Winch question ?

[wild horse]

OK so I bought a xrc 8000 lbs winch today for a steal of a price ($150) and I also ordered a James duff winch bumper and was wondering if my stock charging system will run the winch or do I need to upgrade anything ? I know my alternator is one its last leg , But is it big enough to run the winch ?

 

[3rd Petal]

Yes, at least for a little while. Continuous use of the winch will drain that battery faster than the alternator charges it, but as long as your battery is decent, you should be able to pull yourself free before that is an issue.

The charging systems on these leave a lot to be desired though, so if you have money to burn, or if your alternator craps all the way, I'd put a heavy duty one in.

I also try to run dual batteries on anything that has a winch, if you can find the room for them

 

[wild horse]

OK thanks. I know the charging system leaves a lot to be desired ' But as of lately when I come to a stop light every thing slows down or dim`s out
Is why I was asking before I go and throw a winch at it . How do I do the GM alternator convention so I can get rid of the external regulator ?

 

[wild horse]

O and I'm running an optima red top battery.

 

[JerryC]

It might be going bad or have the wrong size pulley on it of it has been replaced before.
With charging system it can be a tangled web of issues, bad battery, alternator, regulator, belt, connections, wires/cables...

Often overlooked is the harness connector at the alternator. They get dirty and then the connector heats up and it can cause issues or just flat out fail.

If you upgrade the alternator, upgrade the wiring harness too. Otherwise the wire that carries the current to the battery may become a heater element

 

[wild horse]

Well it still has the original 3 wire alt with factory pully on it. I just want to convert it to a gm alternator so how would I do that ?

 

[3rd Petal]

When you say gm alternator, I assume you mean a 1 wire?
They make 1 wire alternators for stock Ford style mounting
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/tff-7068/overview/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pwm-8-47141/applications/year/1987/make/ford/model/bronco-ii?prefilter=1

Then all you do is run a good heavy duty wire, something like 8ga or so, from the terminal on the alternator to the battery. 1 wire alts are self exciting, so when they are spinning, they are charging. Your alternator warning light won't work anymore though, that picks up off of one of the 3 wires on your stock alternator