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#1
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Too much loud music can ruin....
....your alternator! If anyone was following my thread "this is getting ridiculous" in the Dakota forum, I was complaining that my belt was squealing again. Well, I narrowed it down to the fact that my stock alternator is too small for the demands placed on it by my system.
No questions or anything, just wanted to let people know that they need to upgrade everything, not just the loud-makers. Learn from my experience! I've got a pulley set from ASP that I'm installing this weekend, so I'll see how that goes, if it changes anything, before I spend the $$ on a new alternator. Dan |
#2
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Do you have a capacitor? They help keep your alternator alive! The amp draws rediculous power in surges during hard bass hits and the capacitor takes that load off of your alternator. I realize you probably know that already but just in case.
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#3
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Yeah, I've got a full farad cap, but I'm too lazy to run the extra 3 wires to hook it in That's what approaching b'days are for!
Dan |
#4
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A cap can only do so much due to the discharge rate they have. They are mainly to improve sound quality by providing a "local" boost to the amps when they need it. They take a time to recharge once they have done this, then the drain is right back on the vehicle electrics.
A good battery, possibly a second battery like an Optima Yellow Top mounted in the boot, decent gauge cabling (I know people running zero gauge for their amps, or bigger!) and a high output alternator are all part of the equation. In fact the guys I know who SPL compete do not use caps. The reason being that they discharge in a few microseconds and then power is diverted from the amps to recharge the cap meaning output drops off, loosing several db and dropping points big style. My Fury will be getting one of those trick looking Chrome 120A alts before long... Maybe I'm just too old but I don't have supply problems with my installs, even when I was running high current Hifonics amps off a stock '69 Alternator.... |
#5
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All valid points, but I'm not going for SPL. More like SQL. Anyways, I'm getting a nice Stinger setup with the LED display installed as we speak (type?). I went around and around the other day looking for a higher output alternator, but was informed that since the regulator wasn't part of the alt, it would be a moot point to install a bigger alt. Is this true, or was the guy I talked to just being lazy? There has to be some way to bypass the stock regulator to get more amperage/voltage to all the systems in the truck
Dan |
#6
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In euro/jap cars for years the regulator is on the alt. The only US cars I've had have been oldies but goodies so I don't know what is fitted on the newer stuff. But I'd have thpought they'd be all-in-one items now. Heck my '69 Vauxhall has an all-in-one
Stinger and the like do big alts, might be worth asking them about your specific application and see what they say. I am always suspicious of people selling what they big mark up is on and not the bits which will do the job ("Don't buy that alternator I'll only make $5 on, get this Optima yellow top I make $20 on") not that I'm suspicious that way, but I hear salemans advice... And YES my local parts place tried to sell me a new battery to fix my dead alternator (actually a broken ground wire was the only fault). I'll tell you the story sometime... |
#7
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I was surprised to find out that the regulator/alt. were all-in-one on new Furds! Go figure. Anyways, got the cap installed yesterday. Was working fine all day, but when I cranked up the truck to come to work today, the voltage reading (on the cap) dropped like a rock from 11V all the way down to 5.07V. After that, it just shut off. I turned off the stereo figuring that it needed to be recharged, but it would only get up to 5.22V.
A) Why is it not holding a charge overnight? The only thing even remotely on at night is the clock on my head unit. B) Why isn't the cap charging while I'm driving, and the stereo not on? C) Why does the LED indicator still show a reading after the truck is shut off and key removed? D) How hard is it to add another alternator to my existing setup? Dan |
#8
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disconnect your negative wire off the battery overnight. If it still loses charge then your battery is pooched. Or you could just get it tested at a local parts store. Most caps stay on (the led display) for 1 minute after any voltage change ie: when you open the car door to look at it the voltage drops and the led comes on for 1 minute. If your battery is shorted the cap will be unable to charge, also if your alternator is busted it will do the same.
good luck Julian |
#9
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Quote:
http://www.martelbros.com/cgi-bin/st..._high_amp.html |
#10
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Thanks for the info. That explains a lot. One final question: Shouldn't the cap charge while I'm driving? On my way in to work this morning, the voltage kept dropping (according to the LED). I can see why it would do that at idle, but when I'm actually moving? I figured the voltage would jump back up to 13V or so.
Dan |
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