Alternator question

[groovemasterodi]

Hello everyone, great forum, tons of information..

Question. I have a 2001 Camry 2.2, just installed a car audio system, getting massive light dimming on bass hits, also overall performace seems sluggish and my gas mileage seems to have plummeted. Can't seem to find any where that has high output alternators for this model, any ideas anyone?

[uibalnme]

How many watts are you pushing? I assume it's quite a bit if your lights are dimming, and yes, high wattage=lower mpg. Your alt. needs to work harder to keep the power flowing, and that means the engine has to work harder too.

Here's a site that has some high output alts for Toyotas...

http://www.mralternator.com/alternators/toyota.html

You may also want to install a massive capacitor too. Maybe 5 farads or more to be safe.

[xet]

dont waste money before you need to

do a big three upgrade first and if that doesnt help upgrade battery then go to alt

[Mazeraski]

Yeah, I would say try out doing the big 3 and if that doesn't help, then start looking at high output alternators. I don't really think changing the battery would do anything since it's used basically in starting and then the car just runs off the alternator, so I'd say skip changing the battery unless it's due for a new one.

If you do decide to upgrade the alternator, I've heard of guys getting an alternator for a Highlander for cheaper and it directly bolts on. Not sure if extends to the gen 4 Camry's or not, but it will only directly bolt on if you have the V6 I believe, anyone who knows a little more help me out here.

EDIT: Well, since it seems you have the I4, scratch the last paragraph I guess haha

[chullen]

Originally Posted by uibalnme

How many watts are you pushing? I assume it's quite a bit if your lights are dimming, and yes, high wattage=lower mpg. Your alt. needs to work harder to keep the power flowing, and that means the engine has to work harder too.

Here's a site that has some high output alts for Toyotas...

http://www.mralternator.com/alternators/toyota.html

You may also want to install a massive capacitor too. Maybe 5 farads or more to be safe.

a cap will help store energy for the bass hits but wont stop the lights from dimming. Also you gas mileage could have gone down some because of the extra weight in the car now

[RichieRichJP]

horsepowerfreaks.com

[Black95Cam]

Originally Posted by uibalnme

Here's a site that has some high output alts for Toyotas...

http://www.mralternator.com/alternators/toyota.html

You may also want to install a massive capacitor too. Maybe 5 farads or more to be safe.

good site.. im only pushing 500 watt rms with a cap and lights still dims, just not as bad. and as some one said, with the extra weight, your gonna loose some mpg. and when doing the big 3 dont forgot to add an in-line fuse for the power side...

[xet]

^I agree, I have about 600wrms going and my lights dim so I think it is just crappy toyota wiring.

Do the big three first then come back if that doesnt help, no reason to spend more money than you need to

[ohgood]

Originally Posted by xet

^I agree, I have about 600wrms going and my lights dim so I think it is just crappy toyota wiring.

Do the big three first then come back if that doesnt help, no reason to spend more money than you need to

crappy toyota wiring ? you've put an extra 600W burden on the charging system, but it's toyota's fault ? lol sure, ok.

there are some really nice systems assembled by high-end audio experts that don't need even 300w to make very nice sounds. woofers are some of the least efficient designed audio devices ever.

look into better components, your ears will thank you.

[xet]

you dont get all the notes with your component speakers. who are these high end experts? if you say something like bose we will all know you are full of shit.

the toyota wiring does enough to have the car run but that is it, they didnt leave any extra headroom and w/e thats their way to make more money but it is crappy in the sense that it is such small wiring that is very inefficient.

go ahead and keep saying subwoofers are crappy and w/e but saying not to get them just proves you dont know what you are talking about in the least bit

[groovemasterodi]

Wow, thanks for the different inputs everyone.

The big three is definitely what I need to do.

The added weight isn't too bad, I just think my engines not getting enough fire, when i turn the unit/amp off, everything goes back to normal and acceleration is renewed to it's pre-system state.

For those wondering on the components I am running the following.
Alpine CDA-9884
Alpine SPS-600C 6 3/4
Alpine SPS-609 6"x9"
Alpine Type-S SWS-1043D)" x 2
Kenwood KAC-9104D
RockfordFosgate P400-4 (yet to be installed)

Thanks again everyone, proves why the Nation rocks.

[95PimpingCamry]

Originally Posted by chullen

a cap will help store energy for the bass hits but wont stop the lights from dimming.

I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to correct you here. The reason the lights are dimming is because too much current is being drawn, and not enough current can reach the headlights. What the capacitor does is store energy and when there is a strong bass hit the capacitor delivers a very large amount of current to the amplifiers for a very short period of time. This allows the alternator to deliver sufficient current to the headlights. Problems are encountered when the average current draw is higher than what the alternator can deliver, then the alternator needs to be upgraded, but as long as the average current doesn't exceed the rating of the alternator then an appropriately sized capacitor will reduce headlight dimming.

[ohgood]

Originally Posted by xet

you dont get all the notes with your component speakers. who are these high end experts? if you say something like bose we will all know you are full of shit.

thanks, i've known i was full of it for a while now. i actually wasn't thinking of bose, but since you like guessing, i'll let ya

the toyota wiring does enough to have the car run but that is it, they didnt leave any extra headroom and w/e thats their way to make more money but it is crappy in the sense that it is such small wiring that is very inefficient.

yes, it's enough to run the car. you wouldn't want to pay for the copper and connectors that would power a small house. actually, those small copper wires are very efficient. now, start trying to pull 20 amps through a 20 gauge wire, ya, it's gets inefficient, but they weren't designed for that. i'd bet a good 75-90% of people that buy a camry never change the head unit, let alone draw an extra 400watts of power. of course i have no references to support my assumption, just a guess. suppose you could just change the alternator out, drop a few caps in the trunk, and a couple deep cycle batteries, or whatever the cool kids do nowadays.

go ahead and keep saying subwoofers are crappy and w/e but saying not to get them just proves you dont know what you are talking about in the least bit

no, subs aren't crappy generally. didn't mean to imply they were inefficient either. thing is, you're turning an audio signal into something that will move air, and that takes allot of movement. they're not inefficient, if they were they would be hot. sorry for the confusion. some people think bigger subs = better sound, and then push them with 4,5,600 or even 1000 watts, when all they need for good sound is a couple hundred at best. earth pounding bass is just, well, ghetto. suppose it's just a preference thing, i'd rather enjoy the full range of the music instead of just being overpowered by it's lower frequencies.

[xet]

Ok I understand what you mean by subs now. I agree about many people who are buying subs don't know what they are doing and just go for bigger = better when they don't really even know what they want besides loud.

Before space became more of an issue i was thinking about switching setups for something like 2 sealed 10's or 3 8's. Don't get me wrong I like loud sometimes too but those would have been plenty for me.

And most of the other time you just see people showing off how misinformed they are when they suggest an L7 for any application whether it be a sql or spl setup.

[.Camryman97.]

ive got 1 12" rockford p3 and im givin it 600rms and my lights dim just a little bit and i have no cap which i know is a bad idea and ill probably be adding another battery because its better than having a cap which would only deliver a short burst of energy where a extra battery can give longer periods of power