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Added a second alternator

Calicak89

SM 2018
SM 2017
PM 2016
Full Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
981
Location
State College, PA
Added a Nations 250A alongside my upgraded Delco 200A.
Tested output at 131A at idle and 207A peak
Doing a massive system upgrade. Taking out my kicker 12s, moving my Kicker 5 1/4" to the rear doors and adding 2 JL13W7s, kicker single cone 6x9 midbass under the seats, kicker CS 6.5 componets in the front door and A pillar and Polk DB6501 6.5 components in the kick panels.  
Using 2 Kicker KX1600s to push the subs, Rockford R600-4D for the 6x9s and Polk components and a Kicker ZX 460 for the kicker CS 5 1/4" and the Kicker CS 6.5 components with a 4 farad cap to stiffen one 1600 and the R600, and one 4 farad cap to stiffen the other 1600 and the 460
Going to be requesting about 3840 watts RMS, 5860 max.
Hoping that 200A feeding one battery and 250A feeding the other won't leave my amps power starved once it's all in and set up.

Before someone needs to tell me that that puny 4GA + cable in the photo cable won't deliver the amperage I need, It's all getting upgraded to OFC 1/0 cable like the grounds, I just hooked it up with the 4GA I had in there to test it out and run until I get time to continue working on it.
 

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Had a member PM me asking for a bit more detail.
The install was pretty straight forward outside of drilling out one hole in the existing alt. mounting bracket.
In the photo in my first post, it is the center bolt, the obviously new one that still passes through the factory bracket and lower right of the stock alt. This bolt is longer and holds the rear support for the second alt. I had to drill out the threads of the stock casting. in the event of removal, the factory bolt will have to be replaced with a longer one that will accept a washer and nut on the rear to secure the alt in the factory location as the threads in the original casting no longer exist.
The relay is a Beuler BU-5088, mounted and grounded to the grounding bolt on the firewall to the upper left of the brake booster. In case you were looking for it, my hood ground strap no longer exists as my hood is not metal.
I utilized a fuse tap on fuse 45 (Rear HVAC) for the relay, the stock 10A is from the HVAC, and the 5A for the relay.
The blue wire on the new alt harness simply gets connected to the output post. everything else is connected as you would connect any alt.
 

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i wanna get that alt bracket but $300 just for a bracket is... wow. not sure why they cost so damn much. but nice job on that part.
4 different kinds of speakers for mids and highs? thats alot of different sounds there. those 6x9's are gonna be drown out by the subs. and those are ment for large spaces such as rear decks. so putting them into those small boxes kills their sound.
also, caps are junk. if you research how they work youll understand. no good system runs them. your ave joe may run them alot cause they dont know. theyre told they work great and you need em. but thats the whole point of them is to make money. but its your bud do whatchu want. im just sayin do some research on em. should be pretty loud when its done tho. get to work so we can see some finnished pics !
 
Thanks for posting that. I like your ground strap setup also, where did you but that?

I have to agree the caps are a band-aid for an improperly designed system. Done right, shouldn't need em.
 
xoutofmyheadx said:
i wanna get that alt bracket but $300 just for a bracket is... wow. not sure why they cost so damn much. but nice job on that part.
4 different kinds of speakers for mids and highs? thats alot of different sounds there. those 6x9's are gonna be drown out by the subs. and those are ment for large spaces such as rear decks. so putting them into those small boxes kills their sound.
also, caps are junk. if you research how they work youll understand. no good system runs them. your ave joe may run them alot cause they dont know. theyre told they work great and you need em. but thats the whole point of them is to make money. but its your bud do whatchu want. im just sayin do some research on em. should be pretty loud when its done tho. get to work so we can see some finnished pics !
Agreed, $300 is a bit steep, I didn't know they retail for that high.  Luckily I know a few guys in the customization world and was able to get the bracket and Alternator for $450. I'm guessing about a 30-40% discount
This system is mostly a utilization of items I already own. Outside of the new Alt, and the Polk components, I already have everything else, such is the main reasoning behind the variety of mid-high combos. Optimally I would go with Hertz components, but I don't have $1400 to throw down on a front stage
I know that the tweets of the Polk components can be a bit harsh, and I really like the performance of the Kickers I have now, but the kicker mid leaves a bit to be desired. I have heard the Polk 6501 and was really impressed with it. My plan is to use the two component sets to compliment one another, as I think that simply pairing the the better 6.5 with the better tweet will not be enough front staging to keep up with the W7s. That's why both pairs are going in.
As for the 6x9s, I have had them in two different applications prior to them going into the Av, one in the B pillar of a Camaro, and the second in the baby boxes and yes, they certainly perform better in the freeair application. I won't be pushing the full 150RMS that they can accept into them and my plan is to cut out the majority of the rear of the baby boxes to create a freeair type application for them. They will be crossed accordingly and I only want to use them as fill to round out the frequency spectrum. I just need them to perform in the frequency gap that exists from the top end of what the W7s can produce effectively and the bottom of where the 6.5 components frequency response starts. Optimally I would use a pair of 8" for this but then I am spending more $$ when I have something in my loft that should do the job.
As for the caps, I have been up in the air about actually installing them.  I don't intend for their usage to be an added source of amperage as most jabronies think they are. If the system is saturated (the system and the rest of the electrical in the vehicle are requesting more than the alternators are producing), certainly they are a bad idea, as they will be continuously drained and they will request and consume current prior to it being supplied to the amps, I'm hoping that this will not be the case. I have also considered only adding one to the supply coming from the battery/alt combo that services the electrical system of the rest of the AV to serve as a buffer between the amp on that half of the generation system and the rest of the AV's electronics. I know that this may slightly hinder the performance of my passenger side sub, but I'd rather create a situation where the operating system of the vehicle is serviced before the amp of that sub, again, I'm hoping I have enough amperage generated that this is a moot point. Once everything is in I'll break out the DMM, run some tests, see what my clamped values are and what kind of voltage drop there is and make an educated decision on installing them or not.
 
Z66Modder said:
Thanks for posting that. I like your ground strap setup also, where did you but that?

It's from a 1978 Scottsdale pickup that we parted out and scrapped after running it in tough truck comp at the 4wheel and Offroad Jamboree a few years back. My friends and I have boxes of random items we stripped from it before sending it to the shredder
 
450 we have to talk this weekend. (y)
 
yeah that bracket is $289 anywhere that ive looked. ill look again when i got money to buy it. you should have em make some up and sell em lol. $450 is pretty cheap for both. hell id buy a bracket if they can make more. i dont want that alt tho i want a DC alt myself. and yeah buying 2 sets of nice comps is not cheap. altho you can find hertz for like 300-400 each. i got 2 sets of focal 1 i bought off a guy for 300 new in box. but yeah still a pretty penny to get em both at once so yeah work with whatcha got for sure. (y)
 
xoutofmyheadx have you ever thought about making your own bracket, it's not rocket science.
 
just did a quick search, found one on ebay for $220 or make offer, $235 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Alternator-Bracket-Chevy-GM-/291210654311?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43cd81f267&vxp=mtr
 
Calicak89 said:
just did a quick search, found one on ebay for $220 or make offer, $235 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Alternator-Bracket-Chevy-GM-/291210654311?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43cd81f267&vxp=mtr
And it's made in Chian.  I'm not sure where that is but that's what's stamped on the pulley.  :laugh:
 
So is the belt just an extra long main belt or is a 2nd belt incorporated?
 
I used a longer belt when I put in an oversized alternator, just used a 2004 instead of a 2002 belt. So what size is that one ? has to be huge.
 
MS03 2500 said:
xoutofmyheadx have you ever thought about making your own bracket, it's not rocket science.

no i never thought about it actually. guess i could figure out how to cut the shape. with what tools i donno. is it just flat stock with a pully on it? my buddys dad still works in cnc if i drew up what i needed he could make it at work. i dont have anything to cut 1/4in thick steel plate.
 
xoutofmyheadx said:
. guess i could figure out how to cut the shape. with what tools i donno. is it just flat stock with a pully on it? i dont have anything to cut 1/4in thick steel plate.
It's 3/8" plate and the rear support is 1/2".
If you are going to attempt it, let me know, I can try to take some dimensions for you, pending the temp. is high enough not to freeze my fingers to it.
 
i have a Miller Spectrum 875 plasma cutter, so I would be interested in the specs. Thanks in advance.
 
Hey Calicak89 I know you are busy with Conner, but I could use your help you with some serious upgrades to the electrical system..
 
thought I had your e-mail, but I don't. Send me a PM and what you're working on and I'll see if I can help at all.
 
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