Making more electrical power...

    This isnt so much a "how to" as it is a "this is what i did" kinda thread.


    I have a new Optima red top battery and i have heavy gauge cable everywhere except from the alternator to the starter. The link that actually powers everything once the engine is running.


    I have 2200 watts (probably 1000 real watts at any given time) of stereo amplifiers. My problem is that when im idleing and the bass hits hard it will actually pull my idle down to 400rpm and causes it to shake and stumble for a second. If I leave it turned up it will race my engine up to compensate but if its rapid bass it will just shut down the amp due to not enough power. (And when it clicks back on after a few seconds it will blow you out of the seat and scare the sh!t out of you.:P.


    So my goal is to provide more power to the amps and keep this from happening... I purchased a 200amp high output alternator (The stock alternator is 120amp). And I am replacing the tiny wire between the alternator and the starter with a 6 gauge ToughFlex copper wire.


    NOW HERE THE PART EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ IF THEY DO THIS..........


    THE REASON ITS A TINY WIRE IS BECAUSE ITS A FUSABLE LINK WIRE. DO NOT PUT A CABLE BETWEEN THE ALTERNATOR AND STARTER WITHOUT PUTTING A INLINE FUSE IN BETWEEN THE TWO.


    I only stepped my fuse up to 60amp from the normal 40 that the wire provides. Im thinking that the bass should not give the 60amp ANL fuse time to heat up and blow. If it does ill step up to an 80amp...







    Caps work backward that what you think they would. They actually do help dimming of lights. However its because the cap wont let the lights loose power. Not the other way around... it will actually starve an amp and keep everything else perfect. Most of the time you cant hear the amps degrade ( especially not in a slingshot) but they do. You rarely find a stiffening cap in a car audio setup. What companies are doing now because people figured out that plain caps dont really help is create a Hybrid Cap. It is a set of fast drain fast charge caps rated at up to 50 Farhad....


    To my knowledge there is no easy way to make more amperage from a specific amount of amps.... We can make lots of high voltage though.... but that just tickles when we touch it. It is the amps that make it go boom.....


    But going back to adding Stiffening Caps..... here is an article everyone should read...... It helped me understand what they did and why they didnt do what i thought...


    Its an awesome article....


    https://axleaddict.com/cars/Ca…CITORS-Why-They-DONT-Work

    i can report that the new alternator and heavy wire has absolutely completely fixed my issue. It idles and shows 13.5 to 13.8 volt on my display and even with ear pounding bass the engine never changes rpm. It idles perfect with the stereo playing super loudly.


    Amazon had 1 more alternator showing a few mins ago.


    I've been into car audio since middle school, but this Slingshot throws me for a big loop.


    I have a few questions! Your thread is very helpful.


    So the thin wire coming from the alt isn't going to the battery, but to the starter? I was (today..) actually heading out to the garage to do a "Big Three" upgrade, and making a (fused) 4 AWG run from the Alt to the battery. Is that not necessary? Just alt to starter?


    Also - is there any way to boost the alternator output from 13.5/6 to the normal 14+ volts? That 1 volt can make a huge difference in efficiency of the amps. Right now, with headlights and the radiator fan on, it'll drop from 13.5 to 13.2/3 which is ridiculously low to me. Thats not even when i'm cranking the music. I have two 4 channel amps and a monoblock for a sub behind the seat. Probably 2800w RMS total, but never actually cranking it like that, i'd guess 1000-1500w more realistically while playing.



    *Edit:

    I was just out there buttoning my rear deck back on and popped the hood to check out that wire. Where the hell does it even go!? I can't find it after about 6" it disappears into a void of wires. Mines a 2019 if that makes a difference. Still can't get over how thin that wire is.

    Edited once, last by bdye ().