What can I do to beef up my electrical system?

I have 4 KC daylighters, 2 KC 57 series, and 2 walmart 55w flood lights on my roof rack. I have 2 KC slimlite fogs on my bumper. I also have an ooga horn, a midland cb, and a hand help spot light. All these things are wired up directly to my battery. When my ac compressor kicks on my headlights dim, anytime i turn a set of lights on they dim. I've got a feeling this isn't good for my battery or alternator or any of my electrical system. Is there anything I can do besides getting a different battery to prevent having problems from this stuff? I really like lights and would add more to my rig but I'm afraid of overloading it.

You would have to add another battery with an Isolator, or other set up (which is in the how-to section) and run lights off that separately. The charging amps and voltage to the battery are controlled by the ECM, says the experts here. SO, putting in a higher output alternator won't help, without a flash for the ECM to allow the higher output to be used. Or, use a top of the line battery, like the Optimas or others to handle the load. No matter what, lights will dim when another high load is placed on the battery, unless it is a separate battery. Even with a nice audio amp for bass, lights dim with each BASS hit, that's just how it works, unless you use those 1 farad a capacitors, so it buffers the power on those bass hits. If you want uninterrupted power, you would need a second battery for those lights.

Get a better battery to start and then learn how to properly wire in aftermarket electric items via relays and fuse blocks.

I can have all my lights on,heater on high,stereo cranked up(two 10" subs with 750 watt amp),and engage the winch without any dimming of my lights.I still run the stock 136amp alternator also,correct wiring,and a battery with 1500cca's.

My lights will dim slightly when my sub is turned up. Its only a 800 watt amp also. It has a 1 farad cap on it too but some will argue a cap makes the situation worse. I have noticed that the dimming seems to be getting worse so my battery may be on its way out. Its only 4 years old(optima red top) but Ive been pretty ******* it. May go with tjkj's recommendation on my next battery. That or a yellow top.

Either way, when something like a sub hits a hard low the battery and alternator just cant put out that quick. With lights, they may dim a little at first but they should not dim and stay dimmed when the A/C kicks on.

JeepJeepster said:

Either way, when something like a sub hits a hard low the battery and alternator just cant put out that quick.

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Try a bigger power cable to the amp,that will cure that problem since it is not that the battery can not keep up it is the size of the power cable is not big enough for the load required.

tjkj2002 said:

Get a better battery to start and then learn how to properly wire in aftermarket electric items via relays and fuse blocks.

I can have all my lights on,heater on high,stereo cranked up(two 10" subs with 750 watt amp),and engage the winch without any dimming of my lights.I still run the stock 136amp alternator also,correct wiring,and a battery with 1500cca's.

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Well what is improper about my wiring? I did not use the provided wiring kit from KC, however I did remove the fuses and relays from them and added them into my custom wiring. My dad works for a statewide power company as a lineman, he's taught me a lot about electricity and wiring. We wired our entire house together, and given it doesn't involve exactly the same items like relays and fuses. Regardless, I am not an amateur at wiring.

Upgrade your alternator, the stock 160 amp from a 4.7 should work. As long as it's from the same engine family (I just replaced the 136 in my Ram with a 160 from a Durango, same engine).

04Liberty said:

Upgrade your alternator, the stock 160 amp from a 4.7 should work. As long as it's from the same engine family (I just replaced the 136 in my Ram with a 160 from a Durango, same engine).

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Does nothing since the PCM controls the alternator so unless you have the PCM programmed for the 160amp alt you will gain nothing.

A better battery is key,136amps is more then plenty since the KJ uses only about 42-52 amps anyways to run and use some of the electrical systems(heater,radio,and such).

tjkj2002 said:

Does nothing since the PCM controls the alternator so unless you have the PCM programmed for the 160amp alt you will gain nothing.

A better battery is key,136amps is more then plenty since the KJ uses only about 42-52 amps anyways to run and use some of the electrical systems(heater,radio,and such).

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Shouldn't matter what amperage the alternator is (except for really powerful ones) since the PCM acts as a voltage regulator. Programming should not be required. You could put a 200 amp on there and the PCM will choke it down unless the extra power is needed. For 2004's, a 160 amp is an option (p/n 56029914AA).

04Liberty said:

Shouldn't matter what amperage the alternator is (except for really powerful ones) since the PCM acts as a voltage regulator. Programming should not be required. You could put a 200 amp on there and the PCM will choke it down unless the extra power is needed. For 2004's, a 160 amp is an option (p/n 56029914AA).

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The 160amp alt is standard on Renny's due to the lightbar('02+) and has the programming for the higher output alt.Limited and Sports only got the 136amp alt only(besides the CRD's and gas 2.4's).

04Liberty said:

Upgrade your alternator, the stock 160 amp from a 4.7 should work. As long as it's from the same engine family (I just replaced the 136 in my Ram with a 160 from a Durango, same engine).

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What year Durango?

Hoosierjeeper said:

What year Durango?

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Keep in mind, the Durango I referred to was for the alternator in my Ram, which has the hemi (which is what was in the Durango). Besides all that, 2004. For an 04KJ, the 136 is p/n 56041693AC, the 160 is p/n 56029914AA.

Hm...my 05 Hemi Durango might have the 160 Amp...

Hoosierjeeper said:

Hm...my 05 Hemi Durango might have the 160 Amp...

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The 04 (and 05) have the same 160a alternator (56028697AA). Look on top of your alternator above where it says DENSO, the Mopar number is actually split into 2 sections (56028 697AA). Keep in mind, the manual shows a different p/n for the 3.7/4.7 160a (56029914AA).