High Volt Alternator???

[MisterT]

Okay, I probably won't do this, but for those of you who don't know I have class a amps that cause headlights to dim. I have 4 gauge throughout including a groundkit, 1.5 farad stiffening cap (which I just learned does absolutely nothing) a deep cycle battery similar to Optima, and rewired wires from alternator to fuse box and fuse box to battery with 3 gauge wires. **** dims as bad as it did before all of this. I was told that it is do to the ECU and wire management of the headlights, so I am wondering if a high output alternator or having the stock one rewound for more amperage would fix things, or if the same problems that I am having would still occur.

What are your thoughts?

[walight01]

HO alternators makes a bolt on 180amp for our car www.h-o-alternators.net
model #13719-180

[MazdaRacer]

A capacitor only really helps for sound quality, not quantity. It feeds the amp extra power when the battery can't keep up.

You can have all the heavy duty cables and caps in the world, but if your amperage source is weak, the whole system is weak.

It's not just because you have Class A amps, Class D amps draw much more current, it's how hard those amps have to work (4ohm, 2ohm, 1ohm, 0.5ohm) For example, if your amp draws 30amps at a decent volume level....thats damn near half your alternators full output....the other audio components need power, the car needs power, the cars electronics need power....that 65amp alternator is looking mighty dinky now isn't it.

You can go either way, rewind your current, which will get you around 150amps or get a whole new one.

[walight01]

caps do nothing more than attempt to keep a constange voltage, but in reallity, they are for show and thats about it.

[MisterT]

Yeah, but the problem with HV alts is with the ECU. I see 1st MP3 is having a lot of problems with his AC Delco one, but it may be as simple as minor adjustments. It's like opening another can of worms if you opt for a high volt alt. I checked out that site you suggested walight, and they have some killer ****. Seeing Blue's box, makes me wish I had my fullsized GMC Jimmy. I could get two 12's in a 6th order box and have a ton of bass. The problem would be then, not enough highs to keep up with it!

[walight01]

1st mp3 alternator wasn't desgined for his car as where as there are desgined for our car.

[MisterT]

Originally posted by walight01
1st mp3 alternator wasn't desgined for his car as where as there are desgined for our car.

I know. AC Delco alt in a Mazda Pro. He says the belts are screeching. That must really suck! Hopefully something minor to adjust to keep it from screeching. I guess like Blue and 1st had to do, leave the plug from ECU unplugged and go with the battery light on while driving. Thing that sucks is if you have a bad alt made, then your car-less in a couple of days if it decides to conk out on you. Every one I know who is in to SPL had trucks or SUVs where upgrading the alt. didn't present the kind of issues Protege owners are encountering.

[blue LEDz]

1st mp3 said the battery light only comes on once i a while, when he's idling, and cranking the **** out of the system. a lot of HO alts don't put out much power at idle that's why my friend is going to put the right pully on it to get it to produce 160 amps at idle if you have a bad alt made, you've got your stock one to bolt on and keep going
i went to my friend's shop today, and he's got over $500 in parts for my alt, and none of the stators work once he gets one that works, he's shipping all the other ones back, thank god now he's trying to find a different supplier/manufacturer for the stator i need. oh well, i can wait longer, i guess

[MisterT]

I am hoping Rider's JBL amp will help significantly with the dimming problems. Last night, I had a date with a girl who lived about 30 minutes away. I was driving home around 12:30 am and you could see my lights clearly dimming to the bass all the way down I-26 That time of night, there were a lot of drunks on the road, most of which moved over perhaps thinking I was flashing my lights at them as I was coming down the highway. It is really that bad. Even at moderate volumes that passengers can tolerate, the **** dims. BTW, I don't have the 1.5 farad cap in the car any more. I figured if it doesn't work than it's just pulling more current from the battery. I wish I had a switch just to see if it helped with it on and then turn it off to see if there is any difference. When it was in, it still dimmed, but I don't know if it was just as bad. The real test would be to do it with meters and **** to get actual numbers. It's hard eyeballing it when you have cars around you and some roads are darker than others, etc. Too many factors come in to play.:p:

[irish]

Has anyone got a quote from the HO alt place. I want to know how much one will run.

[walight01]

Your Mazda currently has a 80 amp alternator. There are a couple options we can offer you. Our recommendations are based on the information you provided us, including the 2700 watts of amplifier power. With 2700 watts of power, your amplifiers are drawing about 180 amps max. Keep in mind that the vehicle manufacturer originally chose to install a 80 amp alternator to run the stock electronics. As your system stands now, you could be potentially drawing about 240 amps max.



We can replace your alternator with our 180 amp model #13719-180. Our alternator will directly replace the stock alternator, with no need for brackets or messing with the wire harness. The only change you will make is the output from the alternator to the battery. We recommend 4 gauge or larger.



We also have "add on" alternators. By adding an alternator, you would add 200 amps to the existing 80, bringing the total charging power to 280 amps. This option DOES require fabrication of a bracket and wiring.



We do not have a dealer near you. Since this is the case, we will temporarily offer you a discount. Please keep this offer to yourself, as it will expire as soon as our sales staff contacts dealers throughout Texas.



180 amp replacement alternator model #13719-180.

Suggested Retail: $700

Your Price:$510



Add on 200 amp alternator

Suggested Retail:$ 650

Your Price: $475



Price includes our 1 year hassle free warranty.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Jose Blanco

H.O. Alternators

[blue LEDz]

hmmmmmmm, i'm wondering if they know how the voltage regulator works in our cars just cause they have one with the same ears for mounting doesn't mean the harness will work. if they have, then great, but i don't recomend hooking one up, unless they cover the ECU, if it frys also, check around to see if other people use them on 3rd gen pros. based on the info i got, it's about a 50-50 shot that an adapter will work on our cars

[MisterT]

Good point Blue. As the moderator for the audio section, I say you buy one and hook it up and try it out for a year. If it fries the ECU then you can pass the news on to us!
I know the ECU is the biggest obstacle of high output alternators in a Protege.

[blue LEDz]

just to update everyone on my alternator, my friend gave up on getting a stator that works from the manufacturer, so he sent them all back, and he's having a company up here in SC custom wind a stator for my alternator *hopefully* it'll be done in a few weeks

[traitorhound]

i know this wont' solve all teh problems. . ..heh or might not even be a good idea. . .but the idea that 1st had back in the day with putting caps on the headlights if you really dont want them to dime. . ...hook the 1.5 bitch back up. ..it's an idea. .wont' stop your gauges from dimming. ... mine did that with the jensen amp i had. .. .eh.....new stuff coming soon