Likelihood of my Alt Handling a Heavy Load

[fatboytyler]

So just add wire to my current system and it will help some? Any wire suggestions? I was thinking Knu Konceptz 0 Gauge (Oxygen Free Copper). Their 4 Gauge KCA (Copper clad Aluminum) cable is want I ran with my new amp install and I love it.

 

[Staynlean 10+ year member]

So just add wire to my current system and it will help some? Any wire suggestions? I was thinking Knu Konceptz 0 Gauge (Oxygen Free Copper). Their 4 Gauge KCA (Copper clad Aluminum) cable is want I ran with my new amp install and I love it.

Hey, you're on the right track. Look under the wiring and electrical topic of this forum and the "big 3" is a sticky you will first see.
It basically consists of adding additional wiring from your alt to bat, and then upgrading the factory grounds off the bat and adding an engine block to frame ground.

There's also additional things you can do as well.

For example, my two amps are grounded to seat bolts. Grounding to the body is not the greatest idea however I had no other option. So, I bought a bolt that would extend a little longer under the body (keeping the body ground) and rand another 0ga wire from that by to the frame under the truck. So, same as grounding to the frame (which is recommended.)

I had no problems with the current grounds on the body, but when I upgraded to the longer bolts and extended the ground to the frame I had about a .2 less drop.

Also the bat neg had an upgrade (big3) wide that went straight to frame so imagine the benefits of having completely upgraded the electrical.

Remember, in automobile 12v electrical, the source of the power initially runs thru the grounds.

Grounds are critical broski.

 

[Jeffdachef 5,000+ posts]

running that amount of power, you dont need anything more then 0 gauge big 3 upgrade and an extra battery in the trunk. You dont need a high output alt for 1.2k rms lol.

Way back then before i got my high output and a couple more batteries, My toyota corolla had a tiny 80 amp alt and it ran 2k rms fine, i had big 3 upgrades and an AGM battery under the hood (kinetik hc 1400) and one in the trunk(hc 1800) lowest voltage drops was 13.3v

 

[bmk6795 10+ year member]

I'm with jeff here, I'vegot an 01 civic with a 70 amp alt/stock batt/big 3 and I'm running 1600 watts with no serious voltage drop, was running a bit more power than that when i had my ab vfl4480 and was fine withthat as well.

 

[Roland 10+ year member]

pretty simple really -
your alternators job is just to keep the battery at a steady voltage, if your battery is weak then that alternator is already working overtime to keep it charged as is, then adding more of a load I/e and amp is of course going to create a voltage drop.

In a normal heathly system with proper gauge wiring and well done connections, having an occasional 60 amp draw over stock isn't going to hurt it. Considering on average most cars probably pull 20-30 amps stock, theres enough headroom to pull more, you really have to be pushing a system hard to be pushing beyond the charging limit.

I would say once you go beyond a simple sub amp + 4ch, and get to the point where your max current draw is over 100amps, it may be time to consider an alternator. Calling it a certain # of watts wouldn't be accurate enough, since wattage claims vs. current draw are vastly different.

What He says X2.

I'd say measure instead of guessing.

Monitor your voltage. Look for excessive drops and IF you have them, correct THAT problem.

You can also get an idea of what your system actually draws by under fuseing your amps (inline fuse). Drive your system as hard as would with your most demanding music, and see how low of fuse size you can use before the fuse blows. I have ture 3000 watts RMS of amps in my van and my inline fuse is 80 amps. (I could get a 60 amp fuse to blow but have never blown the 80)

So my 130 amp Alt is good enough leaving 50 amps to run my normal car stuff.

My voltage when running is 14.4 with stereo off. With the stereo running loud it drops to 14.2 this is acceptable drop even a bit lower would be Ok. Just no the lower your system voltage, the shorter life your battery will have and i would not have a system below 13.5 running volts, but that's me.

IMO we put to much credit on BIG 3. While it will never hurts to do that, and it can help a lot of people, it is not ALWAYS necessary, and SOMETIMES it is just a very minimal benefit. I run a 4 gauge wire and no big 3, i just made sure the connection i do have are as good and clean as possible. Just My Opinion

 

[fatboytyler]

Thanks for all the input guys! I'll start playing around with smaller fuse sizes when I'm back home in a week. I'll also look into the Big 3. I also plan on getting a good Kinetik Battery when my current one bites the dust (which should be a while). As for a battery in the trunk, well I have a Limited Access Cab, so yea. I'm running two 3rd/4th (can't remember) bandpass boxes (with 10" Daytons) which is why when I upgrade my subs (Two Rockford P3D4 12s) I am trying to go with a much, much smaller ported box. So putting a big battery in the floorboard would defeat me trying to downsize back there.

But yea, thank you for all the help! I'll be sure to post back if I need help again. I am starting a thread soon for critiquing my box design!

 

[Chriszle 10+ year member]

If your stock alt is 100 amps, and you are planning on only running 1200 watts, 4 gauge wire will be sufficient for your big 3. It seems as though you are on a tight budget, and it will save you some money over buying 0 gauge, which won't get you any noticeable gain.

 

[fatboytyler]

If your stock alt is 100 amps, and you are planning on only running 1200 watts, 4 gauge wire will be sufficient for your big 3. It seems as though you are on a tight budget, and it will save you some money over buying 0 gauge, which won't get you any noticeable gain.

I'll probably just go ahead and grab some Knu Konceptz 1/0 Gauge in prep for the future. Plus I can always take the wire off and reuse if I change vehicles.

 

[T3mpest 10+ year member]

I'll probably just go ahead and grab some Knu Konceptz 1/0 Gauge in prep for the future. Plus I can always take the wire off and reuse if I change vehicles.

Make sure you don't cut your wire to the exact length then, leave as much as you can without having it in the way so that if your next car has longer distances you'll be ok, don't go nuts though, just an extra inch or two where you can safely do that.