i want to know this because i did a quad setup retrofit with 2 fx35 bixenon proj and 2 tsx xenon projectors and i also want to install foglights into my 2003 accord v6. do u think my stock battery would hold up ? how much faster will i have to replace the battery..?

 

with the car running it will pull from the alternator. If it's pulling from the battery your alternator is either toast or not able to keep up.

 

The car's electrical system always draws from the battery. If the alternator goes bad. or if you remove the alternator belt, the car will continue to run until the battery is dead. The alternator does nothing except keep the battery fully charged while the engine is running.

To the OP: your setup will draw less current than if you stock low and high beam halogens as well as halogen fogs, so I wouldn't worry about your battery.

 

oh thanks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PatrickGSR94 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The car's electrical system always draws from the battery. If the alternator goes bad. or if you remove the alternator belt, the car will continue to run until the battery is dead. The alternator does nothing except keep the battery fully charged while the engine is running.</TD></TR></TABLE>
If that were true how would a pull start lawnmower run? (no battery)

Pull the battery terminal when the car is running... it doesn't die. In fact you can drive that way.
It's not advised in a car since the battery is the main regulator for the voltage if the alternator's regulator happens to miss a spike here and there, but it will run and the accessories will work like normal.
The only time the car should draw from the battery itself (when the car is running and everything is operating normally) is when the alternator can not deliver as much power as required. Either short term or long term.
Now I'm speaking theoretically, realistically the battery works as a buffer for when you switch things on and the alternator requires a slight delay to see the additional power requirement and switches up in output. But without the battery you'd simply see a dip or spike in voltage at those moments.

summary: An alternator's primary function is to power the car's electrical system, secondary function is to charge the battery with the power generation that is left over.
A battery is an electrical storage device that's purpose is to store electrical energy until it's needed.

a dead alternator or broken belt is a failure mode. Not the intended long term operational design.

 

What the heck does a pull-start lawnmower have to do with anything? That has neither a battery nor an alternator. The spark plug is fired by the points-type ignition system, unless it has a solid-state ignition system, which would require a battery and then most likely the lawn mower would have push-button electric starting.

 

I think I need to stop taking creative leaps early in the morning. I was trying to think of a common setup that runs without a battery... my brain took a creative leap and landed on it's face.

But the rest of the post holds true.