Ok, I recently got an amp for my subwoofers. they are two ten inch subs with a small 280 watt amp. Here is my question. Will my alternator be able to power everything without burning up and crapping out on me. I currently have a 200 with no a/c, no p/s, and I just want to be careful and play it safe. Just to clarify, I DONT LIKE RAP. I did not get these to be ghettoblasters. I dont want anybody to get the impression that I am a young punk. Yea man Tull is the best. Thanks -Todd
Mybad I had another part If the alternator is not man enough to do the job, what would be a good swap to help push the whole setup. I am putting a 302 in relatively soon and I have an alternator from an a/c car. would that be enough you think? -Todd
The standard alternator on Mavs is rated at 60 amps. These are on the low side of what's used. The best way to see what effect your stereo equipment has on the electrical system is to hook up the amp, etc., start the car, and hook up a voltimeter at the battery to se what voltage you get at the battery. It usually will be lower at idle with a load on. If you kick up the idle and you don't get charging voltage (13.5-14 volts) then you are puting too much strain on the system and will need a larger output alternator. I'd do a temporary hookup to see what the stuff does before installing everything and then finding out that you need another alternator. Remember, even if at high idle you get charging voltage, it will drop off at slow idle especially with other loads on the system such as headlights, heater, etc. You don't want to risk frying the voltage regulator either putting too much strain on an already limited system. Things to consider before installing the toys, dude!
280 watt amp.. the true way to tell if that amp is really gonna draw some power is what fuse is it using. however from what your telling me and on what the stock alt puts out. it should be just fine. i had 3 amps (10 amp fuse, 20 amp fuse and 25 amp fuse) in my maverick b4 and yes blasting all the getto music at the time while being a young punk! however i never had a problem with it... just at night while cruzin with the lights on at a stop signal. however your best bet is to do what Wes said to do. check the charging system! get a volt meter and test it while the car is running with stereo, lights, etc on. then you can tell if it will work! good luck
Search the archives. We had a discussion about an easy 80 amp single wire alternator installation. BTW, the standard alternator on 70 - 74 Mavs is 38 to 61 amps depending on options. You only got the big ones if you have A/C. The 38's were far and away the most common. The funny part is six different current levels were obtained from just two different model alternators. To increase the output on a particular model Ford just installed a smaller pulley so that the alternator would spin faster.
Thank you for the posts everybody. I am really trying to play it safe here. I dont want to mess anything up. -Todd
Little more info. It has a 15 volt fuse. AND when i put in the 302 (very soon i hope) and i put in the a/c alt. would that be sufficient? -Todd
My setup... I've got a Powermaster 1-wire alternator (I'm pretty sure it does 120A, got it from the inside cover of one of those Ford magazines--internally regulated) and a really fat sound system (Twin 12" subs). No problems whatsoever. Just a thought. No, I'm not a young boomer either--I just like really full tunes. Bests, Atzy.
Here's a little electronics 101. Fuses are a current protecting device, not voltage. Fuses are rated by amps. The max amount of current they will pass before they blow. There is a voltace rating on them but that tells you how much voltage they will handle before it starts arcing across the gap created after they blow. Most stuff is designed to draw no more than 70% of the fuse rating, and usually it draws alot less than that.
