Alternator?

[Mardos 10+ year member]

Hey,

well i have had some light dimming problems and well everyone has told me to upgrade my alt as it is most likely the problem. but im not sure where to look for a new alt i've looked at some of the iraggi stuff but i dont see anything specifically for my car.

what i am looking for is an alt strong enough for two 12" alpine type r's being powered by an mrp-m1000 amp (1000w amp) for my 1998 pontiac sunfire gt i dont know if this is possible for an alt to power that or will i need the stronger alt plus a second battery?

~Thanks

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[Ineed$ 10+ year member]

u should be good just doin the "big 3".

 

[darkhunter139 10+ year member]

Yeah try the big three first

 

[geowick07 10+ year member]

For 1,000rms, you shouldn't need an alternator upgrade. Do the Big 3, and get a good battery up front, possibly a second battery in back, and see how that works.

I am going to upgrade my electrical in this order, until the dimming is gone:

1: Big 3

2: Good front battery

3: Good rear battery

4: HO Alternator

 

[tejcurrent 10+ year member]

Big 3, maybe a 2nd battery and MLA module.

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

check you're voltage using a nice sine wave and a dmm.

dimming is quite normal and not a bad thing. when there is less voltage, stuff "dims". you could be suffering a tiny .5v or so drop and see flickering. .5v wont harm shit.

i always say to grab a dmm and use a nice steady tone to see where your voltage actually sits, which is whats important, not what you see visually.

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

For 1,000rms, you shouldn't need an alternator upgrade. Do the Big 3, and get a good battery up front, possibly a second battery in back, and see how that works. I am going to upgrade my electrical in this order, until the dimming is gone:

1: Big 3

2: Good front battery

3: Good rear battery

4: HO Alternator

x2

 

[Mardos 10+ year member]

allright thanks guys ill start to look more into the big 3 and get that done soon good upgrade for the cars electrical whether i need it or not right so why not

 

[darkhunter139 10+ year member]

x2

Someone told me getting an extra battery just puts more strain on the alt

is this true or what?

When it comes to electrical people say so many differn't things

 

[geowick07 10+ year member]

All getting a second battery does is help build up a charge, so when you need a large discharge of electricity, the second battery helps out. With as fast as the newer batteries recharge, it is worth while to run to batteries, in place on an alternator. (Unless running large amounts of power that an alternator simply cannot keep up with.)

 

[chaunb3400 10+ year member]

Someone told me getting an extra battery just puts more strain on the alt
is this true or what?

When it comes to electrical people say so many differn't things

Well I wouldnt call it strain..But It does give your alt something else to charge...

1.Big 3

2.Battery Front

3.Alternator

4.Battery Back

^^Thats the way i have always done it...

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

I read that to in a thread a couple days ago.I don't believe its true because adding a second battery basically cuts the load in half of the first battery.So now you have twice the battery power to supply which would make the alternator have to supply less.This is just my oppnion.When I added a second battery I seen improvement.I could see how it may draw a slight bit more current but do't see hoe it would put MORE of a strain.

If anything does its a cap because it supplies NO power only stores it which when discharged would need charged again.

This is just my oppnion though.

 

[IgnoreMe 5,000+ posts]

Someone told me getting an extra battery just puts more strain on the alt
is this true or what?

When it comes to electrical people say so many differn't things

not true.

when you add a battery, it is wired in parallel. this esentially makes the two batteries act as 1 bigger battery.

now that same strain that was placed on the one battery is being spread over a "bigger" battery. its actually better to discharge the two batteries less, than discharge the one battery more.

the alt is still charging the same amount, its just being spread around.

 

[darkhunter139 10+ year member]

not true.
when you add a battery, it is wired in parallel. this esentially makes the two batteries act as 1 bigger battery.

now that same strain that was placed on the one battery is being spread over a "bigger" battery. its actually better to discharge the two batteries less, than discharge the one battery more.

the alt is still charging the same amount, its just being spread around.

Cool that makes sense you are the first person that actually explained it.

I think ill get a kentik hc800 for the trunk

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

...because adding a second battery basically cuts the load in half of the first battery. So now you have twice the battery power which would make the alternator have to supply less...

FYI. Electricity comes from the path of least resistance. If the alternator is supplying a higher voltage than the battery (above 13) then the alternator supplies ALL power. Only when the demand is above what the alt can supply and the voltage drops to that of the battery, does the battery supply power.