• Welcome to the Contour Enthusiasts Group, the best resource for the Ford Contour and Mercury Mystique.

    You can register to join the community.

Stock alternator max wattage qestion

2

2000ZxT

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
1,077
Location
nh
I will be picking up my 3L this week. I have a question about the alternator.

I am going to be running a 600 watt stereo as well as an additional 350 watt power supply. It seems unlikely the stock alternator would handle this much power.

If an overdrive pulley wouldn't suffice is there a cheaper alternative than buying high output one, aka one from a different car (f150 or something?) I could use, even I have to do some work to get it to fit.
 
the stock alternator is rated at 130 amps. p(watts) = i (current in amps) * v(voltage). so peak your alternator is putting out 1820 watts (130 amp * 14 volt). is your system 600 watt rms, or 600 peak? either way i would recommend a capacitor to take some of the strain off the electrical system. as long as your alternator is in good condition you shouldn't have a problem.
 
Isn't that cutting it close though? Assuming the car uses about half the wattage and my system uses most of the other half. Thanks.
 
xh20x said:
the stock alternator is rated at 130 amps. p(watts) = i (current in amps) * v(voltage). so peak your alternator is putting out 1820 watts (130 amp * 14 volt). is your system 600 watt rms, or 600 peak? either way i would recommend a capacitor to take some of the strain off the electrical system. as long as your alternator is in good condition you shouldn't have a problem.
Click to expand...
Do not listen to this guy. I ran 1700wRMS on my stock altenator with only a kinetik hc1400 and the big 3 done. You do NOT need a capacitor, a capacitor will only cause you more problems in the future and point blank simple they are a bandaid for a bigger problem. You will not need anything done accept the big 3 to run 600w.
 
pre98zetec said:
Do not listen to this guy. I ran 1700wRMS on my stock altenator with only a kinetik hc1400 and the big 3 done. You do NOT need a capacitor, a capacitor will only cause you more problems in the future and point blank simple they are a bandaid for a bigger problem. You will not need anything done accept the big 3 to run 600w.
Click to expand...

um hi. how will a capacitor cause more problems? you can run 1700w without a cap just as you can run a 3L without a tune, it will work but not optimal. capacitor smooths out the current draw from the alternator and voltage drop in your electrical system. did your run the kinetik as your only battery? if you didn't you are essentially doing the same thing as a capacitor. i don't see how a capacitor can hurt you in this situation
 
I need overkill, the 350w powersupply is for a motherboard and cpu to run my 6" lcd. I can't have that flickering out and restarting, ever.
 
xh20x said:
um hi. how will a capacitor cause more problems? you can run 1700w without a cap just as you can run a 3L without a tune, it will work but not optimal. capacitor smooths out the current draw from the alternator and voltage drop in your electrical system. did your run the kinetik as your only battery? if you didn't you are essentially doing the same thing as a capacitor. i don't see how a capacitor can hurt you in this situation
Click to expand...

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-electronics/1046719-why-you-dont-need-capacitor.html
 
Bringing this back from the dead what is the best gauge wire to use for redoing the big 3...probably 6 or 8 gauge? I need to do it next week the engine is finally going back in!
 
lol NO you should use no less than a 4ga wire or you arent really helping anything. 1/0 is what most use but it is a lil harder to manuver around. and as stated earlier in this thread, you dont need a capacitor. I have had well over the wattage your talking about running in my car with no issues what so ever. 1 amp rated @ 1300rms that ran my entire setup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top