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LandymanStefan



Member Since: 30 Aug 2017
Location: Surrey
Posts: 881

England 2001 Defender 90 Td5 SW Epsom Green
High Output alternator options for Td5
Does anyone know if theres a high output alternator availabe for td5's?
I know gwyn lewis make a dual alternator mount however it means you cant fit air con which is something i would like to do later on down the line.

Im sure a couple of you will now question why i want a second alternator. The td5 alternator is rated at 120A max which it definitely wont be hitting at lower rpms.
My current sound system has a max draw of 110A currently and im looking at fitting a second battery and dc-dc charger which will pull up to 40A. Just these few bits alone mean that theres not a lot of juice left to charge the main battery and run lights etc etc.

Ideally if someone makes a 200a aftermarket one that would be ideal
Post #921915 18th Sep 2021 1:22pm
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geobloke



Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

United Kingdom 
I have thought about this too in the past and came to the conclusion that the only way of getting more amps is to have the alternator refurbished and re-wound to increase amp output. I didn't get very far down this road, but might be worth chatting with a company that does refurb jobs.
Post #921918 18th Sep 2021 2:50pm
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geobloke



Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

United Kingdom 
This is the direction to go in I think. Have a chat with someone like this and see if they can get your current alternator to increase output at a lower RPM and/or increase the max output.

https://robsonandfrancisrewinds.co.uk/alternators/index.html

I have no connection to this company at all, but a place to start enquiring...
Post #921919 18th Sep 2021 3:06pm
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SteveG



Member Since: 29 Nov 2011
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 660

2005 Defender 90 Td5 CSW Belize Green
Probably the easiest route is to fit a shunt on your main battery and see what your pulling when you fit the dc charger and extra battery. Then you’ll know if you need to fit an uprated alternator or not.
Post #921922 18th Sep 2021 4:39pm
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excossack



Member Since: 22 Feb 2012
Location: North West
Posts: 5850

United Kingdom 1999 Defender 110 Td5 SW Caledonian Blue
Or if you don't have aircon, can you fit a 2nd alternator? 1999 Defender TD5 110

Regards
John M0VAZ
Econet Station 48 no clock
Post #921977 19th Sep 2021 10:58am
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LandymanStefan



Member Since: 30 Aug 2017
Location: Surrey
Posts: 881

England 2001 Defender 90 Td5 SW Epsom Green
Yes i can but i would like to fit ac in the near future in which case you cant fit a second alternator.
I think ill give the windings company a call and see what they say.
Post #921979 19th Sep 2021 11:30am
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geobloke



Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

United Kingdom 
Report back. I would be interested about what they say RE: higher output Thumbs Up
Post #921985 19th Sep 2021 12:41pm
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LandymanStefan



Member Since: 30 Aug 2017
Location: Surrey
Posts: 881

England 2001 Defender 90 Td5 SW Epsom Green
Gave them a call at lunch today, they said they could increase the output of the standard to 150a quite easily however it would only produce more current at higher revs. If you pulled a high load at idle it actually wouldn’t be able to supply as much as standard and actually get hotter.

They said the best solution is a bigger one and asked me to take pictures of my existing alternator and send it to them to see what the mounting is and would let me know if they know of anything bigger that would fit.
Post #922097 20th Sep 2021 2:31pm
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I Like Old Skool



Member Since: 23 Feb 2015
Location: Manchester
Posts: 814

United Kingdom 1994 Defender 110 300 Tdi ST Coniston Green
TBH, before doing anything else I would be trying to establish just how much juice you are drawing in reality, as advised above.

A sound system that can draw 110A max must be mahoosive and I doubt it will actually draw anything even close to half of that continuously. A 120A alternator is pretty beefy for a diesel which uses next to nothing to run and should hardly touch a healthy battery even when starting.

If you are after running these high draw systems while the engine is off then you really want to be looking at a different approach all together and should think about fitting a high capacity deep-cycle battery and decent split charge system.
Post #922102 20th Sep 2021 3:25pm
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LandymanStefan



Member Since: 30 Aug 2017
Location: Surrey
Posts: 881

England 2001 Defender 90 Td5 SW Epsom Green
You're right that its unlikely i'll ever be maxing out the standard one for any lengths of time but i would like to have the headroom so i dont have to worry about it.
I cant imagine running the sound system full blast for an extended period with the dc-dc charger running on an overland trip. Also its likely that if i am going on a big trip with the second battery and fridge rigged up i wont have the space to have my main subwoofer fitted and connected which would cut the output of one of my amplifiers in half.

But if the option is there for a relatively low cost to have a bigger alternator and piece of mind i will probably go for it.

However if i did want to go on a camping trip with the lads in winter and i had the sound system pumping, the dc-dc charging the second battery, the heater running, headlights on, aux lights on, using the compressor to air up and potentially a light bar or spots in the future i dont really want to overload the current one.

Yes i am talking about engine running. When parked up i can switch over to running my rear camp lights and compressor on the second battery.
Post #922106 20th Sep 2021 4:14pm
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geobloke



Member Since: 06 Nov 2012
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 4410

United Kingdom 
LandymanStefan wrote:
Gave them a call at lunch today, they said they could increase the output of the standard to 150a quite easily however it would only produce more current at higher revs. If you pulled a high load at idle it actually wouldn’t be able to supply as much as standard and actually get hotter.

They said the best solution is a bigger one and asked me to take pictures of my existing alternator and send it to them to see what the mounting is and would let me know if they know of anything bigger that would fit.


Well that was worth the call then. Good to have expert advice Thumbs Up
Post #922175 21st Sep 2021 8:16am
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MadTom



Member Since: 10 Sep 2013
Location: Olomouc
Posts: 625

Czech Republic 1999 Defender 130 Td5 HCPU Baltic Blue
TD5 in Defender is not using place for ACE hydraulic pump used on TD5 engine in Discovery 2. So possible place for second alternator is here. I have only found second alternator instead of AC compressor, and for me this is not solution. Does anyboby seen this made? "Drobek" = The Small One - Discovery 2, "Blufínek" = The Blue Thing - Defender 130, and for me at least Ford Mondeo Smile
Post #922200 21st Sep 2021 10:26am
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jst



Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Taunton
Posts: 8051

 2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 USW Stornoway Grey
What's the max draw and for how good and how big ate current batteries? Cheers

James
110 2012 XS Utility
130 2011 M57 bespoke Camper
90 2010 Hardtop
90 M57 1988 Hardtop
Post #922255 21st Sep 2021 5:53pm
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bankz5152



Member Since: 02 Feb 2017
Location: South London/North Kent
Posts: 2173

2004 Defender 110 Td5 DCPU Epsom Green
Ive been following this thread. Its interesting to read.

Imo you dont need a bigger alternator unless youve got a Max Power era speaker system.

My 110s got a newish alt, twin batteries. Decent speaker set up with a mid size amp.

Plus diesel heater, winch, compressor fridge, spot lights, roof lights, rear lights, various cameras, phone chargers and two inverters. Granted im not using all of it at once but I have had the fridge, winch (pulling 2.7T from a very stuck position), speakers, various cameras, and the inverter all running without an issue.

Come winter, alot of lights (all LED tbf) are on + the derv heater and often the fridge still never an issue.

Even at shows the fridge is on, lights are being used, inverter is on, phones being charged and occasionally music, normally use the makita radio but still car systems often used. Thats engine off. Instagram @defender_ventures
Empire Tuning - Agent
Post #922266 21st Sep 2021 7:00pm
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