There really is nothing larger that is a direct bolt on, but with imagination, anything is possible. The real question is determining if there is a need. If you are not burning them up, then most likely it is capable of doing the job. The real problem in the Vanagon as electrical loads are added is the wiring. You have 90 amps of alternator capacity with 60 amps of wire capacity. Yes, an exaggeration. But turn everything on for 10 minutes with the engine held at a fast idle and then grab those wires from the alternator. Feel that soft mushy insulation. There really should be a 4 gauge or equal wire from the alternator to the fuse box and a good ground wire will help a lot. Hi capacity alternators really get their performance from improved cooling and larger windings. A down side is that at idle or low speed, they can actually produce less than a standard unit. This needs to be taken into consideration. Larger alternators will not charge batteries faster as the regulated voltage should be about the same. Dennis
-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Jerry Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 6:05 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Vanagon 12V Alternator ----ALL---- I'd like to know if there is higher amperage alternator available for the Vanagon. I think the OEM alternator is rated at 90 amps. Does the Westy Vanagon use a higher amp alternator?? Just curious, I'm thinking with the addition of numerous new 12V electronic gadgets one may need a little more output.
Thanks,
Jerry 88 GL BUS-ter |
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