I sent emails and made phone calls to every Alternator manufacturer out there. Nobody would return my emails except Tuff Stuff and they pretty much blew off the questions as well. The phone thing is useless. In review...
The question concerns what happens when you put a larger alternator than your Ammeter gauge can handle (meaning also your wiring can handle). I decided they do not want to answer because of liability issues. It is not in their best interests to tell you, you were stupid to purchase their big Alternator.
THE question I had for them was simply this: Under what circumstance would a 100 amp alternator (for example) charge to its maximum or more than the 50 amp ceiling we have on our gauges? CRICKETS!
So I took another route and asked my old friends at Sandia. The Scientists there will reason it out with pretty reliable results. I then also consulted Jeffrey Diamond from Victory Motors in London, and a few Electrical Engineers that worked with me in the FAA.
All of them agreed that there is only one condition where the Alternator would burn down the truck, and that would be a Dead Short. Aside from a catastrophic wiring problem, the battery will charge at a rate below 50 amps. Since wiring problems are a possibility...
So, with that being more clear, I asked them about the idea of using a 50 amp circuit breaker or fuse inline in the main charging system line. They all chose the fuse idea saying the thermal circuit breakers stop working over time and the fuse is more reliable. (carry spares).
The writeup for this is here:
http://devestechnet.com/Home/Native12VUpgrade/#gaugesAlways appreciate constructive comments. The issue is using too big of an alternator for your system. If you use a 50 amp or less Alternator, it doesn't apply.
