1994 civic alternator power and general help

[yungstarter 10+ year member]

what are the stats for a 1994 honda civic alternator?

If i'm thinking of putting in a 1400 Watt rms system should i replace the alternator and battery, or will simply rewiring the Big 3 improve performance enough? And why does everyone keep saying no capacitor? isn't the capacitor supposed to help with stable power flow? So far im looking at a 0/1 guage power and ground, 4 gauge from distributor block to amps and possibly capacitor?

My whole system set up is looking like

Head Unit - Pioneer DEH-P5100UB

Speakers - 4 Alpine SPR-17C

Amps- Rockford Fosgate P400-4

undecided mono amp 4 subs(open to recommendations)

Subs- Two Alpine Type R 12" (should i go dual 2 or dual 4 ohm voice coils?and what is the significance?

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[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

Good luck with that. Besides having a weak 70 amp alternator from the factory, you have also been blessed with Honda's Electrical Load Detector (aka ELD). The ELD senses electrical load from the draw on the fuse box and communicates with your ECU to regulate charging voltage. 12.5 to 12.7 volts of charging voltage isn't squat when you are rocking out full tilt with 1,400 watts RMS. You can do the big 3, install a HO alternator, and upgrade your battery BUT all those efforts will be futile when the ECU cuts your alternator's charging voltage down to 12.5 volts.

 

[Master P 10+ year member]

Agreed! 1400 watts is overkill for a Civic. Concentrate on the enclosure and subwoofer. Even 100 watts goes a long ways with a perfect enclosure. Unless your trying to compete and throw major cash at it, you'll have a hard time meeting the electrical demands of 1400 watts. 1400watts /14.4 volts = 97.22 amps. You'll need at least a 160 amp alt to accomplish the task. I doubt you can get anything higher than 120amp for the civic that is bolt on. Stock 70 amp alternator @ 60% load (lights on - heater on) leaves you with 28 amps. 28amps X 14.4volts (if your lucky) = 403 watts. Go get a amp with a peak of 403 watts and call it good! Throw your dough at an enclosure.

 

[Master P 10+ year member]

Capacitors don't do anything with flow. Capacitance is the property to resist change in voltage. Essentially a cap is a voltage stabilizer. Think of it as a backup pressure tank to push electrons through the line. The question is - is this a voltage problem or a current (amperage) problem? Obviously its a current problem, so a cap isn't going to do much other than make sure your voltage is consistent.

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

I was able to shoehorn a 175 amp alternator in to my 1997 Civic Coupe along with a Kinetik HC1400 under the hood. Unfortunately, I went a little overboard with the alternator, the reprogrammed ODB1 ECU, and the ODB2a to ODB1 conversion harness. A reprogrammed ECU was necessary to disable the ELD. The op may be lucky because I think the 94 Civic uses a P28 ECU which is easy to tune, provided the OP doesn't have an automatic.

 

[FLORIDABOY561 10+ year member]

I am having the same issues with my 92 civic. I odnt want any other system, i want mine that is 1500 watts rms. So aside from upgrading the wiring and alternator I need to get my ECU reprogrammed? Do i just do this at a honda mechanic or any average mechanic? what parts will I need to do this? where can I get a professional to tell me about things such as ODB1 ECU, ODB2A TO ODB1 conversion harness?