Hi Guys,

I have a '97 F-150 4.6L 4WD w/ ORP and Towing Package (so I think I have the 130 Amp alternator) and I know I have an OEM 750 CCA battery .

I've got a Ramsey REP 8000 winch and six 165W KC Daylighters mounted.

Ramsey says my winch is rated for a first layer draw of:

280amps @ 8,000lb
215amps @ 6,000lb
150amps @ 4,000lb
90 amps @ 2,000lb

My question is, if I need to use the winch at night, I plan to turn off all the offroad lights and just use the winch with the OEM lowbeams. As a worse case, will my charging system be able to keep up if the engine is off? How will it do if the engine is on?

I ask these questions because I just found out how much it'll cost me to add a second battery and a beefier alternator.

Thanks very much. fish

 

as long as you aren't using all your lights with your winch and your stereo blasting, shouldn't be a problem. I've got an optima red-top battery in mine (trying to figure out a way to get a second one installed!) and a 130-amp altenator. Here's my amazing list of wattage/amps...
Total of four sets of PIAA 80 XT's - 120 watts each - 960 watts = 80 amps
One set of PIAA 520's - 85 watts each - 170 watts = 14.2 amps
One set of PIAA 80 Racing - 135 watts each - 270 watts total - 22.5 amps
One set of PIAA 1500 XT - 85 watts each - 170 watts - 14.2 amps
Eclipse amplifier for the speakers, 75x4 - 300 watts - 25 amps
MTX sub box - 150 watts - 12.5 amps
Warn Winch - 400 amps at full draw.

Total all those up, plus the necessary amperage to keep the engine running, we're talking about 568-600 amps. My altenator is 130 amps, and my optima can handle 800 amps. So I hypothetically COULD be running all at once, though it would heat up the altenator like nobodies business and would depreciate the life of the battery. So in other words, you should be fine . If your engine is OFF though, it will wear down the battery in no time, then when you go to start the vehicle the altenator will have to use a lot of energy to get the battery re-charged. It shouldn't fry the altenator though.

 

Mattbert,

Thanks very much for your prompt response, and for taking the time to cite your lighting set-up. I think this is enough information to reinforce my belief that I can carry a deep cycle marine battery as a spare to jump me if I have to run the winch with the engine off.

Thanks again! fish.

[This message has been edited by gofish (edited 08-25-2000).]