Quote:
Originally Posted by brucepick
Headlights.
You guys running with alternator disabled - can you run with headlights on for 3 hours?
I have some likely solutions to that but want to see if anyone else has solved it already for their own vehicle.
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Not even a peep of interest in this topic?
My headlight bulbs were made in India; that may be of interest to this discussion.
Yes you can save a bunch of weight by substituting a lithium-based pack for the old lead acid battery. Weight savings is mostly helpful in acceleration contests and kind of helpful in city driving.
Now when you spend up to half your time coasting with engine off, and you want to drive more than 20-30 minutes, what's going to happen with that lithium pack? If you don't recharge it your range is limited.
If you do run the alt, you're missing the gain that is the core topic of this thread: improved mpg by not running the alternator.
And furthermore, how are you going to run headlights, long term? Granted, folks in warm climates don't drive in the dark as much as we Northerners do. In winter I commute an hour+ each way in the dark. My calcs indicate I'd need about 38AH of stored power just to run my headlights (plus a few other minor items) for 3 hours, if I don't recharge the battery that powers them while driving. In this, I'm not considering the power needed to run the car itself; i.e. computer, fuel pump, ignition, etc.
I think it's a question that needs to be considered.