Alternator Output

[REDAUXR6II]

Hey All,

If I upgrade the audio in my XR6 II will I have to put in a higher output altenator?

I am going to run 2 amps, a 4 channel 500 watt and a 1000 watt monoblock amp.

I have upgraded the wiring in the engine bay to 0 guage from the altenator to battery, engine to battery and battery to body.

[Dave_Obsession]

You shouldn't need to.

I run upgraded speakers w/4 channel amp, and a sub w/2channel amp (bridged).

Have no issues...

[Stav]

It should be ok.My car starts to idle rough with my stereo up high..perhaps a fairlaine alternator is bigger?Call ford and ask to be on the safe side.

[Sox]

You'd need to check the current draw from the amplifiers, the fuse rating will give you some idea. If it's a 20a fuse, then it might draw as much as 10a at pretty high levels. Only under very extreme (rare) conditions would it draw the full 20a.

At a very rough guess, your amplifiers might draw 20a and 30a, totalling 50a, so 25a at highish levels.
Your battery is only likely to be able to supply that sort of current for 2 hours before it is unable to start your engine. Keep in mind that the current draw would be much less than this at low levels, likely below 10a.

The alternator won't have any problem as the AU6 is 110a (V8's got a 130a), and even if we have the AC, lights, etc running, you would still have maybe 1/2 the rated power in reserve for battery charging.

So if you've drawn 25a for 2 hours - 50a whilst stationary, your alternator will be able to charge your battery to pretty close to 100% in a couple of hours.
Say 30a in the first hour, 15a in the second, as the current will reduce as the battery is nearing 100% SOC.

Bottom line is the alternator won't be the weak link IMO, as it should be able to produce up to 30a continuous and much more in short bursts, maybe as much as 60a and more.
The battery will be the weakest link, and I'd be surprised if you even have a problem with that unless you are stationary playing for hours on end while the engine isn't running.