It's a hypothetical based on empirical evidence that companies are pushing the biggest Alternators they sell to unsuspecting people. The Powermaster site goes out of its way to explain how bigger is better. They have even made them so cheap that it may make sense to some.
It's only better if you don't have a choke point in the line somewhere that can ruin your day, like a vintage full (current) flow 50 amp Ammeter. I would argue it's not better and totally unnecessary, but that's me. A lot of us who spend time in these technical forums fail to realize the masses out there equate bigger to better. V8 vs I6 is an example of bigger Power being somehow better in some people's minds. On that same theme, they might think a big alternator is a better idea than a small one. If there were someone on the sales end that helped the customer choose, there would be no need for this discussion. Modern Ammeters are not designed with this same choke point limitation. Most companies have switched to voltmeters anyway.
The ENTIRE point was to inform the public that if you have an Amp Meter that is rated at a maximum of 50 amps and you do not have a second current path around that meter, you are limited to a maximum current output of 50 Amps on your Alternator. If you go beyond that, you are exceeding the risk factor that GM builds into their systems and anything that happens is on you.
Powermaster even told me that to get around this problem, put a second wire on the main output of your alternator and run it direct to the battery so you have a path of least resistance to protect the gauge on vintage vehicles that have this old style of meter.
To mitigate the fact that you made an uninformed choice in purchasing an Alternator that is too big for your truck, I put out there that we can put a 50 amp inline fuse or circuit breaker in the main charging line or a fusible link. By the way, uninformed is a relative term since I am talking about ME. I decided to use it on my test engine so it's no longer a thought, but I like to warn others about issues I run across because if I did it, it's possible someone else might have to.
I am very grateful for the responses here because I am just trying to sort all of this out myself, and if during the learning process we can help others, that's what we are here for.
