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Old 02-13-2012, 11:33 PM   #5 (permalink)
California98Civic
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Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Coastal Southern California
Posts: 6,299

Black and Green - '98 Honda Civic DX Coupe
Team Honda
90 day: 66.42 mpg (US)

Black and Red - '00 Nashbar Custom built eBike
90 day: 3671.43 mpg (US)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cbaber View Post
Did you buy an upgraded battery? I am thinking about doing this but I am worried about what happens when you cut off the alt. at night. I know that when I FAS my car at night the headlights dim a little bit as well as interior lights due to the decreased voltage. How long do you drive at a time with the alt. off? Do you drive at night with it? How long of a range does the battery have without alt support under normal loads? Thanks!
This mod is part of a series of mods, still not all completed, meant to rearrange how the car creates and uses electricity. I got a deep cycle battery. And I reduced electrical load with five LEDs for braking and running lights. I switched from the stock headlight bulb to HID bulbs (reducing wattage required). I bought a 6 amp battery maintainer, installed in the car, and I charge the battery at night by plugging in at the bumper. Some other minor changes. The last big change will be solar panels. If I had had those today, the car would have fully recharged during working hours, and I could have driven the 12 miles home with ease, even with the lights on. As it is, I had to use the alt for much of the ride home so as to protect battery life.

I hope that helps. Load reduction and a deep cycle battery are the key minimum things to do in order to maximize the benefit of the switch.

james
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See my car's mod & maintenance thread and my electric bicycle's thread for ongoing projects. I will rebuild Black and Green over decades as parts die, until it becomes a different car of roughly the same shape and color. My minimum fuel economy goal is 55 mpg while averaging posted speed limits. I generally top 60 mpg. See also my Honda manual transmission specs thread.



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