I got my 200a alternator from a alternator company on evilBay a few years ago... altersomethingeruther...
Some explorer alternators will fit but are usually only 130a, most of the rangers have a 90a or 95a maybe a 100a if they're lucky.
I gave less than $250 or so for mine & it's still going strong.
I don't have a ton of stuff going on, but I like to know that I can add whatever I want & not have to worry about it.
So far I have added 2 pair of fog/reverse lights, a 1,500w sub amp, 400w mid/high amp, explorer power seats & tons of led's (to save some power) and I can have everything electrical going at one time and my voltage never drops below 14v. I plan on adding 4 more 55w hella 500ff's sometime in the near future and who knows what else later on.
Just add up all the power you're using... 55w x 6 = 330w / 12.5v = almost 30a just for those lights. If you have a stereo amp or other accessories, you're going to be asking an awful lot from that stock alternator & it WILL burn out. In my younger years, I went through at least one alternator on every vehicle I had because they just couldn't keep up with the electrical demand plus the standard load the vehicles used. First the batteries will die in 2 years or less, the voltage regulators in the alternator will fry or one of the windings will short out & leave you high & dry.
There's nothing worse than having a dead vehicle in the depths of winter with 12" of snow except having a dead vehicle in the middle of summer in the middle of a 120* parking lot.
If/when you have to replace or upgrade the alternator, make SURE to upgrade all the wiring to the alternator as well as all the grounds. It won't do you any good to have a 500a alternator if you only have the stock 6ga wire.
4ga is the minimum I'd use, but I jumped up a few steps with mine & I have 1/0ga for everything, including multiple grounds.
