Rally lighting

[TRIX]

Hello. Does anyone know how many amps a 2000 bug with a 1.8t currently draws. I am adding some Rally lights but I don't want to exceed what my Alternator can put out. I currently have the 90amp Alternator.

Thanks Wayne

[dnyed]

I do not, but I know someone who does!

[TRIX]

Originally Posted by dnyed

I do not, but I know someone who does!

And who would that be? lol

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

I don't know, but I would think a question relevant to what all is turned on.

Just off hand:
Headlights, foglights, turn signal, brake lights, rear window defogger, windshield wipers, windshield washer pump, heated mirrors, power window(s), power door lock(s), sat heater(s), interior light(s), map light, glove box light auto-dim rear view mirror, wipers, a/c compressor, ac/heater fan and speed, power hatch releaese, sun-roof, radio, radio amp, cooling fans, alarm system, probably a dozen other things which may or may not be on. To say nothing of the things that must be powered if the engine is running. Add up all the fuses on the fuse panels and the couple circuit breakers, you'll have an idea. What kind of wattage are these Rallye lights, are they replacing something, or are you adding them to what lights are already there (I'm thinking maybe you're talking roof mounted or something). "Rallye" is kind of ambiguous. What type of bulbs? Halogen, LED, HID?

You may be able to go to a higher capacity battery and a 125A alternator. The alternator charges the battery and the battery powers the car.

[dnyed]

http://newbeetle.org/forums/members/mad-mike.html



I left him a message on Facebook. He will be along soon, don't worry....

[TRIX]

These will be additional light mounted on a light bar that attaches to the front bumper. I understand that there are a lot of variable things that can draw power. I'm looking for normal draw with the basic accessories running not the peak. I won't be operating a radio, windows, and there is no air conditioning. Just looking for an average. I am using 100w H3 bulbs

[TRIX]

Originally Posted by dnyed

http://newbeetle.org/forums/members/mad-mike.html



I left him a message on Facebook. He will be along soon, don't worry....

Thanks

[TRIX]

I might have to up grade the alternator if there is not enough available power but I would like to know how much is available before doing that.

I currently (Not yet installed)have 8 100w H3 lights. These lights would draw 8.3 amps each. If I use them all that would total 66.7amps. If the normal draw is less than 23.3amps I will be able to use them all. If the available amperage is less then I may can use 6 or maybe only 4 and switch to a light with a larger reflector before needing to upgrade the alternator.

[TRIX]

As far as adding up all the fuses that won't give me a number. If I add all the fuses in the small fuse panel it totals up to 543.5amps. The fuse is meant to blow if the amerage is exceeded for that paticular item. But that fuse does not normally run at full capacity.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by TRIX

As far as adding up all the fuses that won't give me a number. If I add all the fuses in the small fuse panel it totals up to 543.5amps. The fuse is meant to blow if the amerage is exceeded for that paticular item. But that fuse does not normally run at full capacity.

Yes, I understand that, I was being somewhat facetious. But what is a NORMAL draw? It's an ambiguous question, unless your only refering to the amp draw of the engine only. Everything else is related as to what is running/on and the amperage each component is drawing. This will be limited to 1) the battery Ah rating capacity (a deep cycle battery may be required for your purposes), 2) the fusible link through which the current is being drawn, and 3) the alternator's ability to keep pace with what is used.

M.

[mullardel34]

Engineers typically don't design a system to pull more than 50% of the rated capacity, so with the OEM 90-amp alternator, you really shouldn't pull a total DC-current load of more than about 45-amps. That's an sbsolulte crap-load of current, so directly measuring it would require some pretty robust test equipment.

An alternative approach would be to monitor the DC-voltage of the vehicle's electrical system as you add load (i.e., add additional lights in parallel, which have been temporarily attached to the electrical system). When the DC-voltage drops below the nominal system DC-voltage of 13.5VDC-14.5VDC with the engine at idle, you've reached the current-draw threshold at which the car's electrical system can no longer provide sufficient current to maintain the nominal DC-voltage output. Back-off the number of lights attached to the car's electrical system to somewhere around half the number of rally lights that were able to pull-down the nominal DC-voltage. Yes, this approach only provides a guesstimate as to the number of rally lights you can attach to your New Beetle's electrical system, but it should put you in the ballpark...

Good luck!

[macdave]

8x 100 might be too much for stock. If you don't need to run them for a long time maybe adding an extra battery would work.

Another but expensive option is hid's a 35w d2s gives you around the same light as a 100w halogen. I think hella 4000 hid's are around $650 for each light.

[TRIX]

Thanks For everyone's help. The lights that I have are 4 1/2". I'm going to return them and get the 6" for the bigger reflectors. And then as budget allows upgrade to the HID's. I know that this car can handle the 4 lights as that's what the old owner used to run without problems. My electrician at work does have a meter that he can measure the amps. I might get him to measure it just for interest sake.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by macdave

maybe adding an extra battery would work

A pair of 6V truck batteries in series should do it for sure, especially deep cycle or Group GC, and a pair SHOULD fit in the rear hatch if you don't go too big. We used to do this all the time for marine use as opposed to 12V deep cycle marine batteries. Way better. You should be able to wire these with a selector switch and just use them in the system when you are using the Rallye lights. On a different note, are there no LEDs out there yet with this type of candlepower? A number of high end vehicles are now using LEDs for headlights.

M.

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