is there anyway to put dual alternators on a 07 f150? does anyone make a bracket for it or the harness pigtails that would be necessary to do this? has anyone ever done this on one of these trucks?

 

A quick search turned up 2 threads on the topic.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v8...lternator.html

https://www.f150online.com/forums/el...ternators.html

Nothing specific to the F-150, but someone claimed The F-250 had this on a gas 5.4 in 2006.

I did not find anything on Trademotion, so you are going to have to call the dealer / online dealer you are using to get the PN to try to fit it. This looks to be good, as it should be the same belt too.

 

those threads dont help any there is no info in them just poeple saying it can be done and another asking why do it.

the bracket im not really worried about i can make my own its the wiring of them that i havent figured out yet. is the alt on these trucks controlled by the pcm or a voltage regulator in the alternator?
if its a voltage regulator then it probally wouldnt be very hard at all to do it.
and i was planning on using 2 factory alts for this because i already have them and the extra one was free so i do not want to buy another single large heavy duty one when 2 stock ones will be the same thing. if i want to later if i need more power i can swap out both the factory ones for aftermarket alts and already have all the hook ups for them.

 

2 alternators won't do precisely the same as a larger one. Why do you feel the need for more current? Yes, your alt. is PCM-controlled, and yes, a PCM-controlled alt can be used without PCM control. I'm not sure if the PCM's alternator control circuit can safely handle 2 in parallel, but I'd expect it to merely throw a code if it can't. But there IS a risk that it could damage the PCM.

Again: why?

 

Well, if you read that it was offered on the F-250, that means you could have contacted the parts place where you plan on purchasing it at, and get the full parts list for the dual alternator setup.
This would include the wiring harness for integration into the charging system on your truck. Any decent parts counter at the dealer would do the look up, if they are going to get the business for the parts. I know Southwest Ford in TX is good about looking up stuff for me, when I doing non standard modifications.

Think this is of some help yet ?

A quick google for high AMP alternators would show you that your alternator is PCM controlled, not that hard to figure out the answer to that question.

Still no help ?

Some times projects take a little bit of leg work, especially for the guy doing it for the 1st time.

BTW : I never suggested going with a single high output alternator, so no need to defend your project. I don't really care why you are doing it, just offing a push in the right direction.

 

i feel the need for more current because my stock alt is taxed out i have 2 1200w rms mono amps a 500w 4 ch amp dual electric fans added lights, plus the factory stuff running. running nothing but the a/c the voltage drops to under 13 because of the fans that come on with it and the alt is operating like it is supposed to.

when i did the search on the alt in this truck it came up that it could be pcm controlled or not it said the alt will work with both systems all i could find is the 09 models were pcm controlled not that it was pcm controlled on this year truck which is why i asked.

a f250 and a f150 are two different animals most of the options offered on a f250 were never offered on a f150 that i could find. i own 2 f250's and neither one of them have much of the same parts or harnesses under the hood it all looks different. the only info i can find on dual alts for a ford truck is on a 6.0 powerstroke the harness on mine is nothing like my f150.

and i figured since most aftermarket alts only put out around 130 amps at idle at the most unless your willing to pay a good bit for one. if i had 2 stock alts that do around 90 amps at idle i would be better off at 160 amps at idle that are free and i have them than a aftermarket one that i would have to buy.

well around here if you want any info on your vehicle you have to get on the internet and ask questions and find what you want because the dealers are no help what so ever. i have already asked them.

but thank you for your time in answering any questions that i had.

 

Again, no need to support why you are doing this, it is fine that you want to and that is all that is needed to be said, you want to have dual alternators.

I will say your logic is supported by both Ford and GM, as they offer this on factory trucks. If it was just as easy to have 1 250 AMP alternator, I would think they would have taken this route.

Quick search shows the Alternator is PCM controlled
http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/fad-alternator.html

A Generic Alternator made to fit, is not a good source of info.

Yep, get on the Internet and ask. That was one of the options I gave for contacting a Ford Parts department, that could verify the PN needed between the F-250 & F-150.
Non standard modification like this will take some work to get going, but starting with the factory harness as a base, is a better starting point then DIY. Then again, it could be plug and play, need to talk with the parts department, and ask :

The other side of the state from you
http://www.southwestfordparts.com/

Drop them an email, they are very good at doing the leg work for the business. Makes me wish I lived in that area of TX, they are a dealer that you can trust from the years I had dealing with them.

Also getting a manufactured bracket might be cheap, and work better than a DIY. Also using the factory bracket makes getting the right size belt cake.

 

thanks for the help sscully and i guess im just used to having to defend my little projecs especially on this site seems like most are quick to tell you it cant be done or why you shouldnt instead of acctually trying to help.

 

I didn't suggest it couldn't be done, or that you shouldn't. (I've done plenty of things to vehicles that I've been assured couldn't be done.) But knowing what you're trying to achieve allows us to offer alternate solutions that might be better, cheaper, easier, quicker, more reliable. Facilitating what you want to do isn't always 'helping'.

Your amplifiers only put out that much when they hit heavy bass notes at a very high volume setting. Normally, they only put out a fraction of that, and so draw only a fraction of their rated consumption. So for that issue & the fan, you need another battery - not another alternator. That'll be quicker, easier, safer, & more effective at alleviating the symptom you described. (It'll probably also be cheaper, even though you already have an alt.) If you use good soldered terminals & reasonably heavy wire, it can be mounted anywhere, but the closer to the amp, the better. You can buy a sealed battery box with a remote vent & put it in the cab, or put it in the bed, if you have a tonneau or tool box to hide it.

For what you want, I'd run a ~6ga wire from the main battery to a ~60A fuse holder to a continuous-duty (winch) relay to the aux. batt, and trigger the relay with the amp turn-on wire, or another light-duty relay depending on how much current the turn-on circuit can provide. That would allow the amp to run off both, but it would isolate the batteries when the system is off.


F150 alts went to PCM control in '04; F250s were still autonomous in '06.

 

JRFronte:

I have installed multiple alternators on Communications Remote Vehicles for many years, but in this case I could not recommend a procedure unless I know what you would be comfortable doing.
Requiring multiple alternators could depend on what your design philosophy is, and your economics. I looked at what you wrote about installing audio amps, and it seems that what you would try to attempt would not solve the problem you are describing.
Won't go into theory, but adding multiple alternators in your case wouldn't work as you think it would. At some time Ford started having the voltage or regulator work done by some part of the PCM. I am not sure if your truck was on that list, and if so that really won't help much. J.C. Whitney sells "single-lead" alternators who's regulators are internal therefore not requiring mods to your harness, but you will have trouble synchronizing the output of multiple alternators using this method. That is not recommended because any difference in output between alternators could cause extreme damage to the alternators or your system.
At best you could look into a compatible alternator that has a higher current potential, and still fits your engine. If your truck came equipped with an "Electric Radiator Fan" you may already be using the highest current alternator available for your engine. If not look up the alternator for a similar truck with an electric radiator fan and install that one. You should be able to pick up an additional 25-50Amps capacity using your existing system.
Even 4-6 cylinder cars that have electric cooling fans have max current alternators. I have put White/Westinghouse Alternators Satellite Trucks in that have idle (speed) current cap's of 240 Amps, but they are pretty expensive, and finicky when it comes to regulation. I think that most of the non diesel trucks of the F-150 variety have a capacity of 140 Amps for the standard install.

For what you seem to be describing you need a "stiffer" battery bank to handle the required peak current instead of a higher current alternator. It is the combination of the current of the battery, and the alternator that continuously powers the vehicle. You could install a "simple" dual battery power backup with a minimum of (2) Sch-65 Batteries if you wish. These would be charged off-line of the system battery (main) by a "Power Divider". That is the type of current divider sold in Pep Boys, Auto-Zone, e.t.c. for connecting multiple battery systems. (Brand Name?)
Do try to find a Power Divider capable of your alternator's current output or 150 Amps (which ever is greater) to split your alternator's current to the system, and to your battery bank. The battery bank is simple in that it is two equivalent batteries in "parallel" (+,+),(-,-) of which your amp's feed off of. Hope this helps

 

You may want to try the battery setup. I have a Zapco 9.0 (2200 watts) plus a Zapco 4.0 (400 watts) and use a Kinetik 1800 battery within 12" of the amps. I have no dimming whatsoever. You should try this route, maybe go with an 1800 or one step up, but keep the battery within 18" of your amps and use 0/1 to get the most current from the battery to the amps.

The battery will run you about $500, but it's built for these applications.

As 98Expedition10 said, you will run the two batteries in parallel... so run the pos from the battery in the front to the pos to the battery in the rear. Fuse near the back battery as you normally would. Ground the new battery like you normally would.

Then get a battery isolator (another $100 abouts)... Stinger makes one that handles up to 500 amps. You run your remote turn-on wire to the isolator to enable it.

 

i already have dual batts under the hood in the stock location and i have 1/0 ran to my amps and 2 ga connecting the batts,alt, and 1/0 for my grounds. i am only using one of the 1200w mono amps at the moment the other is just sitting in there awaiting my other 2 12's to be installed.
the batts didnt help which is why i want the dual alts at idle with nuthing running but the a/c my alt is putting out 90 amps at 14.2 v and the batts are fully charged i clamped them and they are only recieving about 2 amps to keep them topped off. when i turn on my lights stereo or anything else my voltage begins to drop because the alt just cant keep up i even raised my idle rpm to help out but there is just so much the stock alt will do. when going down the road most of the time my voltage is around 12.8volts with the a/c and lights on and it is probally putting out its maximum output to keep it at 12.8 its hard to get under the hood and clamp it driving down the road to know for sure.
the reason i dont want high output aftermarket alts is because i have owned several of them before in my car and they last about as long as a cheap autozone alt and go out and its a waste of 3 4 hundred dollars. which is why i was wanting to just use what i have 2 factory alts.

im not trying to correct dimming lights from the amps being on it will always do that even if it had 2 250 amp alts on it simply because it takes them a sec to catch up to the amperage draw.
the batts have more than enough power at 750 amps each for what i have installed in the truck but im just trying to keep the voltage up now.
adding anymore batts wouldnt do anything for me at all the alt is what keeps everything charged and the volts at 14.
sorry about rambling but im just trying to get info on the dual setups for the alts. brackets, wiring harness, belt.

 

Call Adam Nations at http://www.nationsautoelectric.com/fad-alternator.html 1-888-334-2632. They have dual alt kits. They may sell kit with out the alts. I bought a high output alt from them. Adam was very helpful.

 

thanks i didnt know they had dual kits for these all i could find the other day when i was on there site was kits for chevy.

 

Well, those cheapo batteries aren't going to deliver as much current or hold their voltage as well as good ones, and I'd say they're your biggest problem. I only use MotorCraft, Interstate, or Sears DieHard Gold (all top-line from Johnson Controls).

Yes, the alternator charges the batteries, but the batteries push the heavy current loads. So I still think you're going the wrong way with another alt. I'd get the charging system professionally tested using a MidTronics diagnostic tester (dealerships are required to use them), and rechecked by an alternator specialist.

You can even do a quick diagnosis: look on the back of the alternator where the voltage regulator is. There are 4 torx screws holding it in the alt, and 2 more within the VR. One should have a plastic cover, and the other should have an arrow that says "GROUND HERE TO TEST". Even if it doesn't say that, this test still works. With a digital voltmeter connected from the alt. frame to its output post & the engine at high idle (~2KRPM), ground that wire momentarily & watch the voltage. It should spike to nearly 18VDC. Then turn on all the loads in the truck & recheck. If it still spikes, then another alt will NOT help. It means you have poor connections somewhere, or the batteries are dying.