midtiger

Hi there
My friend is selling me a 250amp alternator for my 2000 jeep cherokee for cheap. He couldnt install it his cherokee was totaled.
I have a 117-amp in my jeep now
I know 250 amps is overkill but its cheaper then buying a 160 right now
My stock alternator is dying hence why im upgrading it.
Other than uuprading wiring what else needs to be done? Yes the 250amp alternator will fit where 117amp one is now.

XJwonders

The cables ll need to be upgraded

shooptube

There's a guy on here, goes by the name XJwonders, he sells a battery cable upgrade kit. I highly recommend it. Comes with everything you need and it's pure beef.

Fred/N0AZZ

For that large of an alt. you will need the larger wiring kit for it and he can hook you up.

midtiger

what are the fuses for? i have the kit that i bought from xjwonder looks awesome!
what are the things besides the wires for?

rzldzl

i put 220a alt in my 98 ~5yrs ago

minor grinding
upgraded cables

all is good

extrashaky

The stock wiring uses a fusible link, which is a lighter gauge wire to the PDC that is designed to melt and break the circuit if you overload it. It behaves like a fuse, just more messy and irritating. If you're increasing your alternator output and upgrading your wiring, you'll also need to upgrade that link as well. Most people replace it with an ANL fuse instead.

The other stuff in that pic above are the fuse holder and the terminals.

RRXJeeper71

update?

Anony

The 250 amp is a large case Denso, requires some grinding of the alt. bracket and usually a little grinding of the engine block for a large case Denso to fit in the OE location. The 117/120 amp alts use a small case Denso. (There are brackets that can be used to replace the OE bracket, however the only ones I've ever seen only came with a high output alternators. Trying to fabricate you own bracket would take some metal fabrication skills )

You want to upgrade at least your alternator cable, you can also upgrade other cables such as used for the starter.

The other thing that's important is to upgrade the fusible link which is sized for a stock 117 amp alternator. The primary purpose of a fusible link is to protect the alternator and battery.

You could replace the fusible link with a larger one, however most people use an inline fuse or sometimes a circuit breaker.

On my Jeep I installed a Mega fuse on the front of the PDC which has a Mega-Fuse holder missing the left side bolt. Only required to grind down a bolt to fit into the empty slot. Cost - bolt, nut, washer and ~5.00 for a Mega-Fuse. I made my own alt-battery cable out of 1/0 (some people use 2/0) and also upgraded the starter and other cables with new ones. DYI cables you can crimp or solder the terminals using a propane torch. Cost was only a few dollars for the cables, terminals and heat shrink tubing. Same electrically and should last as long as professionally crimped cables.

Some people use 1/0 welding cable which is more flexible with higher strand count than automotive cable. However even though welding cable is gas, oil and abrasion resistant. When used in a hot engine compartment the cable should be sheathed with some wire loom such as split or non-split wire loom, expandable loom, convoluted tubing etc.

Automotive cable is usually preferred as it's sheathed with an oil, gas and heat resistant thermo-plastic that's designed to last a long time, however even automotive cable eventually wears out and becomes brittle. Welding cable has fairly good abrasion resistance with less resistance to gas, oil and possibly very high heat conditions.

Using a ANL fuse holder you can install an ANL fuse Between the alt and battery, alt and PDC or some people have installed them between the PDC and battery. However it's better to install between the alt and battery as these are the two items the fuse is protecting.

RRXJeeper71

pics?