High output alternators.

[Hemet8]

I have the '95 GA SE. I think it has the CS 130(?) alternator, rated at 105 amps. The only high output replacements i can find for this are custum units by powermaster and mean green, both of which are huge 200 amp units. Thats great, but they are in excess of 380.00 plus shipping. Did GM offer a 140-150 amp alternator on another car that i can put on here? Napa has a nice powdercoated unit thats 140amps, but it only fits the sunfire (2.2l i think) , and only goes for 220. Will that one work? It looks the same to me, But i dunno. Thanks for the help.

[FastGT31]

RE: High output alternators.

you can check out this site, i have one of their 140 amp units and it works perfectly.

http://www.alternatorparts.com/cs130_&_cs130d_alt.htm

[geoffinbc]

Question. Why are you wanting a high amp alternator?

High amp alternators are usually just over rated run of the mill units. Just so you know there is no way in hell any alternator will put out even 100A constantly. So if you are buying a unit remember that its nominal output may not be any greater than a stocker. Agreed some quality ones are wound with more coils and will put out more power. But buyer beware.

On the stock charge wire you can pass about 40 to 50 A and thats the MAX. Any more current and you will require a larger wire. To pass 180A (which an alternator will only do for a few seconds) you would need 2guage

[Hemet8]

well the whole question stems from me addind another amp to my system. I have a 640 watt amp and a dedicated 400 watt ampfo for the sub. Using ohms law i have at max draw 71 amps, for both. I am running 4 gauge wire for the primary, split off at the distrition block in the trunk, to both amps. I also got a 1 fard cap, says its good to 1000 watts, but i'm going to find out if that is peak or rms. Any way, seeing as how the car can only carry 50 amps contiuness to the battery, then sounds like i should just get a good battery, and maybe another cap, then call it a day, because both if those i can get cheaper than a huge "power a small village" alternator. That web site for the alternators has the best prices i ave seen though. I appecite the help, let me know if this sounds ok, or no. Thanks!

[geoffinbc]

Run a 4 guage wire from the alt to the battery and from the battery direct to the frame or main grounding point on the unibody and then another large ground from the block to the same point on the chassis.

A cap will help every time the bass hits hard but a good strong battery is better. Maybe even 2 (but I dont think your system requires that) The battery will supply the needed current to the amps. The alternators job is just to keep the batter at full charge. It will easily be able to do this with your system. Another help would be to overdrive the alt some more. Then it will be working at a higher RPM when at idle and will be able to supply more charging current at idle.

[EspanolaGuitarista]

True. Use a capacitor first to take care of the peaks. That is peak wattage not RMS. RMS is actaully about a 25% of peak. So you are running 200 watts. 12v * 50A = 600 watts. So, there shouldn't be a need for a higher amperage alternator. I was thinking about running a capacitor after my alternator to keep the spikes level from the power windows and such.

[Hemet8]

Roger that! Thanks for all the help, the wiring will commence this month.

[bszopi]

RMS is ~25%?!? Hmm, last I checked, RMS was 0.707, or ~71% of peak.

[Guest]

RMS is ~25%?!? Hmm, last I checked, RMS was 0.707, or ~71% of peak.

QFT!

Also if you want to calculate overall power consumtion, then assume the amplifier (or just about any electronic component) is 50% efficiant. So that 200W amp will generally draw 400W or somewhere around 31 Amps

[geoffinbc]

Rrrrrright. Well guys with the amps on the market I would toss all your theories out the friggin window...

I mean you can buy a 1000W Pyramid and maybe get 200W out of it with amazingly poor quality and THD.

Or you could buy a 300W JBL that puts out 338 RMS like mine

So yea there is major fluctuations on the market people.

[WhiteRaider]

If you want a high output alternator, just find an alternator/starter rebuilder in your area and have him upgrade yours. You'll probably get a better quality alternator that way than by buying one of the assembly line rebuilds from the discount auto parts stores.

[Guest]

Rrrrrright. Well guys with the amps on the market I would toss all your theories out the friggin window...

I mean you can buy a 1000W Pyramid and maybe get 200W out of it with amazingly poor quality and THD.

Or you could buy a 300W JBL that puts out 338 RMS like mine

So yea there is major fluctuations on the market people.

Are you telling me that you believe that Pyramid amp really puts out 1000W?

[bszopi]

I have a 25x2 that'll do 800x1... But that's kind of off-topic.

[Hemet8]

I actually do work for Harman/Becker AutoMotive. So I get nothing but JBL/Infinity amps and speakers etc, etc, etc/. I just started there back in April, and I have the cs series 60x4 rms 4ohm, 80x4 rms 2ohm, and a mono block cs sub amp at 200 rmsx1 at 4ohms. I am calling the alternator place tommoorw to see about an upgraded 170 amp unit that will put out 125 at idle, and (thanks to the tip here) i am upgradeing that wire that feeds the battery. Thanks again for all your help.

[pwmin]

http://www.mralternator.com

that is where i got my ho alt from. fixed my headlight dimming problem that a yellow top and appropriate cap and "big 3" would not address