power from alternator???

a buddy was telling me that i could run my power from my alternator instead of the battery... im running a 3000w power acoustic amp, that spits out all 3k of those watts... would this be bad for the alternator?? better than running it off the battery??

in theory it could work, but y?i would upgrade to a bigger wire from the alt to the battery then run my pos wire to my amp from there.

Your amp would pull most of your amperage before it got to the battery. This would cause your battery not to charge very well, therefor your other electrical needs would suffer. Your battery acts like a storage tank and everything else feeds off of it. Upgrade your alternator and add an additional battery to solve your power problems.

The alternator can't provide large bursts of power like the battery can, so you'd notice it clipping easier when it hits hard. You COULD, however, run the alternator directly to a large capacitor, and that may work as well or better than coming off the battery... but I don't think there would be a large difference either way.

-Phil at FBI

i just tried hookin it up to the alternator, and when a long low note hits the truck is just about stalling out, even when im driving... im thinkin i want to hook up another battery to run my stereo separately... what all is necessary other than another battery and wiring?? how would i hook everything up?? would i be able to use my stock alternator, or would it get pretty beat up fast?? any recomendations on where to find an alternator with higher output??? this is all going in my 02 gmc sierra... thanks a lot for any help guys...

they have these things now adays called stiffening caps. use them. youll be happy. 1 farad for every 1000 watts.

already got one... but it isn't making much of a difference...

Do what david was saying. Upgrade alternator and get that second battery. Forget the capacitor

Capacitors are just bandages for your real problem. Your amperage is what is giving you problems. Your stock alternator supplies just enough current to power all of the stock options on your truck. Say you have a 90 amp alternator (this rating is usually at 1000-2000 rpm not idle) and your truck draws 80 amps with the computers, lights, etc. Then you add an amp to the system that draws 45 amps when it pull full power. Your alternator is trying to supply a system that needs 125 amps with only 90 amps. You end up running your battery down (even when driving). A cap stores energy, but if your still not supplying enough amperage it's still not fixing the problem. Look at Jegs or Summit or even stock GM alternators for vans. These places offer 120 to 200 amp alternators for pretty reasonable prices. Caps are just a waste of money in my opinion. The 100 bucks spent on a cap could be money put toward a 200-300 dollar alternator.

ohio generator also makes some beast altinators...and they make them for many different applications. they even make dual alt. brackets. and as far as adding another batery you would need a 200 amp switching relay so it would charge one battery then the other. stinger makes one PN#SR200. ive used numerous of these and they kick ass. it will run you about 60 or 70 bucks