Micks help and my rig is running fine with no problems at all.!


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## gottaluvplows (Dec 20, 2008)

MickiRig1;707921 said:


> I would think the strobe needs 12 volt power. Why not a cheap small tractor battery? You can recharge it and it should last a while. That way you don't have to keep buying batteries


But it hass to be small enough to fit under the frame.Do you tink a battery would work. Caus that battery is only like 6 volts .


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## streetsurfin' (Jan 22, 2004)

Put two of those in series for your 12 volts. Then you are talking the size of a small motorcycle battery. An AMG bike battery is a good option for tighter spaces then.


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## gottaluvplows (Dec 20, 2008)

i wonder how long i could run that.


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## gottaluvplows (Dec 20, 2008)

HAS anyone seen one of these At a store or online That has a 12 volt outlet so i can put a 12 volt strobe on my snow blower. Or like a mini radio that has a 12 volt cigar plug outlet on it. Any thing









http://www.cens.com/censv1/en/pic.jsp?img=/cens/supplier/product/pic/27420618/picture%2003_big.jpg?xxx=1221795324123


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## MickiRig1 (Dec 5, 2003)

Humm, I am confused? Why does a strobe light need 6 volts? Like I said most run on 12 volts if it'd designed to work on a vehicle. Tractor batteries are not that big to run the light. Bungee cord it to an upright part of the snow blower and wire in a switch. Wah-Lah done!


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