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battery vs alternator


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93_civic 
Member - Posts: 41
Member spacespace
Joined: February 20, 2009
Location: Washington, United States
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 2:39 AM / IP Logged  

which is better to hook your amp power wire too, your battery or your alternator? i've heard people say if you hook them up to your alternator it makes them go bad, and that you should hook them up to your battery because its a constant power source. is this true? and im talking about to your stock alternator... i assume hooking them up to your cars maine source of power (the battery) it will take away alot of power from other things but im not totally sure.

looking forward to your replys

-thanks battery vs alternator - Last Post -- posted image.

whiterob 
Copper - Posts: 351
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Joined: July 22, 2007
Location: United States
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 2:54 AM / IP Logged  
Wire it up to the battery.
The alternator powers the electronics in your car and charges your battery when your car is on. It is the main power source when the car is on, not the battery. So as long as your alternator output is large enough to keep up with the demand of your system and the rest of the electronics in your car you will be fine.
93_civic 
Member - Posts: 41
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Joined: February 20, 2009
Location: Washington, United States
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 3:06 AM / IP Logged  

im running about 130w rms at 2 ohms right now from the battery, with a stock alternator on a 93 civic ex 4dr (if it matters) am i fine? or should i be looking into getting a bigger alternator? also, at what rms rate would you recomend getting a bigger alternator? cuz im planning on getting a bigger amp soon, and want to get the most power out of it.

thanks alot whiterob that helped me alot!

j.reed 
Copper - Posts: 716
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Joined: January 05, 2009
Location: Arkansas, United States
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 8:29 AM / IP Logged  
You have like a 70 amp alt stock in those cars. You would not think it is much. But on the good side it does not have all the computer stuff running that new cars have. You should be fine if everything is in good working order. I ran over 1000 watts rms with a 95 civic.(same charging system) I added a single audio battery to the rear, big 3, and along with a good batt up front  and was fine. Not so much as the smallest light flicker. Anything larger than 750 to 1000 watts rms i would suggest doing an alt upgrade. It also never hurt for you electrical system to be overkill. Making sure you have more head room here is a plus and can help the longevity of your system.
battery vs alternator - Last Post -- posted image.
bigjohnny 
Copper - Posts: 293
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Joined: September 23, 2008
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 6:01 PM / IP Logged  
Ive heard 70A per 1000W ..... so a 2000W system would need an alt that is 140A min. just to run the stereo, not including other accessories.
would this be a decent guideline to follow?
woodn01 
Member - Posts: 27
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Joined: September 14, 2003
Location: United States
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 9:46 PM / IP Logged  
well in my opinion you can't judge by watts. what you worry about is amperage. your guideline of 70A to 1000 watts is about right though. but not ever amp labeled 1000 watts is really that. the best way to tell what the max an amp will put out is to take the amount of fuses on the amp multiplied with the voltage of the power supply. so if an amp has two 30A fuses on it, then it has a total of 60A max. take that 60A multiplied by 12.0V (the standard voltage without the vehicle running) you get 720 watts maximum and that is what the amp can possible put out without the vehicle running. with the vehicle running and charging, the voltage is 13.6 roughly, so with the same amp as before, the amp puts out a maximum of 816 watts. hope this helps.
audiocableguy 
Copper - Posts: 630
Copper spacespace
Joined: January 27, 2003
Location: Idaho, United States
Posted: March 17, 2009 at 10:14 PM / IP Logged  
Ohm's Law.
Amps = Watts / Volts.
Efficiency: Input Power = Watts / Efficiency.
Input Power = 12V
Watts = 1000
Efficiency = I used 70%. Class D.
1428.57W needed to produce 1000W Output power.
Amps = 1428.57W / 12 Volts
119 Amps @ 12V.

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