# need bigger alternator for '95 sentra



## soccrstar (Nov 23, 2004)

ok, if i'm not mistaken the '95-99 sentra have a 70amp alternator.

and with my fog lights (100W) and my xenon HID Kit i know my alternator just isnt sufficient enough. cuz if i turn both low n high beam on. one of my xenons wont light up, thus not enough current.

yet i have a 1800w RMS amp to be run @ 150w RMS x 4 = 600w RMS coming in next 2 weeks. and a 2000w RMS x 1 amp coming next month

theres absolutely no way in hell my alternator would be sufficient. next thing you know, i'll be singing *BOOOOM GOES THE ALTERNATOR*

where can i buy a high powered/ heavy duty altenator for the B14 (specifically 1995 Nissan Sentra GLE is what i have)


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## Omega3k1 (Jan 6, 2005)

The fog light problem i doubt has to do w/ your alternator not pumping out enough juice. If that was the case you'd probably blow a fuse before you ran out of power. Check your grounds and your wiring to make sure they're hooked up right.


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## soccrstar (Nov 23, 2004)

Omega3k1 said:


> The fog light problem i doubt has to do w/ your alternator not pumping out enough juice. If that was the case you'd probably blow a fuse before you ran out of power. Check your grounds and your wiring to make sure they're hooked up right.


um, how would i blow a fuse?... its a aftermarket fog lights, connected directly to battery via relay tapped into corner light for signal so my fogs come on with corners. (extremely helpful and useful especially in bad weather and well lit roads where i dont even turn my lights on at night)

my headlights have the stock 15a but they recommend a 20a fuse but havent blown the 15a fuse not once so the current isn't surpassing the 15A

i highly doubt the stock alternator can keep up with a 2000w RMS amp and 150W RMS x 4 

could someone please point me in the direction to where i can get a heavy duty alternator for the '95 nissan sentra please!!

thanks


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## Radioaktiv (Feb 12, 2004)

http://www.highoutputalternator.com/alternators.htm


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## soccrstar (Nov 23, 2004)

Radioaktiv said:


> http://www.highoutputalternator.com/alternators.htm



radioaktiv thanx so much for the link

which one would you people recommend?

HID Kit, 100w fog lights, 100w high beam, 2000wRMS amp, 600wRMS amp, aftermarket radio, neon lights, LED all over, heater, a/c, etc


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## Radioaktiv (Feb 12, 2004)

im not sure, it varies for each application

you can try contacting the companies
http://www.alternatorparts.com/Extreme Duty Dual Rectifier CS-144 type.htm


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## WRXrob (Jun 4, 2003)

or perhaps you can find a local auto-electric shop and have them remanufacture one with a higher capacity.


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## B14_Stealth (Aug 14, 2003)

soccrstar said:


> ok, if i'm not mistaken the '95-99 sentra have a 70amp alternator.
> 
> and with my fog lights (100W) and my xenon HID Kit i know my alternator just isnt sufficient enough. cuz if i turn both low n high beam on. one of my xenons wont light up, thus not enough current.
> 
> ...


I dont think your fog lights and your HIDs will be a problem. HIDs dont eat that much power and fog lights either.
Your system...well i got 2 amps, 2 subs, componenets in the front, coax in the back as well as shitload of gauges, strobes and i used to have a TV and didn't have that much problems with alternators. I think i replaced it once a year or something like that (i used to get them for free, so i wanted to be on the safe side,but not anymore . If you want a high power Alternator that is gonna be expensive because if im not mistaken, they have to be custom made or something like that. Anyway, check the voltage on your current one and if it charges at over 14v then you'll fine.
By the way, good amps dont eat that much power, if you have a good amp that is power efficient such as Eclipse amps..then no problem there. I know a kid with a sentra that has 4 Arc Audio amps, 1 for each sub (2), 1 for the front and one for the rear speakers. He used to have the similar setup with Eclipse amps and had no problems.


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## WRXrob (Jun 4, 2003)

^^ good point on efficient amps.

I'm not a car audio genious, but I understand the Class D amplifiers are very efficient on electrical power usage, which might help.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

http://www.mechman.com/home.html

this company made an alt for a 1995 GA16 car in the past. If your willing to spend the $$$ would go with a 110 amp alt just for room to upgrade in the future...


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

soccrstar said:


> radioaktiv thanx so much for the link
> 
> which one would you people recommend?
> 
> HID Kit, 100w fog lights, 100w high beam, 2000wRMS amp, 600wRMS amp, aftermarket radio, neon lights, LED all over, heater, a/c, etc


Ok let’s add it up. 
HID Kit, hmm think about 6 amp each = 12 A
100w fog lights, 17A
100w high beam, 17A
2000wRMS amp, at full output 166A, say 25 % = 42 A
600wRMS amp, at full output 50A say 50 % = 25 A
Aftermarket radio, neon lights, LED all over, heater, a/c, about 30 A

Grand total 143A or 1700 W 
i.e. 150A alternator.

Of course if you run the amps at full load you will not get home.....

Buy a real Ammeter to monitor charge and discharge, you know like on those really old cars........

Do NOT use an under drive pulley!!!!!

BTW the amp estimates for amplifiers are assuming 100% efficiency

good luck.....


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

few mistakes here. HIDs are around 3A each (35W), High beams don't count. I don't think the amps run that many amps except on HUGE bass hits. Aftermarket radios are efficient if you don't use the internal amp. Either get a dead head or turn off the internal amplifier, it should run less than 4A. Neons and LEDs are efficient, roughly 1A/3-4LEDs, AC and heater don't directly take from the alt. Heat comes from the coolent, AC comes from the compressor. The only amp draw is from the blower (and the fans if the AC button is on), I use my AC about 0.0001% of the time.

Oh, and an underdrive pulley will only affect the alternator below 2500RPM. The alt is at full amperage at 2000 RPM. An underdrive pulley will move that to 2500 or so.


IanH said:


> Ok let’s add it up.
> HID Kit, hmm think about 6 amp each = 12 A
> 100w fog lights, 17A
> 100w high beam, 17A
> ...


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Ninety-Nine SE-L said:


> few mistakes here. HIDs are around 3A each (35W), High beams don't count. I don't think the amps run that many amps except on HUGE bass hits. Aftermarket radios are efficient if you don't use the internal amp. Either get a dead head or turn off the internal amplifier, it should run less than 4A. Neons and LEDs are efficient, roughly 1A/3-4LEDs, AC and heater don't directly take from the alt. Heat comes from the coolent, AC comes from the compressor. The only amp draw is from the blower (and the fans if the AC button is on), I use my AC about 0.0001% of the time.
> 
> Oh, and an underdrive pulley will only affect the alternator below 2500RPM. The alt is at full amperage at 2000 RPM. An underdrive pulley will move that to 2500 or so.


Ok so what’s your recommendation?

And let’s face it this is just an estimate to get at the amount of power this guy needs. He can adjust and keep or discard anything we recommend as he sees fit.
HID's are a bit less, I guessed, as you can tell.
I listed the equipment given. 
The amps for the amplifiers depend on how high they are run and the efficiency of the speakers.
Why buy 2000 W amplifiers if you are not going to use it. Just buy 500 W instead of 2000W.

The A/C clutch, cooling fans, blower and ignition normally take 20 to 30 A on most cars. Have you measured the draw? 
I think you glossed over the power drawn here. The fans come on at low speed in traffic as well as with the A/C.
The A/C compressor alone took 6 A on one of my cars. Don’t know on a Sentra. The A/C is run year round here; I would not recommend short changing this.
What about the ignition? 5A ? more ?

Have you looked at the output vs rpm curve of a Nissan Alternator? 
One was included with my daughters SER Alternator and the output builds all the way to the max they ran it at, around 6000 or 8,000 rpm if I remember correctly. It did not just plateau.

If you have power issues and are buying a higher output alternator then to reduce the output by running an under drive pulley seems a bit nonsensical.

But I guess everyone to their own.


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## wes (Apr 30, 2002)

All of this is just paper knowledge though. In the real world none of these items use that much current at all times... Most people don't go as far as to add up the total and then get that alternator. The average person with a decent sized audio system will get 120 amp alt. and be fine with it. Most of the time this is more than sufficicent because the amps seldom draw their maximum amperage.


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## plat619se (Sep 6, 2002)

Yeah most of the people with lots of amps I know just run them for show...they don't usually play them in the city as much due to noise ordinances. So at a show you can just plug into mains power with a hugs power inverter and then have a deep-cycle battery rigged up for playing the amps when the engine is off. 

Of course if you want to be thumping at every stoplight and while rolling down the freeway at 60MPH and going deaf, then I guess you'll need a large amount of power.  My friend a few years ago bought a Honda Civic and there was a power deficit....had 3 amps in the car (including an Alpine V12 series) and at idle the car would stall if the bass hit hard enough. I guess the idle adjuster must not have been working correctly or it would have revved up the engine to keep the alternator happy! Crazy though.


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## Nissan200sx (Mar 23, 2004)

I tried to get my alternator fixed (voltage regulator)and upgraded (larger amp output). They told me, "couldn't do it". Damn, called all local shops, "no". Thankfully I found your link, thanx Wes. And on the amps issue: I have a 250 watt Audiobahn, and have headlight dimming problems. I figure I need a capacitor or high amp battery. But I don't want to fry another stock one. I think I'm gonna check the site out.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Nissan200sx said:


> I tried to get my alternator fixed (voltage regulator)and upgraded (larger amp output). They told me, "couldn't do it". Damn, called all local shops, "no". Thankfully I found your link, thanx Wes. And on the amps issue: I have a 250 watt Audiobahn, and have headlight dimming problems. I figure I need a capacitor or high amp battery. But I don't want to fry another stock one. I think I'm gonna check the site out.


As has been pointed out before, a cap will only help for short high loads and then has to be recharged. It will not help a steady state problem lasting many seconds. 
If you have light dimming then I would think you are pulling a higher amperage out of the alternator - battery combo than the alternator can deliver. Because this is more than your alternator can provide the nominal voltage drops from 14.5 V under battery being charged to around 12v with the battery being discharged. This is a function of the current coming from your alternator being less than the current demand, not the size of your battery. 
Can you measure your voltage at the battery when this happens ? 
You may get a small improvement with a new battery if the battery you have now drops voltage to say 11 v instead of the expected 12- 12.5 v. 
The other way this can happen is more minor, the resistance of the copper leads becomes significant at higher current and you need to upgrade. However this should be a smaller effect. You can measure this as well. 
Hope this helps.....


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