axcessive power draw. help!!

[tarsh]

So I'm takeing my blaze to the mounds on Sunday and have been preparing for it. Iv noticed lately that my lights flicker on there own. Even when I roll my windows up and down. Just installed an electric fan( fairly large one) and I can her when my off road lights are on it slows down. What I want to know is.. is there a "beefier" alternator I can get to run all the shit iv put on my blaze? Or has anybody run a dual battery set up? If so, how?

[v7guy]

thedimmenlight issue is e commun complane on our platformand supposadley it cures it when u ran a 2 batt on the blaze and there r a few memners that done it Jamesdowning has a setup and so dus dirtyanton it should be in their build threds if I remeberright

[jonbo2002]

thedimmenlight issue is e commun complane on our platformand supposadley it cures it when u ran a 2 batt on the blaze and there r a few memners that done it Jamesdowning has a setup and so dus dirtyanton it should be in their build threds if I remeberright

Jason, was it the middle of the night when you wrote this or were you on your phone lol

[dgirardi]

i've got an excessive amperage HO alternator on mine and dont seem to have any issues.

[dvanbramer88]

thedimmenlight issue is e commun complane on our platformand supposadley it cures it when u ran a 2 batt on the blaze and there r a few memners that done it Jamesdowning has a setup and so dus dirtyanton it should be in their build threds if I remeberright

Jason, was it the middle of the night when you wrote this or were you on your phone lol

I believe he was trying to type at the same grammar level as the OP.

[tarsh]

Thanks guys

[TBYODA]

i've got an excessive amperage HO alternator on mine and dont seem to have any issues.

What brand and part number is it and post a pic ? For my future needs

[tarsh]

Yes. I would like to know as well. I'm getting fed up with the disco lights on this thing

[v7guy]

Even JonA mentioned that he got dimming lights with the fan start up in his fan thread, the higher amp alternator just kept the lights from being dim overall.
The vehicle needs more battery. It would seem a second battery has eliminated the dimming headlights, interior lights, slow moving windows etc. Some improvement has been seen by cleaning up the grounds too. People were complaining about the diming lights from pretty much the beginning. The electrical system is known to be marginal. There's a few different ways I've seen people go about isolating and fusing the additional battery.

[DirtyBacon04]

I've also been told that another way to avoid dimming headlights is to convert to HID

[tarsh]

Yeah... But to me it seems like a higher amp alternator would rid of the disco lights. I just can't see spending 300 bucks on an alt. How would one go about running a dual batt?( if this supposedly "fixes" the Disco party).. in all seriousness, I am frustrated with the dimming lights...

[dgirardi]

i've got an excessive amperage HO alternator on mine and dont seem to have any issues.

What brand and part number is it and post a pic ? For my future needs

the brand is excessive amperage, and there is no part number. they're custom built so you just tell him make/model and motor.

300 dollars for an upgraded alt really isn't to bad. mine was 500..

[Trail X]

Yeah... But to me it seems like a higher amp alternator would rid of the disco lights. I just can't see spending 300 bucks on an alt. How would one go about running a dual batt?( if this supposedly "fixes" the Disco party).. in all seriousness, I am frustrated with the dimming lights...

Dual batteries:
http://www.google.com/cse?cx=0151884469 ... gsc.page=1

Another option that's a bit simpler may be a capacitor made for audio systems. Not exactly sure where it should be placed though, but it seems to address a similar issue with cars with big audio systems. It "smooths" the voltage out during short periods of high draw. I might be wrong with that... we need our resident EEs.

[The Roadie]

Huge capacitors should be put near the item that sucks the most amount of current that causes the voltage drop. The caps they sell for bass-thumpers are mostly snake oil in my estimation. The equivalent size motorcycle battery costs half as much as a huge cap, and is the electrical equivalent of 100 huge caps. Perhaps 500. I haven't done the math, but motorcycle batteries could and should be used in any application where the audio guys use caps, but they don't have the same "magic" snake oil qualities, or profit margins.

OK, now I'm annoyed at myself. Let's do the math I should have done a long time ago. A Scorpion gel cell (maintenance free) motorcycle battery I just found for $36 on-line. Capacity of 4 Amp-hours. Assume a constant discharge rate (not a good idea, but good for an estimate) of 1 Amp, and you start off with delivering 12W, tapering off to nothing after 4 hours. Average is therefore 6W X 4 hours, or 24 Watt-hours. The amount of energy in an item is measured in Joules, which is a Watt-second, so 24 Watt-hours = 24 X 60 X 60 = 86.4 KiloJoules.

Energy stored in a capacitor = 1/2 X C (in farads) X V squared. So let's say you had a 10 Farad cap for $100. The energy it can store (and remember, you won't get the total energy storage delivery out of a cap OR a battery if you're trying to prevent voltage drooping that causes headlight flickering) is about 980 Joules assuming 14V is on it when you begin.

So the battery is 88 times a better energy storage mechanism than the capacitor, and when you factor in the cost difference, it's 244 times as cost-efficient.

So my back of the envelope guess was in the ballpark.

Audio guys SHOULD be using small batteries instead of snake oil caps. There's a business model somebody could take and run with.

[jonbo2002]

But their not as pretty Bill sorry I had to

[TBYODA]

Put the battery in nice pretty box and sell it for 1/3 price of the caps and you would still make a killing, would need to prove the real world use, they might not be able to handle the sound vibrations at high levels or some other thing Just taking a blind stab at it. Beside the fact they hold acid

[jonbo2002]

Bill was talking about a gell cell " Unlike flooded wet-cell batteries, gel cell batteries do not need to be kept upright. The gelled electrolyte won't spill, even if the battery is tipped upside down or cracked open. You won't have to worry about any messy acid spills or corrosion around the batteries or any of your sensitive electronics. Gel batteries boast greater resistance to extreme temperatures, shock, and vibration" found this on a battery sellers site. I was wondering though I know liquid batteries put off gas do the gells? aren't AGM or safe for inside???

[The Roadie]

The repackaging idea is a good one. I could slap a label on it that says "880 Farad Capacitor Equivalent" or something.

[tarsh]

So... Thanks for all your input. Iv had ather problems the last 2 days... Installed a huge electric fan. Which was was cooling better than my clutch fan. I was ecstatic!!!! Then I went to get my ORV sticker for my mounds trip. Apon return to my blaze, the ol lady pointed out coolant. Popped the the hood and BEHOLD!!! My fan rubbed a hole in my radiator. Damn. Ran the the local junk yard and scooped up an envoy one. All went good until I got down to hookn up the trans lines. Different size fittings. Went back to the junk yard today and grabbed one. The other was torn and tattered. Found one! At Vic caniver. Dealer item only of course, 27 bucks. But its all good now!! But my mounds trip is postponed. My brother's chickened out.must be a jeep thing

[Cable810]

Well since your Mounds Trip went bust maybe you could join me on a trip to Drummond September 21st viewtopic.php?f=57&t=4569