hello from Kansas city Missouri. long time cherokee owner, new to the forum. i have a 1997 4.0 cherokee sport with the aw4 trans, and around 170,000 miles. i only have a few mods so far, but one of them is my stereo. my headlights dim quite a bit when im at idle and i dont want to pay like $500.00 for a high output alternator. i was wondering about a dual battery setup and relocating them inside the cabin behind the rear seat. i believe i would need a thicker gague wire than the 4 gague (stock) that is on there right now, but i have no idea where to start. any ideas?

 

Welcome to CF. A dual battery set up won't cure the problem you are having. Only a higher output alternator will. Those after market stereos with huge amps just require a lot more power than the stock alternator is used to putting out. There is a high output alternator for XJs available through Quadratec for a decent price. My winch zapps my alternator pretty good too. Whenever I use it I just shut everything else but the motor and the winch off and if I'm in the driver's seat I kick of the RPMs a little bit.

 

yea i think i only have a 70-90 amp alternator. the mean green one is the one your talking about right? is there any way i can rebuild my current alternator to get a higher amp rating?