I have temporarily given up on my plans for an extreme heavy duty bumper for the X and decided to mount extra lighting.

The combo of lighting that I plan on adding is about 550 watts / 46 amps. My stock alternator output is 130 amps. My question is this alternator strong enough? How many amps does the stock 2000 X draw under normal driving conditions?

Generally speaking, the lights would not be on for long periods of time, maybe 10 minutes intermittently, and only used in the winter months.

Ultimately, I am trying to determine what the maximum amount of lighting my truck can handle is and if I need to mount a secondary alternator/battery just for the lighting system.

2000 Ford Excursion 6.8 liter engine.

 

The stock alternator is woefully under powered for your load, at idle! Full alternator output is at higher rpms.

 

Just curious what light arrangement you are planning on that pulls 46 amps.

 

I still need to take some measurements on the truck, but I am looking at a 32" (180 watt) lightbar, 50" (300 watt) curved lightbar and 4 (18 watt each) pods for a total of 552 watts at 12 volts, which is 46 amps.

 

I just built a truck for a guy in Homer, with all the additional lighting items we added (over 120 lights total) he was at 100 Amps. This was on a brand new diesel with dual batteries and dual alternators. Not including the snow plow, aux fuel pump, or sander wiring

I'd like to think if you use a 100a constant duty solenoid with proper rated wiring, fuse box, you should be fine maybe install a volt meter inside to keep a eye on things.

If your running down the highway even with the heater on high I'd like to think you'd be OK.

 

Yeah, I've all ready ordered a 120 amp relay and a 150 amp insulated bus bar so I can pre-install them and then wire up lights to the bus bar as I get them. From the bus bar, I will run fuseable links to each individual light fixture.

I all ready have and will be using wiring one gauge larger than what is required. I tend to over due things, but I think that will be a plus in this scenario.

From what I've read, relays should be rated at least double of what they will be used for (not sure how true that is) and since I will be tying the lights into my high beam wire, I want to make sure the relay will hold up to the on/off abuse as well.

 

Not sure how you are planning to use the 120a relay but here is my light setup.

Each light uses its own 40a relay ( bottom of pic ) and fuse, Carling switches in the cab.

 

I am using the 120 amp relay so that I only have one connection to the high beam headlight wire. From the bus bar, I will break each light down to run on their own fused system. I don't want any switches run into my cab. With the flick of my high beams all the lights will come on. This will make turning them on and off quick and efficient. I don't want to blind oncoming traffic and if I have multiple switches in the cab to contend with then I will undoubtedly blind someone. Once I start getting things installed over the course of the next month, ill add photos. My system will also make it easy to change, replace, upgrade or add to my system since I will only have to ground the new light and then run the hot wire to the bus bar.

 

Not even one switch to allow for just high beams only? You are going for an all or nothing setup?

 

I think you will ultimately find the all or nothing approach not as useful as seperatly switched.

often, 1 zone will be so distracting as to render the entire package not worth turning on.

Example,

Your curved windshield light bar, snow, rain, for, dust will reflect back in your eye and make using it more difficult to see then with it off, meanwhile you want/need more light and the bumper or grill level light bar would be perfect.

Another example, curving winding mountain roads,
you would want the smaller pods lighting the corners so you can see the turns and edge of the road even when there is oncoming traffic, Light bars make that difficult because you are basically blinding everything between you and the next turn.


That much light is great for big open empty stretches of desolate road but reality is more often you need Or want additional light when driving less traveled town areas, country roads and even the highway. That much light especially in inclimate weather renders the all or nothing approach less useful as you need to turn them all off the instant you have oncoming traffic.

Anyhow, wire them up all or nothing and give it a shot. Redoing it isn't that hard.

 

I've always run mine all off high beams, makes it much easier to kill when traffic is present. I have though never run overhead lighting as with snow it can blind you easily...so everything has always been out front and the way I prefer it.

Alaska (where the OP and I are, and he's in a more remote setting) is mostly long big open stretches of roadway with little to no light half the year, so what works here may not work other places.

 

Exactly. My concern is strictly moose. After recently hitting one, I don't want to risk it again. The insurance barely covered the damages and next time I may not be so lucky. All my vehicles are paid off and I don't want another car payment anytime soon. As far as snow goes, surprisingly we don't get it that often on the lower peninsula and when it does, even my high beams aren't useable. I have all ready done this mod to my Taurus and I love it. If I was in the lower 48, I would run switches in the cab because of the way laws are enforced there as compared to here. Here the troopers would rather have people with plenty of light rather than deal with the severity of moose/ auto accidents.

 

How I did mine was I used a small relay that's triggered by the high beam wire. That relay switches a power feed to my in cab switches, which switch feeds to individual relays for each light I have.

In other words, I can use either my light bar or my side lights or both or neither, however, the high beams must be on in order for any of them to work. I cut my switches into the overhead console... I also pulled the extra wire in so that my switches are partially illuminated at all times whether or not the lights are "allowed" to work (so I can see switch status without flicking the high beams on)