eric08021

Ok I got a x20 8 winch. So I need more power since my battery can not handle that. I was looking at the following batteries.
Optima yellow top d27
830 cca

Odyssey 31-pc2150
1150 cca

Diehard platinum 65 series (same as oydssey ˟65-pc1750)
930 cca.
I was thinking about the diehard is only $220 with core exchange.
Does anyone know if that any of these batteries would be enough to use a winch? Or should I look into a two battery setup? Thank you.

myyota

The problem with a stock toyota electrical system is that it was never designed to run anything more than what came on the truck stock. So if you add dual batteries or a winch to the stock electrical system there is no way it can handle the load.

The reason is the alternator is to small to keep up with the demand of the load. The alternator used on mid 80`s trucks and 4Runners is only 60 amps. If you want to run a winch, dual batteries, or offroad lights you need to upgrade the alternator to handle the load. On my 86 4Runner I upgraded to a 95 amp alternator when the stock alternator went bad. I also upgraded the main power wire from the fuse box to the battery, because that little wire is what delivers the power from the alternator throught the fuse box to the battery and its to small to carry the load.

So with a few upgrades your electrical system will be able to handle a winch or lights with out any problems.

MaK92-4RnR

My 4Runner did perfectly fine with an optima battery, offroad lights, a winch, and a heavy duty stereo system on the stock alternator.

snobdds

If you go dual batteries, there is no need to upgrade the alternator due to the isolator. They charge in series so it could care less what alternator there is...it charges one battery then when that is full it will charge the second one.

Go dual batteries with an isolator.

eric08021

Thank you for the info. I just saw something about an jag alternator upgrade that bolts in. 120 amps. I am sure that would work with single or double battery. Now to figure out two or one lol.

dixiemuddtoy

Agree with this 100%!! You can also run 2ga welding wire from the alt directly to the battery, and modify the main power wire from the fuse block to the battery by replacing it with a solid wire and bolting in a 175A fusable link, cutting out the wink link in it.

As for the alternator, the 96 Jaguar XJ6 alt's were manufactured by nippondenso, and plug straight into the toyota wiring harness and deliver 120A of power...more than enough. Autozone carries them reman'd, and will usually accept the toyota alt as a core (the look almost identical, the jag unit just has more girth); will cost you $142, plus $90 core for the toyota unit. Just be sure to Upgrade your grounds to 2GA from the battery, and make sure the rest of your motor grounds are in tact, and would help if they were upgraded to 4ga as well (the head to the firewall, block to chassis, battery to chassis, alt to chassis / body)

As for the battery, I did a lot of research and discovered this: One of the only batteries still manufactured in the states I believe are the Sears Diehard brand and Deka batteries, manufactured by East Penn Manufacturing. Optimas are NOT manufactured stateside anymore, and I know of a LOT of people having issues with them.

The battery I went with was the Deka Intimidator series 31M, which is one of the best batteries you can install into a road-going vehicle. At 800 / 1000cca's, a reserve capacity of 200 and a 20AH rating of 105, this battery doubles the BEST that optima has to offer.

http://www.dekabatteries.com/assets/base/1741.pdf

The best part: Find a Voltex distribution center, the distributor that East Penn utilizes, and you can bypass the parts house markup (if they even carried the batteries to begin with); I paid $250.48 tax included, with core exchange of the old battery. (plus they offer "blemish" USA made Deka batteries for $35 a pop for the standard daily drivers!!)

Hope this helps!!

eric08021

Well thank you for the info with the alternator. I just have to take the plug off my 1985 p/u so I can do the jag alt swap. Thanx for what to do to improve the electrical system. Now my winch will work with out stalling my truck lol I will look at them batteries u are talking about also. Thanx a lot

eric08021

Is that battery a deep cell? I thought that they did not work well with a consistent charge.

aa1911

iTrader: (1)

if the engine is running, you are running straight off of your alternator, not your battery. If you plan on using your winch or other significant power items while the key is off, you will want a deep cycle (as your second battery) and a standard battery as your primary.

regular auto battery puts out lots of juice but only for a short time and are not designed to be run down very far. Deep cycles are made to be drained down to almost nothing (20% roughly) and then charged back up when you turn the engine on again. The idea is you save one battery for starting the motor and the other is your freebie battery to winch or do whatever with or as a backup start.

search 'big 3' mod for the wiring upgrade; 2 or 4g the main connections between battery, alt, engine ground/block and even your starter.

and Optimas are made offshore now, sucks!

dixiemuddtoy

The Deka 31M is a dual-purpose battery, kind of like a yellow-top optima, but waayyyy better. It has well above average the cold-cranking amperage that a standard car battery has, and 2 to 3 times the extended deep-cycle capacity, similar to large boat and r/v batteries, which utilize deep cycle batteries because they have a lot of electrical accessories that are ran when the engine is off (stereo, troller motors, lights, fridges, televisions, etc). Similar to off road rigs, that have multiple lighting systems ran at the same time, stereos, winches, air compressors, etc. check the stats from that battery compared to ANY optima...it makes them look pathetic!!

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I could not get your link to work!!

It is nice to live about 20 miles from the East Penn plant and have them as a Customer.

I have been running there second batteries for years with no problems.

They have a nice factory outlet.

dixiemuddtoy

the link for the listing of the battery specs is from the Deka website, albeit after some hunting around. it will be in the marine / rv class of batteries on their site, when searching.