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Do I Need To Upgrade My Alternator???


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Just got all my stuff together to finally install my system and I was hoping to gather some opinions as to whether I need to go bigger on the alternator side. I will be running 2 AB XFL 10s @1 ohm powered by an Orion Xtr 2500d. I also have an old school crossfire 600 4 channel powering my mids. My car is an 08 Cobalt SS that has an 130 amp alt from the factory. I have already upgraded to 1/0 engine and battery grounds. My main battery which is in the trunk is an Optima Red top. I will be purchasing an XS power. for my second battery.My plan was to run 1/0 from alt to battery to complete the big 3 will I be ok with 1 run off the alt,or should I do 2 runs? My car isnt a comp vehicle ,just a daily driver summer car with what I hope will be a super loud,clean bass machine.Will my alternator keep up with what i have,or should i add a 3rd battery, finding a H.O Alt for my 2.0 wont be easy or cheap. Thanks for any insight. 

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Grab a quality DMM with a MIN/MAX scale.

Start your engine, allow it to reach operating temperature with the hood closed.

Open the hood after the vehicle has reached operating temperature and the fans have come on.

Set your DMM to measure DC Voltage.

Set the DMM on a nice flat surface away from moving parts.

Connect probes to the battery terminals.

Press the MIN/MAX button to begin recording voltage over time.

Get your ass in the driver's seat.

Without touching the gas, crank up your favorite bass heavy song.  Play it for at least ten seconds or until the neighbors threaten to call the cops.

Go back to your DMM and press the MIN/MAX button (do NOT hold it) to scroll through the MINimum, MAXimum, and AVG (average) voltages recorded during this event.

If the MINimum voltage recorded is less than 13.4 Volts DC, then you need a larger alternator.

Tony Candela - SMD Sales & Marketing
Email me at [email protected] to learn about becoming an SMD Partner!

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He's getting an extra battery though. That means the alt can be expected to be exhausted, at which point the extra battery reserve will get dipped into. In my opinion, keep the stock alt because it's pretty decent at 130A and just invest in battery power. I don't see the need for a HO alt in your situation. And with that said, can anyone please enlighten me why we're doing big-3's on stock alts? I keep seeing it all over.

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4 hours ago, k58.cross said:

He's getting an extra battery though. That means the alt can be expected to be exhausted, at which point the extra battery reserve will get dipped into. In my opinion, keep the stock alt because it's pretty decent at 130A and just invest in battery power. I don't see the need for a HO alt in your situation. And with that said, can anyone please enlighten me why we're doing big-3's on stock alts? I keep seeing it all over.

Is there a standard wire size for stock alternator?  In my eyes it cant hurt but like ur saying, in most cases it wont do anything and you could have spend that money on something else.   

And for it having a stock 130A im guessing it has alot of things installed that use power, guessing all sorts of heated seats, power seats, moon roof, fog lights etc etc etc.  

If i was OP id do what others said and check voltage drop.  Id also go ahead and check how many amps the car is pulling by it self with things on like head lights rad fans and maybe heater or AC going full blast with a few other things just to check.  He might be pulling 100+ amps with out even having the stereo on at which point im gonna say a HO is a must. 

Sundown NSV4 18"  +  Sundown SALT-4 Baby

MechMan Elite 370a  +  XS3100 - XP3000

SHCA 1/0 OFC(blue+  SMD Fuse Holders(blue)

Pioneer AVH-2440NEX  SHCA Pro RCA 

 

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Thanks for the opinions, I have everything in and hooked up,my voltage holds 13.5 -13.6 with 2 batteries.I still have to fine tune my gains but all in all I think I'm fine.. In my case I did the big 3 because I had the cables,and why not,it cant hurt...In my case with the battery located in the trunk from the factory,the power cables were 10 gauge at best,I now have a fused 1/0 cable directly from the alt to the battery which will ease the mind of pulling 200ish amps through a 10-12 gauge wire and burning the car down 

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1 minute ago, WilliG said:

Thanks for the opinions, I have everything in and hooked up,my voltage holds 13.5 -13.6 with 2 batteries.I still have to fine tune my gains but all in all I think I'm fine.. In my case I did the big 3 because I had the cables,and why not,it cant hurt...In my case with the battery located in the trunk from the factory,the power cables were 10 gauge at best,I now have a fused 1/0 cable directly from the alt to the battery which will ease the mind of pulling 200ish amps through a 10-12 gauge wire and burning the car down 

Nice mate, ya i always say the big 3 cant hurt.  Iv seen some stock wire the size of dental floss.  Better safe then sorry i always say.

Sundown NSV4 18"  +  Sundown SALT-4 Baby

MechMan Elite 370a  +  XS3100 - XP3000

SHCA 1/0 OFC(blue+  SMD Fuse Holders(blue)

Pioneer AVH-2440NEX  SHCA Pro RCA 

 

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I ran that amplifier for a while. It's power hungry. True 2.8k+ amp. It'll run hot AF without at least a 200+ amp alt and 2 group 31 batteries. Takes power to make power. With a Mechman 270 in my Maxima with front AGM and rear xs power xp3000 I'd dip down to 12v flat. 

you're not going to have success with that amplifier and keep it out of thermal protection with anything less than an alternator, big 3 with quality 0 gauge ofc, and at least a front battery AGM and rear large AGM. 

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Just an update in case anybody cares,i just 100% finished my install,had a friend properly tune everything up,set all my gains perfect and I had to change a few things around. I went to the local ap store and bought the largest agm battery I could fit as my main battery,I now have 2 Optima red tops as my reserves.Nothing else on besides my system,at 75% volume ,my voltage never went below 13.3,that was sitting in my driveway,car running for roughly 5 mins. I think I will have problems if I run my headlights and or a/c with system going. I ordered a Smd voltage gauge,and I plan on replacing those 2 optimas with XS power or something similar in the future,could I use a bigger alt,sure but this isnt a comp vehicle,just my summer car with a surprisingly clean,loud system,I think I will be ok and wont burn anything down

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12 minutes ago, WilliG said:

Just an update in case anybody cares,i just 100% finished my install,had a friend properly tune everything up,set all my gains perfect and I had to change a few things around. I went to the local ap store and bought the largest agm battery I could fit as my main battery,I now have 2 Optima red tops as my reserves.Nothing else on besides my system,at 75% volume ,my voltage never went below 13.3,that was sitting in my driveway,car running for roughly 5 mins. I think I will have problems if I run my headlights and or a/c with system going. I ordered a Smd voltage gauge,and I plan on replacing those 2 optimas with XS power or something similar in the future,could I use a bigger alt,sure but this isnt a comp vehicle,just my summer car with a surprisingly clean,loud system,I think I will be ok and wont burn anything down

Nice bro, glade it all worked out.

Sundown NSV4 18"  +  Sundown SALT-4 Baby

MechMan Elite 370a  +  XS3100 - XP3000

SHCA 1/0 OFC(blue+  SMD Fuse Holders(blue)

Pioneer AVH-2440NEX  SHCA Pro RCA 

 

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