Hex94

Hey guys, I'm looking to upgrade my alternator in the near future... but one of the biggest things im worried about is reliability, i work two jobs and this car is my only form of transportation... im going to keep my stock alternator as a backup though.... anyone know of a good alternator to go after?

this is my current set up for my 93 Civic EX, coupe, D16Z6.. all stock

I'v got:

pioneer head unit ( DEH-X6500BT )

400W dual channel amp ( Dual XPE2700 )<-- powers a single Rocksford Fosgate punch

500W RMS/ 1000W peak 10-inch Sub

A 750W RMS/1000W peak Power inverter <-- which runs an extremely modified xbox 360,

20-inch LCD computer screen, touch screen laptop, and whatever other house appliance

i want lol

----
with the above set up, things are barely making it... whenever my sub hits a hard

thump, all my lights fade(while driving)... whenever im running everything and

idling, and (i assume) the battery(which out of memory, i believe is 475 CCA... ill

have to check) is not completely charged, power will cut out to the power inverter

after awhile if i idle for too long without revving the engine for a few moments,

-----

what i want to do:

Upgrade headunit to Pioneer AVH-X7500BT

Add a second 10-inch punch of the exact one I have

upgrade to a dual channel amp powerfull enough to make both 10-inch punches hit their best

and probably upgrade to a 1500 or 2000 watt RMS power inverter... i'm gonna try to

wire up a 5.1 or 7.1 theatre system in my civic(and try to blend it with the regular car system that already exists) .... lol for gaming... because i game online with my 360 by making a hotspot from my iphone >_>

also gonna have lots of pretty interior LED's....

so, coming to the conclusion that i'v lost my mind, what do you guys think? lol

Hex94

oh right, and to my understanding the stock alternator is 70 amps, im thinking i want at least 150 amps

speedjunkie_g35

Really??? Gaming... Its a honda not a tahoe! It sounds like you already have issues and you want to add to them.
you want a stock system and a completely different system for surround sound.

Best thing you can do for your gaming desires is to get a couple high end turtle beach headsets.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Call Ohio Generator. Have them make you one. Done.

underrated

iTrader: (3)

Mechman also makes civic specific HO alternators.

Hex94

Yeah i know this is odd, possibly stupid... This is definitely not the last thing i'm gonna be doing to the car, i'v got a lot of great plans for the future that don't include adding a fridge lol to the point, just need a very reliable and strong alternator... Thanks for the replies, guys

Do you guys have any info on running two batteries off of one alternator?

One dedicated to all the weird stuff i'm gonna do

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

You were given two sources for HO alternators.

lostforawhile

and make sure you start saving up for hearings aids later, been there, done what you are doing 20 years ago, now lost at least 30 percent of my hearing

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Tinnitus. Not fun.

whited

You may also want to consider getting a 1-3 Farad Capacitor. It will balance your voltage when there are spikes due to heavy power draw.

lostforawhile

thats a band aid, pulling that much current is only able to be fixed with a higher output alternator, a cap can only provide a limited amount of current for a very short time, they really dont do much, well they sell, thats the main thing

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

Kinda hard to balance voltage when there isn't enough.

Hex94

yeah i know, i didn't acknowledge that right away... but i did go straight to checking out ohio generators... gonna check out mechman now

Hex94

im only 20, i listen to a lot of really loud metal music and have a very loud muffler on... i think i may have already lost hearing :/ not sure, gonna have to get that checked

Hex94

ringing in the ears? i think i already have it, on a very minimal scale.... if im in an area where there is not the slightest bit of sound... ringing in my ears starts to go crazy, it consistently gets louder...that's probably a mental thing on my part because i will notice the ringing then start focusing on it >_>

Hex94

I thought the capacitors were supposed to keep the audio system(for example) running for a bit if power was lost.... enough time for the main power source to come back up

but then again, i haven't really done any research on capacitors...

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

As I understood it waaaay back in the day, they were supposed to "smooth" the power out. Keep a short reserve for heavy demands like bass notes so as not to tax the electrical system. Now for continuous heavy demand usage, not so much.

Hex94

I'm actually wondering if adding a second battery might be a better option, i'v been wanting to get a second battery lately anyway... i keep killing my battery and having to push start my car (yeah, i push start my car by my self on a dead battery like twice a week at most >_> )i infact did so this morning

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

Capacitors are a bandage for a poorly built system. If you're killing your battery, you should stop listening to music with the car off.

Hex94

ahh that fits the info i have in my memory much better

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

A second battery pretty much IS a capacitor. What do you think capacitors are?

Hex94

out of memory... i believe they are an electrical component that stores electricity, then lets it all out at once... whenever it is that it lets it out

grumblemarc

iTrader: (4)

So if we're telling you capacitors are not necessary, why would you get a second battery? I'm not even sure the weak stock alternator will charge two batteries. YOu can't even kleep the one from going dead. Upgrade the alternator and wiring and be done with it.

NotARaCist

iTrader: (1)

A second battery is not strictly necessary, but for a power-hungry setup, you should definitely have a marine or deep discharge secondary battery. Marine/deep discharge batteries are made to be power cycled, whereas standard car batteries are not. Continually power cycling a standard car battery will kill it's service life.

shotoutacc0rd

If you don't like bump starting your car erry day, you should keep the stock battery and a wrench for the positive side on hand.

and install the biggest cycle battery to power all your crap, even when the car is off.

deff get a batter alternator, too.

p.s. Is this a hatch back? I'd really like to do this with a beastly 4runner.