Electrical/Lighting Question

[SonicTumor]

Okay guys, quick question. I'm curious as to how much I guess it would be the battery can handle. I have an hid kit I want to hook up after I get projectors. Plus I want to put fog lights as well. And possibly another set of lights kind of how Yosemite Sam has behind his grill but a little different. And maybe a sub one day. Idk if that's too much to handle or if it'll wear anything down faster. Any words of advice?

 

[bchs89]

I'm not sure how much draw the lighting will have, but I have been running a 1000 watt amp on my sub for over a year now on the stock battery and alternator without a problem. Definitely invest in a decent capacitor though.

 

[Dirkdaddy]

Ok, first of all its not the battery that determines your appropriate load, its the alternator.

You can investigate how many amps your alternator is rated at, I'd guess maybe 90 on such a small car.

Add up the watts draw of each of the lights, divide by 12.5 volts, that = amps draw. For HID you can get a general idea by looking at the fuse of the circuit for stock lights...actual will be less but its conservative ball park. Compare that against the draw of the HID lights. I'm not really familiar with these but understand they have some electronics that drive them.

There you have it.

LED's for everything but headlights (where its possible, but probably impractical to DIY) will run without much wattage. Not sure if you're talking a emergency vehicle light bar or off-road lights, or what but the aux lights are LED I doubt you need to do anything but have them well installed with fused circuits. If high enough amps use a relay.

 

[ScarabEpic22]

Stock alternators on both 1.4T and 1.8 engines are 100A.

I'm looking into this as well when I do my stereo, want to make sure the alternator is powerful enough. Not sure it will be, but Im only planning on doing a ~500-600W system so I should be ok (purely guessing at this point as I havent run the #s).

 

[mdoffroad]

Definitely invest in a decent capacitor though.

Ok... stop.... don't believe the hype....

I did autosound and security for many years and I can ASSURE you, the capacitor craze was an amazing marketing idea, but for MOST people, useless. The capacitor allows for IMMEDIATE BURSTS of power, thats IT. Common misconception is it helps your alternator (or battery) out. FALSE. The battery provides power with the key/engine OFF. The alternator provides power (up to its capacity to produce,in this case 100 amps) then it draws the additional supply from the battery if needed. A capacitor is for that HARD fast bass note for those huge current draw surges. Lets say your electrical system is close to capacity with your stereo. Now lets add a capacitor which is now EMPTY after that big bass note.. now you are charging both the Battery and the capacitor AND running the car. For MOST people a capacitor is useless and detrimental.

 

[bchs89]

Very true. But when it's needed it's worth having there. My personal setup without a capacitor will completely empty my electrical system of all juice with a hard enough drop/boom from the subwoofer. Enough to the point of where I get many strange looks and flipped the bird by people for thinking I am flashing my brights at them at night, when in reality it was my amp/alternator juggling to keep my electronics charged. Yes this could be alleviated by a dedicated car audio battery or higher output alternator but if I don't want to drop a lot of money on that type of upgrade I would much rather invest 40-50 bucks in a capacitor to prevent the electricity surges my system would be constantly experiencing. Just my $.02

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[mdoffroad]

that may be, however, its not the right way and ultimately your electrical system will pay the price.... ECMs DO burn out from too low voltage after a while