Question... Battery?

[xX FALCON 4 Xx]

If I did get an amp, and it powers 2 10" subs, will my car be able to produce enough power? I recently got that Kennwood deck, and it already seems to be draining power.

[Gomez]

The subs you are running doesn't matter.

A really generic way of seeing how well your car can handle an amp is to compare the fuse rating on the amp with the output of the alternator. Festiva alternators are only 40-50 amps depending on who you talk to. Conservatively I would say that our stock alternators spare 10-15 amps "AT BEST". If you do the math that only allows a 175 watt amp for the entire system including what your head unit delivers.

Again this assumes that the STOCK Festiva alternator has an extra 15 amps to run it. Where the alternator fails the battery will take over. At that point your amp is only getting a tad over 12 volts if you only go slightly over that 175 watts.

This is the most generic easy way to answer your question. A good Multi Meter and knowing how to use it will give you more exact #'s. Test the car with EVERYTHING running at full blast. AC cranked, engine running, high beams on, wipers on high, foot on brakes, etc with radio OFF. Check. Then you will have a pretty accurate way of seeing what kind of power is left over to run your stereo.

My guess would be "0". But to be honest with ya. Run what you have and don't worry too much about it. My audio system yanks about 55 amps at full tilt. Only the other day did I notice the headlights dimming ever so slightly.

So much for all of the above math.

[getnpsi]

A working band-aid is a capacitor, although some will argue they do worse. It DID help with my 5.0 mustang that had underdrive pullies and a 300w amp. there are a few semi-direct alternator swaps, and a few more swap which need a wiring upgrade and bracket massaging.

[JPT]

Protege alternator fits and puts out 70 amps

[xX FALCON 4 Xx]

Ok, so... Im going to just hook it up when they arrive and run it for a half hour to see if anything starts dimming or tweaking out... Thanks guys!

[Damkid]

this is the set-up i had in my festiva running with the stock charging system

[xX FALCON 4 Xx]

ok, what year is your Fetsy? Mine is a 93 and I also have 0 add ons in my car, no ac no powered windows... does this make a difference?drool

[Gomez]

;-)

[sasquatch]

ya a cap help alot, my friend hooked up a 1000 watt sub to a 1962 fury and it would stall it every time the sub hit hard... then somehow it would start back up again.... dont ask me how... even i cant figgure that one out lol.... and a cap allmost solved it, you could still see a bit of funny stuff when it was going... but that was a crazy sub lol...

also i think you guys are under rating these alts... mine can handel alot, just look at my lights... lol

[garylau]

Yeah, what they said. Use a capacitor. That should take some of the strain off your electrical system when the bass hits. It's never a bad idea to upgrade your alternator, but the cap should help.

[xX FALCON 4 Xx]

ok, and where could i get a capacitor for my car? price?

[sasquatch]

any audio store should have one. i have no clue on a price but i think they are about 100 bucks... i never bought one...

[Damkid]

ok, what year is your Fetsy? Mine is a 93 and I also have 0 add ons in my car, no ac no powered windows... does this make a difference?drool

My festiva is a 93 as well, no A/C basically the same as yours

[Festiva_tunner]

I run a 1000 farad cap to limit my headlight dim - I noticed a considerable difference after installing it - working band-aid yes but cheeper and easier than a larger or second alt.

You can get them anywhere Walmart even sells them

[Damkid]

^^Same for me, i ran a cap as well and i too noticed the headlights didn't dim anywhere near as bad