250 Amp Alternator?

Does anyone know the maximum amp alternator we can get-isn't it like 250 amps or something? And where can I find one at?

Upping to a 250amp alternator is not that easy....the cars are configured to run off the one thats in there.... too big of an alternator will result in power drain because it will want more than the battery can give it....unless ur runnin a huge and I mean HUGE system theres no need to throw that big of an alternator on your car

[BLK03GXS]

Originally posted by wy3134@Jun 27 2004, 05:31 AM
Upping to a 250amp alternator is not that easy....the cars are configured to run off the one thats in there.... too big of an alternator will result in power drain because it will want more than the battery can give it....unless ur runnin a huge and I mean HUGE system theres no need to throw that big of an alternator on your car

True dat
And i beleave that most alts that large are external regulator, also you would have to upgrade the wireing to suport that much current flow.. and the ground/positives

Only for HUGE systems

[Youngblood77]

Originally posted by wy3134@Jun 27 2004, 12:31 AM
Upping to a 250amp alternator is not that easy....the cars are configured to run off the one thats in there.... too big of an alternator will result in power drain because it will want more than the battery can give it....unless ur runnin a huge and I mean HUGE system theres no need to throw that big of an alternator on your car

True, there's no need to run THAT big of an alternator on your car unless you have a friggin' HUGE system, and most alternators that big are externally regulated, and wiring would have to be upgraded just as 03 said, but....but I disagree with your statement as far as creating a drain on the electrical. The Battery's sole purpose is to start the car, and to supply power when the motor is off. The alternator is a generator in a sense, and doesn't "drain" power from your battery no matter how big it is.

My amplifier draws 87 amps and our stock alternator can only produce 105 amps so that's the reason to upgrade (Yeah^, it's a pretty big system ). I also plan on getting a 2nd amp (the same as first), so that would be 174 amps just from the amplifiers so I just plan on upgrading to 250 amp alternator now.

Also-does anyone have an amplifier that draws more than 50 amps-if they do, what upgrades did you make to electrical system OR any?

[Youngblood77]

what amplifier are you running? Out of curiostiy, how many, and how large are the fuses IN the amp?

Orion 1200 D-(1200 watts RMS)

I got a 200 amp fuse at battery-don't understand how to check fuses in amp though?

[Youngblood77]

Originally posted by Pacho@Jun 27 2004, 08:35 PM
Orion 1200 D-(1200 watts RMS)

I got a 200 amp fuse at battery-don't understand how to check fuses in amp though?

look where all the connections are made on the amp, usually, there's a place to put a fuse. What kind of Ohm load are you gonna show it?

Will check my amp when I get back from vacation-in florida right now-do you think I need to upgrade my alternator right now with just the one orion amp, or will everything still work fine?

[Youngblood77]

If you're running it @ 1 ohm, and it truly takes 87 amps to run, then I think you're taking your chances....thing is, you're probably only running it @ 4 or 2 Ohm, so at most, it'll be pushing 725 watts rms. Either way,if it's drawing 87 amps, I'd replace the alternator....

Any idea where to get an aftermarket alternator?

I'm running my 1 Orion H2 in parallel right now so amp is seeing 1 ohm.

i run a 3000watt power akoustic digtal mono block. my headlights barely dim.

digital amps are the way to go

Originally posted by Pacho@Jun 28 2004, 01:51 AM
Any idea where to get an aftermarket alternator?

I'm running my 1 Orion H2 in parallel right now so amp is seeing 1 ohm.

Yeah...just got one at www.4alterstart.com They make a 180amp alternator, just give them a call. Can't beat $200.00 with a lifetime warranty. It will be plenty for what you'll be running.

[mikegett]

You have mis understood how to rate your altenator. The amp rating is a max draw that your amplifier will ever see. The same goes for every other electrical system in your car. If you have a power window on a fifteen amp fuse then fifteen amps is the max it will ever see. The first thing to do is have someone like autozone do a load check of your entire car. Keep your amplifier out of this test. Turn on every other electrical circuit you can. That mean putting the airconditioner on, your stock radio( without the amp), lights and even open and close your windows (all four at the same time). This will tell you what max amount of load the car will normaly see. You will deduct that from your altenator rating. I have not rated the olds yet but my taurus had a 145 amp altenator with a max load of 45 placed on it. That left me with one hundred usable amps. If you would like, then you could check the system with your amplifier going. More than likely you will see that it pulls about half of its rating at a high volume. Since this high volume is not normaly kept for extended periods of time it is suggested to alot for one third of the combined amp rating of your amplifier. Since your amp is rated at eighty I would safely say that you should assume around thirty amps are used continuously. Of course, the rating will vary on the type of sub and how loud you do use it. I had three amps in my taurus at one time. One was rated for seventy five (a four channel) one was rated for 60 (a six channel) and the other was rated for fourty five (my subs 2 channel). The stock altenator ran with no problems for almost five years. I will say that the GM altenators are extremely unreliable. Every GM car I owned had the altenator replaced before two years.

[Youngblood77]

ROFLMAO I was WONDERING how he came up with such an odd number of amperage....It never crossed my mind that he was confused, I thought he had some HUGE a$$ system, and had the amperage load checked already.....

im running a concept 1200d amp and its way underratted but anyways i am running at one ohm stable and havent had any problems

[mikegett]

Granted, if he was to add the second amp 2400 watts will be pretty huge. If he was running that sytem full blast for a extended period of time then a upgrade would probably be needed. I just don't think he understands what 2400 continuous watts will be like in a car. If anyone can sit through that on a drive to work then some money for hearing aids and a new rear window would be the next priority. I am going to bet that a nice two farrod cap will be plenty for the system. besides, it is going to be a better choice to instal the system and then have it tested. If he is maxing out the altenator he can just keep the volume low until it is upgraded. It may be interesting to see how everyone on here compares with amperage draw. It is free to have autozone do a test. I suggest that if anybody has time stop off and see what there max draw is and what the continuous draw is. They can then post the results along side of a break down of the current system. This could give us a better understanding of what our systems are doing to the cars and our ears. Currently I am running stock (no comments please, I am married) but I can post my previous cars specs.

I had a ford taurus with three amps. The altenator was rated for 145.One 4 channel eclipse 32430. 85 watts x4@4 ohm Max 800 watts 80 amps
One 6 channel A/D/s PH15. 55 watts rms x6 @ 4ohm Max 660 watts 60 amps
One 2 channel eclipse 3322 85 watts rms x 2@ 4ohm Max 540 watts 50 amps

The two channel was running a 15 inch sub and the rest were running components and two six inch woofers. The sub was only in for about a month as I focused more on the frequencies above 50 hrtz. For this reason I should imagine that my draw would be signifiganlty less than many others. At a constant load I was pulling twenty two amps over my cars amperage (67 total). With my sub at my full volume I was pulling about fourty five (90 total) above my cars average amperage.

I looked on the web how to measure your amplifiers draw rating and it's achieved by dividing the continuous rating by 13.8 and 1200 watts RMS/13.8 volts is 87 amps. That's the continuous rating I'm going to be running so my amplifier would be drawing 87 amps continously, right? I might be a little confused here so please correct me.

[mikegett]

No. The continuous pull of the amp is going to vary from user to user. A amplifier that has the potential to displace 1200 watts may only run 200 to 400 durring normal operation. It all depends on what kind of load that you are placing on the amp at the time. Your extremely low bass notes will use most of the wattage since the woofers are so large and incorporate a heavy duty magnet. What you need to find out is how much wattage you will be normaly pulling for your particular tate. If you are in a spl contest then the system is obviously going to be hitting full force for a extended period of time. If you are just in the car driving then your listening wattage is going to be signifigantly lower. If you are only using five hundred watts then expect to pull around fourty five amps max. The thing to understand is that your system can pull the 85 amps during peaks but drop back down to a fraction of this usage. As long as your not sustainging those peaks the altenator will replinish the battery. A 1 farod or 2 farod capacitor will help to keep the altenator strained during the higher usage as well. I do not know what your listening preferences are, so I am suggesting that you place the system in the car. Test it out (once again at the level it will normaly play at) and see how it performs. If the alternator is maxed then upgrade. As long as you kept the system at a moderate volume the car will be able to hold out. The big issue with 1000 watt amps and subs are way over rated. The most inefficient subs are the monstrosaties that are using 1000 or more watts. The only purpose for these subs were for spl competitions. In these cases you are not even in the car while it is performing. You should try look for a sub that matches your tastes. Find a sub that has a Q rating to match the type of enclosure you find to sound the best. I may be getting this backwards but I believe the lower the Q the more flexible the woofer will be. Or meaning that it will perform well in various enclosures. It has been so long that it could be the other way around. The next facrtor to look at is the sensitivity of the woofer. The higher the sensitivity the less wattage it takes to move the cone. That means that the smaller 500 watt sub with a high sensitivity could produce more sound than a higher wattage sub with poor senitivity. It takes more wattage to produce a extra decible of sound the louder you go. So efficiency is extremely important in this case. The other factor to look at is the excursion. The longer the excursion, the more air the woofer can move at one time. Of course, a larger excursion means less sensitivity. That is where the material used in the surround is important. Idealy, the surround would be made from a material extremely flexible but as strong as steel. This is where kickers fall short. The design dictates that the surround must be stronger to survive the cone structure. So the sensitivity is very poor. In short, I am saying that because you have a system that can produce 1200 watts, this does not mean that you will use 1200 watts. If you have a sytem based around extreme spl with very poor efficiency then you may need the full amps. If you have built a sytem around quality of sound and overall efficiency then you likely won't need 1200 watts or 85 amps.

good info mike.

someone knows thier stuff.