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Message |
    
Cowboy_bob
New member
Username: Cowboy_bob
Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 5:33 am: | 
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Does anyone know Where can buy a 130 to 150 amp alternaton for my 2003 Pontiac? The stock 105 amps isn't doing the job to run my Fat Boy 5 Pill Comp Linear |
Tech808
Moderator
Username: Tech808
Post Number: 4206
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 8:01 am: |
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Cowboy_bob,
WELCOME TO THE COPPER FORUM!
Try the links below:
http://www.jegs.com/
http://www.summitracing.com/
Hope this helps,
Lon
Tech808
CEF808
N9OSN |
Johnhenre
Member
Username: Johnhenre
Post Number: 57
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 9:42 am: |
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HAVE YOU TRYED TO USE BIG CAP'S? INSTEAD OF A BIGGER ALT.OR BATTERIES |
Cowboy_bob
New member
Username: Cowboy_bob
Post Number: 3
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 11:50 am: |
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I'm already using a farad 24v 1000 watt CAP. My linear still bogs down my car motor, dims lights, etc. Linear is about an 80 amp draw and doing 1K |
Chad
Junior Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 33
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 12:03 pm: |
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Big caps _barely_ work for transients like kick drums and bass slaps that only last a few milliseconds, a keydown will sag them pretty quick. I've never been a believer in big caps, sometime they can do more harm than good. They supply quick power but they MUST be replenished and they want it now. Your headlights will still dim, they will just dim slower as to not look like a blink. Dual batteries without a solid state isolator (who wants a .7V drop) or a mondo alternator with a single optima yellow top works for most practical purposes.
Chad |
Leonard
Member
Username: Leonard
Post Number: 89
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 2:14 pm: |
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johnhenre I have the same question as well?
Does anyone know can you get by with a large CAP instead of a bigger out put ALT?
And how do you come up with the size of CAP by how much you you power you pull from it?
I have allways have received good info here.
Thank you Len CEF# 189 Len |
Johnhenre
Member
Username: Johnhenre
Post Number: 58
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 3:40 pm: |
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COWBOY: WHAT HAVE YOU GOT UNDER THE COVER IF THAT LITTLE 5 PILL THAT DRAWS 80 AMPS? |
Chad
Junior Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 34
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 3:52 pm: |
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I sheepishly admit that I have been, at one point, WAYYYY too involved in car audio. I have found caps to be no good at sine wave or pink noise testing at high power. Heck with the way today's music is mastered with no dynamics it's a wonder they work at all. They will only help on transients IF your power cable is undersized. A cap may help with sideband work but with AM you have a carrier and you will be lucky to get the benefit of having the power to talk after keying at mega power. With a CB signal that is saturated to the hilt it will quickly resemble the equivalent to sine wave or pink noise in the neighbor kid's big-pipe-Honda. Seems lately the trends in car audio have been going away from caps.
Some will go with a deep cycle battery that is solenoid isolated from the main system when the engine is off. With most systems I have found a great battery and an appropriate alternator will get it done. Notice that you don't see many caps in the big key-down-mobiles?
You are not pulling power from the cap you are pulling it from the electrical system as a whole, the cap is merely in parallel and is used to stiffen the electrical system during transient draws, Be it audio, RF, an AC compressor clutch, high beam surge, etc. Some may argue that a cap is "faster" than a battery and this is why it will allow for more transient power, I have yet to have this proven to me. Electrons move pretty darn quick down big wire at DC 
Some of the most respected names in automotive electronics scoff at big caps. I tend to agree. There is simply no substitute for proper sized wiring and a good generation system. I see a cap as a band-aid that costs way too much money.
Get on down to the welding shop, buy some good cable, get a good battery to start. With the same money you spend on a couple caps you have just upgraded your electrical system to handle the load. Go ahead and replace the wire out of your alternator, it (alternator) may be 100 or so amps but have you spied the puny wire that comes out of most? I have seen these run warm to hot on stock electrical systems, that heat is causing a voltage drop, gay-ron-teed. THEN if you are still having problems it's time to update alternators, visit a rewind shop if you don't need flash and bling. I used an old school bus alternator in one car, 25 bucks, junkyard special. Deisel engine vehicles also have larger alternators usually, do a junkyard search for a late model total. Go in steps and you will have a great system that can be upgraded. buy a cap and you are still gonig to have to upgrade.
Best of luck!!!
Chad |
Leonard
Member
Username: Leonard
Post Number: 90
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 4:05 pm: |
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Thank you Chad and cowboy bob, my post came in after you gave an answer.
But I thought about the CAP's but did not feel to confident with them.
I have a KL 400 works great with the power supply for my base, but would like to use in my car as well as base.
I am going to do more research on this besides my 2950 DX works fine with or with out an amp in the car.
Again Thank you for the information.
Len CEF #189
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Racer X (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Friday, December 03, 2004 - 7:22 pm: |
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Capacitors can help, but only within their functional parameters. The point of using a cap is to keep the voltage stable - not to provide surges of current. In the end the alternator is what provides the current, the battery evens out the load for the alternator by providing current surges, and the cap keeps the voltage up. You really can't run a huge amp just by adding a big cap to the system.
I like and use caps myself to stabilize voltage. I even use a cap about the size of a 16 oz. beer can with a stock SSB radio on a 10 amp power supply so the voltage is rock solid and my voice peaks are clean.
I'd suggest that before you try a cap in your car you should have the thickest power cables and the highest capacity battery that fits. Maybe even add a second battery if that's an option.
I would use the general rule of thumb that is used in car stereos for choosing a capacitor which is a farad per thousand watts. Of course more won't hurt, and if you want to go nuts and buy a 50 farad capacitor, then more power to you! |
Chad
Junior Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 35
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 1:13 am: |
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Racer X,
Caps filter out "surges" That's why they are used for filtering. Caps simply cannot keep the voltage "up", think of them as a very wimpy battery right next to where you need it. They can supply massive current in an instant, but, their average voltage (talking seconds or less) is that of the vehicle system. The biggest cap is under the hood with a thick wire going to the starter
Chad |
Johnhenre
Member
Username: Johnhenre
Post Number: 59
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 6:35 am: |
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HELLO COWBoY I MUST MOVE ON BUT BEFORE I DO LET ME SAY THIS:: I RUN TWO (300) AMP LEECE NEVILLE ALT. AND (10) 6 VOLT GOLF CART BATTERY'S IN MY PICK UP WHICH IS A HUCK OF MONEY,BUT IN MY 2003 CHEY I NEVER HAD ROOM OR COULD NOT COME UP WITH A BIG ENOUGH ALT. AND WHEN I DID IT COULD NOT BE INSTALLED BECAUSE OF CHEY'S PULLEY'S DESIGN EVEN THAN AS A PERSON AS (I) 30yrs. WELDER,FABACATOR, SO I DECIDE IT WAS BATTERY'S (BAD MISTAKE)WHICH WAS GOOD AT THAT TIME, TILL YOU FIND OUT YOU TRUNK HAS A BIG HOLE IN IT'S BOTTOM! TRY EXPLAINING IT TO YOUR WIFE??? IF YOU HAVE ONE,SO ALL IS SAID:NOW I GO BACK TO MY FIRST POST I SAID(BIG CAP'S)ALSO I SHOULD HAVE SAID AT LEAST A 12 PACK. USING A (BIG) DIODE GATE INSTALLED BETWEEN TO BATTERY AND THE (BIG) CAP'S WHICH WILL ONLY FIT IN YOU TRUNCK IN A NEAT LITTLE PLASTIC BOX.THIS IS A POOR MAN'S (OUT) TAKE NOTE IF YOUR ARE A MOTOR MOUTH ON THE KEY GET BIGGER BATTERY'S AND A BIG ALTERNATOR. BOB |
Azstorm
Junior Member
Username: Azstorm
Post Number: 12
Registered: 10-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 10:23 am: |
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I just installed a 200 amp alternator from Mechman.It came with all the cables and brackets and the cable ends were even labled making it a idiot proof install.
Heres his sight.
http://www.mechman.com/MECHMAN/home.html |
Cowboy_bob
New member
Username: Cowboy_bob
Post Number: 5
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 6:03 pm: |
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This is to let you know that the POWER ACOUSTIK CAP (24V/1000 watt)I bought is doing the trick...It increased my DK from 415 to 475 watts and increased the swing from 900 to over 1000 watts.. I only have a 1000 watt Dosey meter, so I dont know how much I actually swing over 1000. I know my meter is accurate because I had it calibrated to match a Bird meter( not sure of the proper spelling lol)...Ive been in touch with East Coast Automotive in PA. They have a nice 180 amp alternator with my name on it |
Racer X (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 6:18 pm: |
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Chad - The capacitor supplies electrons when the voltage drops below the the capacitor's charged voltage. It therefore acts to keep the voltage up.
Capacitors are used for filtering because they have the ability to charge and discharge like very small and fast batteries. They're used to resist voltage changes in some fashion - it has nothing to do with surges of current. The size, type, and how it's used dictate what action the capacitor has in a circuit.
Batteries have far too high an internal resistance to act as fast as a capacitor does - even a battery made to produce high surge currents like a car battery. That's why they're used in car stereo applications where the sound changes at a very rapid rate.
Capacitors aren't a replacement for a battery by any means, but they do perform a function that batteries cannot. |
Chad
Junior Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 38
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, December 04, 2004 - 9:06 pm: |
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Johnhenre, you are losing about .7V across that diode are you OK with that? How are you dealing with the junction loss? I've always wanted to isolate caps but never could afford the voltage loss. Thats the only way I can see them working properly, If the rest of tha car cannot pull from them!
Chad
Chad
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Johnhenre
Member
Username: Johnhenre
Post Number: 61
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, December 05, 2004 - 7:25 am: |
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CHAD THERE IS'NT ANY VOLTAGE LOSS THAT I CAN SEE USEING A GATE DIODE,IT'S PERPOSE IS TO KEEP THE CAPS VOLTAGE FROM BEING DRAWED BACK INTO THE VEHICLES ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AND TO HELP SOMEONE FROM GETTING (NIPPED)IF YOU ARE FOOLING AROUND THE BATTERY,BESIDES AN ADVERAGE ALTERNATER WILL PRODUCE 15.5 VOLTS AND TAPPER DOWN TO 12.5 VOLTS WHEN A BATTERY IS FULLY CHARGED,::::JUST TRYING TO HELP THESE GUYS TRY TO SAVE A LITTLE )BUCKS) BUT IF THEY WHAT TO BE ONE OF THE BIG DOGS YOU HAVE TO PAY TO PLAY, AS I HAVE. AND STILL LOSE PILLS REGULUAR,NOT TO MENTION THE 300 AMP ALT. THAT HAVE BEEN REPLACED. (201 NC.)JOHN |
Chad
Junior Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 40
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Monday, December 06, 2004 - 9:18 am: |
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Johnhenre,
I guess with a 12 pack and a doide they will hold "up" for a while
Speaking of getting nipped... Diode won't help this but I learned!
Some lady's son had just gone to college and she was driving his car. She had left the lights on and the battery was stone cold dead in the mall parking lot. I offered her a jump.
This kid had a bunch of caps in the trunk, guess what happened when I made that last jumper cable connection..... I still can see the blue spot when I close my eyes It welded the bolt to the mount to the jumper cable, yee-haw!
I like the diode idea, I also like the idea of running a higher voltage, they make 16V batteries, they make batteries that are 12/16V with three posts for racers that want a hotter ignition, Now if the amps could handle the voltage!
I think we are on the same page, in one of my original posts I mentioned get the wiring up to the task very first thing, Then see where you stand. I'll bet a case of your favorite beer that you did that first, eh?
Best,
Chad |
Johnhenre
Member
Username: Johnhenre
Post Number: 63
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Monday, December 06, 2004 - 2:36 pm: |
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SOME TIMES I WISH I COULD, BUT OLD DOC MADE ME QUIT |
