Boosting Alternator Voltage...

[philbar71]

So lately my alt has been only putting out about 13.2-13.5 volts when the car is warmed up. At night with the lights on, it sits at 13.3V. If i turn the rear defrost on the voltage drops even more to a 12.8-13V. So I was looking in to possibly getting ZZPs alternator voltage booster, or possibly doing it myself with a diode from Radio Shack. Now since we only have one wire going to the Alt, and thats a red wire it doesn't seem like ZZPs plug will work on our cars because they say they put a diode in line with the orange wire (which we dont have).

So how could I do this myself?

ZZP booster,

http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/...e-Booster.aspx

www.zzperformance.com/blog/free-mod-higher-voltage/

[ssms5411]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

Look at Caspers alt booster.

[philbar71]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

They show that is for a LS1 and they show two wires going to the harness and alt stock... Which has me confused. I know the LS1 and 3.8 alts both only use the one red wire. Also on the instruction page they say 1997-2002 engines except for 3800.

http://www.casperselectronics.com/st...roducts_id=668

Dont you have a modified ZZP voltage booster? How did they have it wired inside?

[Mogobs30th]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

So lately my alt has been only putting out about 13.2-13.5 volts when the car is warmed up. At night with the lights on, it sits at 13.3V. If i turn the rear defrost on the voltage drops even more to a 12.8-13V. So I was looking in to possibly getting ZZPs alternator voltage booster, or possibly doing it myself with a diode from Radio Shack. Now since we only have one wire going to the Alt, and thats a red wire it doesn't seem like ZZPs plug will work on our cars because they say they put a diode in line with the orange wire (which we dont have).

So how could I do this myself?

ZZP booster,

http://shop.zzperformance.com/store/...e-Booster.aspx

www.zzperformance.com/blog/free-mod-higher-voltage/

1. Backside of the alternator has the plug.

2. Why would you need more voltage? There is absolutely no need for it unless you're running stuff made for higher voltages. 12v is 12v is 12v. The accessories in your car were made to run off 12v (give or take a volt or so). Upping the voltage doesn't do anything positive, and can hurt the more sensitive electrical components in the car. Putting a diode in only polarizes the electricity and forces it down one wire with little to no resistance. You can put the diode in, but I seriously don't see the point.

[ssms5411]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

They show that is for a LS1 and they show two wires going to the harness and alt stock... Which has me confused. I know the LS1 and 3.8 alts both only use the one red wire. Also on the instruction page they say 1997-2002 engines except for 3800.

http://www.casperselectronics.com/st...roducts_id=668

Dont you have a modified ZZP voltage booster? How did they have it wired inside?

I modified the Casper voltage booster to work with my 3800 harness. Pretty easy just dremeled the notch out of the Casper harness and it plugged in and works great.

[Pewter02Camaro]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

It's all a matter of being able to supply more current, not more volts. All the things you mention draw current/amps. You want to fix this "problem" go with a higher amp alt.

[hazmatt24]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

I agree with the above, it's a current issue, not a voltage issue. I was having a similar problem with my Suburban, but I had a lot of stuff drawing on the alternator (HIDs, two amps for the stereo, dual ACs, power inverter,etc.). I got a high output alternator from Power Bastards and no more issues.

[philbar71]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

I have some 0 gauge wire on the way to upgrade the big 3. Voltage and Amperage go hand and hand. Cant really have one without the other. Plus i expect voltage drop when i upgrade the wires as well.

[ssms5411]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

I did the big 3 wire upgrade and it does wonders. I also have a 200 amp ALT. that charges up well.

[thebeewantsboost]

Re: Boosting Alternator Voltage...

shouldn't this be in the forced induction section