What alternator do i need?

Question

I have a 1994 honda accord (60 amp alt) i am pushing over 3500 watts all i have is a 3 farad cap and im getting a new deep cycle batter. I need to know what size alternator would be good, places to get them and if changing to a bigger alternator would mean i would have to upgrade any other electrical systems.

Thanks

Answer 1

First of all, you are certainly not pushing over 3,500 watts if you've only got a 60 amp alternator.  The most you could possibly be getting is about 850 watts.  Until you upgrade your alternator, that's all you're going to get.  Get the biggest alternator you can get for you car.  160 amps or so.  Just to guess.  Maybe this will help you understand things ...

Try to imagine it this way ... your alternator is the incoming water valve to your house.  Lets say you hold a lot of parties.  This will represent playing your stereo because all your friends are going to use the bathrooms and kitchen.  Now you install an extra bathroom or two (amplifiers) because your parties are getting so big and so many people are showing up you need the extra toilets.  What happens to your water pressure?  Goes down, right?  People flushing toilets like crazy (bass booming) it taxing on your system.  You can add water tanks (capacitors), but if too many people are flushing too many toilets, it's going to start to stink no matter what because not enough water is getting into the house to keep the tanks full and now you can't flush the toilets because the tanks can't stay full.  How do you fix this problem?  Open up the valve coming into the house (bigger alternator) to allow more watter to flow (amperage to your amplifiers).

So, why not just improve the water flow first, and then, once you've gotten all the water flow you're going to possibly get (high output alternator), then start looking at adding an extra water tank or two (capacitors) if they're still needed.

A cap can help, as long as the draw on the electrical system isn't overly taxing already.  The question is, how can you tell if your electrical system is already over loaded or not for the cap to be of any use rather then an added problem?  You can't.  You could, but it would cost you as much in test equipment as it would cost to just fix the problem.

If your system is pulling so much current that the cap cannot fully recharge between power drops, it becomes another drain on your already taxed electrical system, adding to the problem rather then fixing anything.

If you didn't take the time to figure out how much of a stereo system your car could support and you already installed a bunch of subs and big amps only to find out your lights are dimming, your system gets weak and your batteries are being eaten up regularly, your safest bet is to get a high output alternator.  There are several companies who make them, I recommend www.excessiveamperage.com.

If you skip the cap and buy a new alternator, your problems will likely be solved.  If you buy a cap or 10, and you manage to get them installed without s******g them up by not charging them slowly with a resistor or discharging them accidentally, and you realize you've still got the same problem you had before.  You're still going to have to buy a high output alternator and then the caps will not even be needed anymore.  

Save your time, save your money and buy a high output alternator first.  It's the only real fix for the problem.  Unless you're riding the line and your system ONLY breaks the available amperage of your alternator occasionally allowing a cap or caps to recharge prior to discharge again.  

BUT WHY TAKE THE CHANCE?  BUY A HIGH OUTPUT ALTERNATOR.

Does that help make sense of it?