determining alt and battery

[dmz2711 10+ year member]

Is there anyway to determine what size alternator, and how many batteriers as well as the size of batteries(CA) i will need to run a certain system? Is there any guidelines to determine these values or is it basically trial and error?

i am basically looking for a chart or maybe some type of equation(if there is one) to solve this question. any help would be great...//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

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[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Well look at all your amps, add up the ratings for all the fuses, thats a rough estimate as to what your system draws. Or better yet there should be a recommended fuse rating in the manuals...anyway thats how you find out how many amps your drawing...and you could run 1 bat, or if you system gets too big throw an extra one in the trunk but bigger alt should always come first...

 

[dmz2711 10+ year member]

Well look at all your amps, add up the ratings for all the fuses, thats a rough estimate as to what your system draws. Or better yet there should be a recommended fuse rating in the manuals...anyway thats how you find out how many amps your drawing...and you could run 1 bat, or if you system gets too big throw an extra one in the trunk but bigger alt should always come first...

yeah i understand all that... but is there any way to, lets say i have a 250a alternator, how do i determine how many batteries (1000ca, or maybe 1200ca) it will keep charged.. thats part of what i am trying to determine, i was wondering if there was any charts or equations for that..

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

well i suppose it would keep them all charged...it would depend on how fast you are draining them. If you are pulling more amps than the alt can put out it won't charge the batteries. But as long as your car is running the power is coming from your alt and not your batteries...when your car is off is a different story...