H/o Alternator ?

[kcollazo86]

Hey whats up guys, Well Its come time for me to get a h/o alternator but just don't know how much ampage would I exactly need. My 2 amps Draw 170Amps my 2 channel Bass amp takes 2 40Fuses and my voice amp 4 channel takes 3 30fuses... My music now Cuts off when its on high volumes it clips i did the big 3 upgrade with all 0gauge wire and i have a yellow top optima batt. so my last resort is a H/o alternator. Just wanna know if i should get a 170amp alter or should i maybe get one with more amps. thanks

 

[ryan s]

i think you should take care of the clipping issue first

 

[AccordFlex]

Since you are pulling that much current, you should really think about adding a secondary battery in the back of your car.

I say this because with the amps you have, you are really making your alternator work overtime since the one you have right now is most likely stock and cannot put out enough amperage to keep up with the pull of the amps. If you were to get a secondary battery and a high output alt, you would be set. You should get a bigger alt then just 170 if you can.

My best advice on an alternator would be to look into DC Power... http://www.dcpowerinc.com/

The clipping you are seeing is most likely caused from voltage drop.

 

[ryan s]

are any HO alternator setups for our cars constant voltage? in other words, do any provide a steady ~13-14V at idle?

well, that might be a function of the ECU. i know civics have the ELD, which runs "high voltage" loads only when accessories like the A/C are used...for emissions reductions.

you could be pulling 200A and the car would only be making 12.8V at idle, for example. i dont know if the accords have it, but i'd venture to say they do...

edit: dc power has no honda products

 

[finch13]

We do have an ELD.

I know my car reads 13.98V at idle.

 

[AccordFlex]

are any HO alternator setups for our cars constant voltage? in other words, do any provide a steady ~13-14V at idle?

well, that might be a function of the ECU. i know civics have the ELD, which runs "high voltage" loads only when accessories like the A/C are used...for emissions reductions.

you could be pulling 200A and the car would only be making 12.8V at idle, for example. i dont know if the accords have it, but i'd venture to say they do...

edit: dc power has no honda products

Ok well basically our accord do infact do this. I have tested this before because I was running into the same problem. I actually have an Iraggi HO alt making 200 at around 1500 rpm and around 100 at idle. I noticed if I was out on the freeway and was pushing lower rpms, the car would go into like "dumb" mode and knock down the voltage to around like 12.6 or so. My solution to this problem is simply keeping your daytime running lights on.

What this does is it allows the car to have a constant pull of voltage turning off that "dumb" ecu mode allowing the HO to charge around 14.4 all the time

 

[kcollazo86]

are any HO alternator setups for our cars constant voltage? in other words, do any provide a steady ~13-14V at idle?

well, that might be a function of the ECU. i know civics have the ELD, which runs "high voltage" loads only when accessories like the A/C are used...for emissions reductions.

you could be pulling 200A and the car would only be making 12.8V at idle, for example. i dont know if the accords have it, but i'd venture to say they do...

edit: dc power has no honda products

Yeah I also checked the DC site and they didnt have anything for honda ??

Since you are pulling that much current, you should really think about adding a secondary battery in the back of your car.

I say this because with the amps you have, you are really making your alternator work overtime since the one you have right now is most likely stock and cannot put out enough amperage to keep up with the pull of the amps. If you were to get a secondary battery and a high output alt, you would be set. You should get a bigger alt then just 170 if you can.

My best advice on an alternator would be to look into DC Power... http://www.dcpowerinc.com/

The clipping you are seeing is most likely caused from voltage drop.

but what 2nd battery would be the right one to put in my trunk i was really tring to avoid the hole 2nd battery thing. cause isn't the alternator still going to work over time its going to have to charge up 2 batterys instead of 1 Etc...

 

[ryan s]

Ok well basically our accord do infact do this. I have tested this before because I was running into the same problem. I actually have an Iraggi HO alt making 200 at around 1500 rpm and around 100 at idle. I noticed if I was out on the freeway and was pushing lower rpms, the car would go into like "dumb" mode and knock down the voltage to around like 12.6 or so. My solution to this problem is simply keeping your daytime running lights on.

What this does is it allows the car to have a constant pull of voltage turning off that "dumb" ecu mode allowing the HO to charge around 14.4 all the time

it might just be my mind playing tricks on me, but i think my transmission shifts slower with the stereo on full tilt (auto...only have ~90A worth of fused stuff right now). it has a delay into 1st as it is, and with the stereo on it feels like the car is going to stall. the revs dip to about 500, then 1st kicks in, then the idle stabilizes.

i wonder if installing a DRL kit would be adequate? i don't like driving with the low beams on and i really wouldn't mind DRLs since they're not as bright.

i am worried about the amps i'm going to be running in the spring...about 120A of "honest" fusing and a genuine 500 watts for the front stage alone. i don't have any dimming right now, only the ELD thing.

people with civics swap to JDM ECUs to circumvent the issue. i wonder if swapping to an OBDI ECU like a P28 would solve it? not like i'm going OBDI just for the stereo curiosity...

 

[kcollazo86]

I was acualy driving my car on the freeway and i have everything right now connected directly to the radio. besides the subs.I had put a song with alot of bass to it and put it up louder then what i do begin that there not connected to the amp cause it clips(4 MIdranges2 bullet tweeter). I was on the freeway lights on and all and i had alot of dimming going on my windshield was getting fogged up begin tha it was raining and i turned on the defroster and my car felt slugish like it was going to turn off and BAMMM check engine light went on! I just disconnected the battery and connected it back and check engine light went out.

 

[ryan s]

have you had your alternator tested?

80A worth of amp fusing plus 10A for the headunit shouldn't cause anything to go bad like that...