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Alternator or Battery


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44 minutes ago, bcbrassard said:

PS.... Clean that engine bay!

I know, I know.  It is pretty bad, but unfortunately this car gets driven every single day and lives outside.  I need a place with a bigger garage so I can keep the daily nice.  As it is I can barely get the racecar and the wife's car in there, and that is usually only during winter.  Most of the time her car is parked outside too.

 

Sean

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5 hours ago, BrokeEF said:

I know, I know.  It is pretty bad, but unfortunately this car gets driven every single day and lives outside.  I need a place with a bigger garage so I can keep the daily nice.  As it is I can barely get the racecar and the wife's car in there, and that is usually only during winter.  Most of the time her car is parked outside too.

 

Sean

I was just busting you balls!  

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  • 6 months later...

I wanted to resurrect this thread because my opinion is a bit different.

 

First, why ever upgrade battery before alternator unless the battery was possibly defective? If you're playing your music with the car running (normal for a daily driver), all your amp's supply will come from the alternator. If the alternator can't supply enough current, then the battery will be dipped into and your voltage will sag. So it makes more sense to me to upgrade the first link in the chain, the alternator.

Also, he's running 1500ish watts. At a 75% amp efficiency, that's (1500/0.75)/14.3=140 amps. His stock alt is only 130 amps, so it makes sense to upgrade the alt in that case. Now yes, music is dynamic and won't draw the full power at all times, BUT don't you want the full power available for when the beat drops and don't want your voltage to sag also? Because voltage sag will also decrease power to the amp.

One last thing. About the idea of adding a second battery - Why would you want to do that unless planning to play with the engine off? It's a reserve tank yes, but only gets drawn from when the alternator gets tapped out if the car is running.

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Alternators are slow to respond to voltage changes though. Even with enough alternator amperage to meet your needs you would want some battery reserve. I still think starting with an extra battery (or just an upgraded one) is the right first step if you are unsure you need to upgrade both. 

 

F150:

Stock :(

 

2019 Harley Road Glide:

Amp: TM400Xad - 4 channel 400 watt

Processor: DSR1

Fairing (Front) 6.5s -MMats PA601cx

Lid (Rear) 6x9s -  TMS69

 

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