Want to rebuild my alternator for my car audio setup....help needed....

[TEEZLE]

Here's the thing, I have a new Optima yellow top battery, but I am getting blinking lights with the big amp (About 1000w RMS). I did the Big 3 upgrade with 4guage wires too. My lights are still blinking with the bass! My alternator is only 130 amps. Is there a way to rebuild to a bigger amperage? I know I can buy a new 200A alternator for around $290+shipping, would this supply the "juice" it needs? Is there a way to rebuild my present alternator to make it bigger than the stock 130A? Where can I get a High Output alternator for my car as well?

p.s. It's a '01 Mercury Sable.

Thanks and please let me know!

EDIT: I edited the post to show that my present alternator is 130A.

 

[minendo]

Do you have a cap installed already?

 

[TEEZLE]

Originally posted by: minendo
Do you have a cap installed already?

Yes I did have a 1 farad cap installed. I removed it a couple of days ago (hoping the dimming would go away). But it is still the same!

Also, my alternator is 130A. So I need to make it bigger!

 

[TEEZLE]

Also, I heard there is a way to better ground your headlights or something of that nature to help with the dimming? Anyone heard of that or know how it is done?

 

[tranceport]

Put the cap back. Might try 2 caps. You do not want to rebuild your alternator. Just buy a new one.

 

[MikeMike]

you can either have it professionally rebuilt, or buy a new one. 200$ for a 200 amp alt is pretty cheap. What 1Kw amp is it you are using?

Dominick Iraggi makes GREAT alternators from everything i have heard. His email is domiREMOVEnick@tds.net email him with your car model, engine model etc. and he will send you back a quote.

MIKE

 

[lightpants]

The electrical problem you are having is caused by your alternator not delivering 130 amps with your car at idle, it can not do this at low rpm. You need to speed up the rpm that your alternator is turning, either by changing the pulley or by raising the idle speed of your car. There are aftermarket devices that do this, they use them in mobile crime labs and fire dept vehicles so they have enough dc power when they are parked. If you would change the alternator pulley with a smaller one it would also increase it's rpm.
130 amps should be enough to power a large system. Or, you could just turn it down.

 

[TEEZLE]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
you can either have it professionally rebuilt, or buy a new one. 200$ for a 200 amp alt is pretty cheap. What 1Kw amp is it you are using?

Dominick Iraggi makes GREAT alternators from everything i have heard. His email is domiREMOVEnick@tds.net email him with your car model, engine model etc. and he will send you back a quote.

MIKE

It's the Tsunami amp I bought from you man!!! It killed my battery the other day so I bought a Yellowtop. hehe The price for the 200a alternator is $290+shipping. I am wondering if I should just re-wire the subs to put it back at 4 ohm bridged? What would the wattage from the amp be then? Also note that even when I am driving at around 55 I can still see the lights dimming when the system is thumping. I was maybe thinking of putting in new bigger wiring for the headunit? Think that would make a difference? Only reason I notice that the headunit seems to dim more than the headlights.

I sent that Dominik guy an e-mail this morning. Still waiting for the reply with a price.

EDIT: I don't want to turn down the amp!!! LOL I noticed that even when I do, the lights still blink. Wondering if the 1OHM load is too much for my car's electrical system?

 

[MikeMike]

doh, i forgot i sold you that amp.

hmm, i must not have ever had that thing wired right or something. i ahve 1/0 guage running to it to a distro. but it will only put out like 330 watts at 4 ohm, dont you have the manual there? what kind of options do you have on that car? i am assuming its loaded since it has a 130 amp stocker. mine only had 120 amps. however, the idle speed could be a problem. I would keep it wired where you are at, just get a new alt. 200 amps should be fine.

at some point im gunna get back into car audio. maybe next summer when i actually get to keep the car for college.

it normally takes Dom about a day to respond. he does great work. also, the bigger h/u wire will do nothing.

o yea, what ever happend w. the bass boost thing? you get one or no?

MIKE

 

[TEEZLE]

Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
doh, i forgot i sold you that amp.

hmm, i must not have ever had that thing wired right or something. i ahve 1/0 guage running to it to a distro. but it will only put out like 330 watts at 4 ohm, dont you have the manual there? what kind of options do you have on that car? i am assuming its loaded since it has a 130 amp stocker. mine only had 120 amps. however, the idle speed could be a problem. I would keep it wired where you are at, just get a new alt. 200 amps should be fine.

at some point im gunna get back into car audio. maybe next summer when i actually get to keep the car for college.

it normally takes Dom about a day to respond. he does great work. also, the bigger h/u wire will do nothing.

o yea, what ever happend w. the bass boost thing? you get one or no?

MIKE

Thanks for the reply man. I just said the hell with the remote, you sold the amp to me at a good price Plus when I totally dominated my neighbor's car audio system (he thought he was the man), it made me feel better I'm thinking of just holding off on the alternator until it goes bad, if it does. The car still is supplying around 12.8-13.4 volts at high volume, so hopefully that is good?

 

[Insane3D]

I just upgraded the alternator in the Mustang with a unit from PA Performance

They have 160A and 200A upgrades for most Ford/Licoln/Mercury vehicles. I went from the craptastic 65A stock unit one of their 120A 3G units and it works awesome. Everything is new, they are optimized for higher output per RPM than any OEM model, and they are warrantied for life. They even include the test result sheet for your specific numbered alternator so you can see how it performed.

I don't see a 200A upgrade listed for your car, but I would give them a call. They are extrmemly helpful and knowledgeable, and should be able to tell you if they can make a 200A unit for you. It's probably just a matter of making the correct voltage regulator socket for your cars hookup. They do list straight 130A replacements for your vehicle, so they should be familiar with the type of hook up your car needs.



Here's a side by side pic of my old unit and the PA unit.

Side by Side

 

[NutBucket]

Should really be about 14 so you're definitely loading down your car's electrical system.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Should really be about 14 so you're definitely loading down your car's electrical system.

Not really. IIRC that is how much you should be getting off the alternator, not off of the electrical system in the car. 13.5v is about normal IIRC.

I think your alternator is doing fine at volume, it's the hard bass hits that are overpowering it for a few seconds.

I'm by no means a car audio expert though, and I'm not pushing anywhere near the watts you are.

Good luck..

 

[TEEZLE]

Thanks for all the replies. You have all been very helpful. I think I am going to have to put up with the dimming for a while. $300 is a lot of dollars these days!! hehe I'm going to pickup some new battery terminals today and get them in there. If the alternator goes I'm going with the 200A.

nourdmrolNMT1 - I do have the book but it is sitting in my house (I am at wok). 330RMS at 4 ohm versus 1100RMS at 1 ohm is a big drop!! LOL I'll see if I can stick it out for a while at 1 OHM!!!

Insane3D - Thanks for the links. I may end up giving them a call (it looks like their 200a alternators go for $290 before shipping as well)

EDIT: Have you guys heard anything about the putting a better ground for your headlights? Should I even waste my time?

 

[Insane3D]

Upgraded wiring can do wonders as a lot of time the factory wiring is barely adequate at best. Once you start pulling massive power from a decetn system, it's weakness will show.

Just to give you an idea...

This is the main power lead off my stock alternator...

Main power lead for alternator

Ford ran two ~6" 10ga leads off the alternator, then just spliced them with a run of 8ga. Max alternator output was 75A, and 8ga is rated for 74A....you can see how they just meet specs.

Here's the old power lead next to the high grade 4ga I upgraded to

Also, here's the other end of the 8ga alternator power lead spliced to a 12ga signal wire from the voltage regulator, and then in turn both are splice to another 8ga lead that runs to the solenoid.

Nice wiring..woo woo

As you can see, factory wiring is not always the best.

I also upgraded my worn out 4ga battery cable with a run of 1/0ga and some nice battery terminals.

New Postive lead

The weakest link is usually from the alternator to the battery. If you are comfortable wiring, you can run a nice 4ga power lead right from the stock alternator to the battery. It would probably help in high draw circumstances...

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Should really be about 14 so you're definitely loading down your car's electrical system.

Not really. IIRC that is how much you should be getting off the alternator, not off of the electrical system in the car. 13.5v is about normal IIRC.

I think your alternator is doing fine at volume, it's the hard bass hits that are overpowering it for a few seconds.

I'm by no means a car audio expert though, and I'm not pushing anywhere near the watts you are.

Good luck..

*shrug* I measure at my amp and get 14. 14.4 when I measure at the battery.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

*shrug* I measure at my amp and get 14. 14.4 when I measure at the battery.

Your car probably has both a good alternator and better wiring. In my experience, anything over 13v is fine. As always..YMMV.

 

[TEEZLE]

I already did the BIG 3 upgrade of the wiring under the hood with 4guage wiring. I did notice the alternator has a plug like yours insane3d with the small wires. But I have no idea where they lead too. Maybe I should look into upgrading that cable as well? Maybe with some 8 guage? It's not the main positive power but some type of two wire connection?

My battery is at 14.2-14volts at idle with the system off. So I think the alternator is ok. Only when the bass hits hard it dips to 12.9-13 volts.

thanks again guys!!

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: NutBucket

*shrug* I measure at my amp and get 14. 14.4 when I measure at the battery.

Your car probably has both a good alternator and better wiring. In my experience, anything over 13v is fine. As always..YMMV.

Guess its smart of me to only have one amp on my 80 amp alternator

 

[TEEZLE]

Well I put the new terminals on the battery (man it was a b!tch re-routing those wires). BUT I heard a fizzing sound coming from the battery. It sounded like it was coming from the ground side of the battery? If you have ever seen a yellowtop, there are two recessed round things on top of the battery (no not the terminals!)?! It looks like some sort of like little holes with cement in it? Is that some type of pressure release? Either way there was a little fizzing. Wonder if this amp is taxing the battery too much? After five minutes with the car off it stopped fizzing. Defective batteryor is it normal for a yellowtop?

Thanks again you all!

 

[TEEZLE]

I'm going to put the 1 farad cap back in tomorrow. That way I can look at it's digital display and see the voltage again.

EDIT: I realized I didn't use the cap with this yellowtop yet (duh!), only with my old battery. So I'll report back after the voltage check.

 

[Insane3D]

Yeah, the cap should help. Not sure on the fizzle, but it might just be a pressure release. IIRC, the Optimas are a solid battery and don't vent or have any liquid in them, you sure it wasn't the sound of current or something?

 

[TEEZLE]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
Yeah, the cap should help. Not sure on the fizzle, but it might just be a pressure release. IIRC, the Optimas are a solid battery and don't vent or have any liquid in them, you sure it wasn't the sound of current or something?

The noise was specifically coming out one of those hole thingeys. Don't know what it was? I'll give u all the info tomorrow on the cap.

 

[OrganizedChaos]

don't know much about car audio but can't he use a analog meter with some long probes and measure the voltage drop across is power cables

 

[MikePanic]

get a napa gold one... they have a lifetime warrenty w/ free roadside