Power-master alternaters????

[mustangman70]

I am positive that my system is eating up my alternater, now evan with the car at idle (with the subs 0ff) the car struggles to keep the lights lit, i have heard quite a bit about the POWERMASTER one-wire alternater, how big of an alternater should i get? and how hard is it to install? what wires are lost with this? if it helps i have 2 sony xplod 12's, with an 800 watt amp.... and i dont want to hear that its overkill

:flame suit on:

 

[mustangdave]

The only wire you run is from the alternator to the pos. side of batterry. It has an internal voltage regulator so you unplug the short harness from the old alternator to the solenoid. I'd say you want at least a 100 amp.

 

[eats305sstock]

I just installed a Powermaster 100 amp that I bought from summit for 140 shipped (Got the black finish). My stereo is running around 1000 watts RMS, and I have my power wire fused to 50 amps, it has yet to pop so in real world conditions I doubt that your 800 watt stereo will pull more than 40. Either way the stock alternators suck plain and simple and I would highly recommend swapping to a powermaster.

 

[GaPonyFarm]

The 100 amp will be perfect for you. I also recommend you consider a capacitor to take the initial load off the alternator and let the cap do the heavy lifting, for powering up the amp.

 

[Route666]

I am positive that my system is eating up my alternater, now evan with the car at idle (with the subs 0ff) the car struggles to keep the lights lit, i have heard quite a bit about the POWERMASTER one-wire alternater, how big of an alternater should i get? and how hard is it to install? what wires are lost with this? if it helps i have 2 sony xplod 12's, with an 800 watt amp.... and i dont want to hear that its overkill

:flame suit on:

Man two 12s with an 800w amp. I've got an 8-inch kicker running off of a 500w amp, and it needs more amp. I'd suggest two 1000w amps for you, plus one for your midranges, and the biggest darned altenator you can find.

 

[eats305sstock]

Man two 12s with an 800w amp. I've got an 8-inch kicker running off of a 500w amp, and it needs more amp. I'd suggest two 1000w amps for you, plus one for your midranges, and the biggest darned altenator you can find.

Not all 12's are created equal, I would not want to see Sony's after being subjected to 1000 true rms watts, lol smokeshow.

 

[Route666]

Well, I like to keep amps running below their minimum, so the signal isn't distorted. I was perhaps being a little over-zealous with the amount of amp, but hey is some is good, more is better right?

 

[mustangman70]

140?!?!?! well i see some wies from the back of the alternater head somewhere else also...... do i just yank them out????

 

[mustangman70]

I think you need more sub lol, lets say 2 12 JL w3's and that 500 watt amp will power those plenty.

Ok now im confused, are you saying i should only run a 50 amp fuse on the main power wire from the amp to the battery? because i run a 100 amp now???

I believe the powermaster website said the alternater produces 80 amps at idle, for mainly stopping at lights, and the ocasional stop to say hey to a friend with the car idling would it be allright? ALSO all those wires from the old regulater, i can just follow them and pull them out?

 

[Route666]

The fuse is just to make sure that if your stereo goes down due to a short or something it doesn't take the rest of the car with it in the ensuing short-circuit.

The smaller one will blow if you over-power it, obviously, so you should make it match your stereo's power consumption, so if it drags too much current because of a short, it won't blow the amps, just the fuse.

P=IV, so for a 12V, 500W amp, you should put a (I = P/V) 40A fuse on it if you don't run the amp full, 45A to get max power out of it, and aren't too worried with the small over-power necessary to blow the fuse.

Note: This is for the 500W amp only, if you have more amps, factor them in, and the head unit if running off the same power.

 

[mustangman70]

I will be getting my POWERMASTER within a couple of weeks WITH another battery just for the system, can i run another wire from the positive of the front battery to the back battery to keep the stereo battery charged?

 

[Route666]

Yes, the two will be connected, and used by everything, one won't be dedicated to the stereo. In effect you will have created a battery with twice as much storage as a single battery. A battery is just that, a "battery" of cells. (lots of cells all put together). Putting another battery in just gives twice as many cells, which are storage elements.

 

[mustangman70]

sweet, soon i will be happy again haha

 

[Edbert]

I just put a 140a PowerMaster in mine. Only problem is I cannot get the pulley off, even with an air powered impact wrench. That nut is TORQUED on there like crazy! So for now I'm going to have to live with the fugly gold colored pulley.

 

[GT2K]

One other tip, if you are going with a 1 wire unit then get the GM model since it is quite a bit smaller. You can use it with the really nice Roush Brackets too.

 

[mustangdave]

As far as the stock voltage reg., just unhook it and unbolt it, throw it aside. Don't cut the wires as they are part of the headlight wiring harness. The short harness coming off of the stock alternator can also be discarded. The only problem I haven't figured out is how to get the stock gauge to read.