Just wondering if anyone has upgraded their alternator to a high output one? My stereo in my car makes the lights dimm when the bass notes hit. I am in the process of upgrading the Big Three as the stereo guy's call it, which may help with the issue. If not i would like to know if there are any places where high output alternators can be found. My car is2006 Monte Carlo LT 3.5L. Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

 

well i had the same problem but i got a new battery, spark plug wires, and a capacitor. it helped a lot. but from what i was told capacitor act as a "band-aide" so i may later on put in a higher output alternator. but i did research a new alternator and i would go to checker auto parts, carquest, or autozone. they seemed to have some decent prices.

 

Just remember that even with a high output alternator, when you put a strain on the electrical system, lights will dim...that is a characteristic of an electrical system. Good Luck!

 

Capacitors are in no way a band-aid, look at any decent audio shop or audio system for that matter and they are being used. If you don't know, Capacitors are essentially like a quick discharge battery, when your amp demands the power it it will draw from that first, in all actuality it stabilizes the voltages through out the whole vehicle. Which in turn will actually prolong the life of your equipment. Yes by all means a higher output alternator will help in the long run but with that alone i could almost guarantee you will still have a dimming problem. From my experience a cap is defiantly not a band aide, also do not be afraid to oversize your cap. i had a stereo running just under 2000 watts on a set of L7s and actually had a capacitor blow up during a competition, the oil they use to keep them cool really smells. but it blew up cause it got too hot. 1farad per 1000 watts is good, but if your playing it hard go bigger, larger capacitor means it will not have to work as hard. (Upgraded to a 5farad cap made by Alumapro, i highly recommend this company) .

 

Can you take pics of the big three and let me know any issues you had. I plan on doing this with 0awg wire in the next couple mths and would like to have some direction. mind you I never looked under the hood since I ran my power wire.

 

yeah i can take some pics tonight, it basically goes from the alternator + to battery +, then batt neg to motor chassis. The for the alternator there is no ground on it, but from reading other posts the whole alternator casing acts as the ground which is already bolted to the motor frame.

 

capacitors DO NOT WORK, they make no sense using Ohm's law... they are literally just a band-aide for a bigger problem. I would stay away from them. A deep cycle battery may be all that you need. A yellowtop optima battery will do you some good. It may not take the dimming away completely, but it will help. Also switch the power cable form the alt to the battery for some 0 guage, and if still is not 100%, or good enough for you, switch the alternator.

 

Caps are absolutely a band aid as they don't fix the problem. The problem when your lights dim is that your electrical system is pulling more amps than your alternator can provide at the moment. Will a cap help that? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It all depends on how much of a strain you're putting on your electrical system.

The first thing you should do when you have this problem is upgrade the Big 3. Then you should measure the current draw on your system with your system bumpin', headlights on, AC on. See how much of a difference there is between what your alt puts out and what your draw is and go as much over that numbers as you can afford. I'd suggest at least 50amps higher just to give you some headroom.

A deep cycle battery won't do much for getting rid of dimming when your car is on cause the current is provided by the alternator for the most part, but it will let your run the system for longer periods of time when the car is off. Actually, adding another battery to an already strained electrical system will just add to the strain since now the alt will have to recharge two batts now instead of one.

 

I installed a 2nd battery, the 1st being an Optima red top, and the 2nd being an Optima yellow top seep cycle. From my past experience with plow trucks, and the drain that puts on the electrical systems, having dual batteries is a MUST! I have a friend who had 3 batteries running his stereo system.
Larger alternators is good, also, and that's one way of fixing the problem, but these newer cars have sensitive electronics, and I had one alternator builder tell me NOT to upgrade or I'll screw up the computers, as they monitor alternator output. Do they??? Not sure yet. Do the math: continuous watts of output / 12 = amps. That's how many amps you need to run your system. Batteries are defined by "cold cranking amps".
My stereo, although not a MONSTER by todays standards (yet) is connected to the deep cycle battery, and with a 105 amp alternator (which is not too bad compared to older alternators, but not huge), I feel I have enough amps in reserve to run a respectable system.
A capacitor, IMO, is a good part of any large system, but will not solve the voltage shortage issue, as it is ONLY a short term storage unit, for the "spikes" in the voltage draw, and not for the continuous draw of heavy volume.
Lastly, an alternator only puts out peak amps when at high rpm's, and not at idle, or when not running at all. How do you run a large system when parked? With your foot on the gas? NOT! Now you got a dead battery. It takes a large reserve of "cold cranking amps" to run a large stereo system, and a large alternator to run it continuously for long periods, as on a road trip. A capacitor is not a long term storage device.
To do it right, you really need everything described: larger alternator (or duals) multiple batteries, and a capacitor. AND the heavy wiring to make it all work.

 

Not all alternators are the same...I got a H/O alt from Iraggi and it was advertised as a 200a but after having issues with it I decided to send it out to Mechman to have them test it and give me a data sheet. It was horrible, the thing barely put out 2a at 1600rpm, it maxed out at 154a but that was at 7000rpm.

I got a new Rhino series alt from Mechman that is advertised at 250a, it puts out about 150a at idle and maxes out at 270a at 7000rpm