Knowing the exact unit they're using and knowing this car like the back of my hand you have these options.... and they're not gonna be what you want to hear. That alternator is NOT designed for idle output in a camry. They idle too low. If I was at work, I would show you what alldata says for what our idle speed is in our cars. It's just not going to happen with that unit. You're wasting your time. Remember when I said our car idles at 2000 Alternator RPM?

Here is a power curve of our 320HP that is the same alternator you got for your vehicle.

Notice what it does at 2000? it does 39 amps.. what happens when you increase it 800 rpms? 8000*3 = you get over 100 amps... this car is not capable of hitting the sweet spot you need it to hit.

So your options are:

Deal with it.

Have them swap you out for a denso 180 amp unit. That unit WILL charge at idle and you WILL be happy with it.

I've ran the 320 in my car, i hated it. I ran the 180HP in my car and I loved it. I now run the XP and well, i love it like a fat kid loves cake.

You want idle from mechman? get the 180 amp denso.

Sorry to be blunt, but I want you to realize that you're wasting your time. you can't make more idle performance out of an alternator by replacing wires. Our car is a 3 alternator rpm to 1 engine rpm. want to know what the alternator does? look at that power curve and do (engine rpm) * 3 = alternator RPM.

Hey Kyle, not saying this is the case, bc obviously its not, but if he had a bigger battery bank, would this still be an issue?? because of the power curve? or would a big a$$ battery bank help that?

Knowing the exact unit they're using and knowing this car like the back of my hand you have these options.... and they're not gonna be what you want to hear. That alternator is NOT designed for idle output in a camry. They idle too low. If I was at work, I would show you what alldata says for what our idle speed is in our cars. It's just not going to happen with that unit. You're wasting your time. Remember when I said our car idles at 2000 Alternator RPM?

Here is a power curve of our 320HP that is the same alternator you got for your vehicle.

Notice what it does at 2000? it does 39 amps.. what happens when you increase it 800 rpms? 8000*3 = you get over 100 amps... this car is not capable of hitting the sweet spot you need it to hit.

So your options are:

Deal with it.

Have them swap you out for a denso 180 amp unit. That unit WILL charge at idle and you WILL be happy with it.

I've ran the 320 in my car, i hated it. I ran the 180HP in my car and I loved it. I now run the XP and well, i love it like a fat kid loves cake.

You want idle from mechman? get the 180 amp denso.

Sorry to be blunt, but I want you to realize that you're wasting your time. you can't make more idle performance out of an alternator by replacing wires. Our car is a 3 alternator rpm to 1 engine rpm. want to know what the alternator does? look at that power curve and do (engine rpm) * 3 = alternator RPM.

Hey Kyle, not saying this is the case, bc obviously its not, but if he had a bigger battery bank, would this still be an issue?? because of the power curve? or would a big a$$ battery bank help that?

The OP's vehicle idles below the rpm level needed to trigger the alternator to turn on. At idle, the alternator is off, the entire electrical system relies on battery voltage(float level).

From the chart Kyle posted, their 320HP would produce around 93amps at idle (whether this be near the stock alts rating or below, I don't know), but 93a for stock electrical + a big stereo = no bueno.

So as you can see in either case, your mainly going to be relying on your batteries when the vehicle is parked or idling.

If the OP had thirty large agm batteries in the back of his car, he would have plenty of battery reserve, and the alternator's nearly non-existent contribution at idle wouldn't really matter in the scheme of things. (assuming your driving around like normal)

But having thirty agm batteries isn't going to change the alternator's turn on speed or power curve.

Knowing the exact unit they're using and knowing this car like the back of my hand you have these options.... and they're not gonna be what you want to hear. That alternator is NOT designed for idle output in a camry. They idle too low. If I was at work, I would show you what alldata says for what our idle speed is in our cars. It's just not going to happen with that unit. You're wasting your time. Remember when I said our car idles at 2000 Alternator RPM?

Here is a power curve of our 320HP that is the same alternator you got for your vehicle.

Notice what it does at 2000? it does 39 amps.. what happens when you increase it 800 rpms? 8000*3 = you get over 100 amps... this car is not capable of hitting the sweet spot you need it to hit.

So your options are:

Deal with it.

Have them swap you out for a denso 180 amp unit. That unit WILL charge at idle and you WILL be happy with it.

I've ran the 320 in my car, i hated it. I ran the 180HP in my car and I loved it. I now run the XP and well, i love it like a fat kid loves cake.

You want idle from mechman? get the 180 amp denso.

Sorry to be blunt, but I want you to realize that you're wasting your time. you can't make more idle performance out of an alternator by replacing wires. Our car is a 3 alternator rpm to 1 engine rpm. want to know what the alternator does? look at that power curve and do (engine rpm) * 3 = alternator RPM.

Hey Kyle, not saying this is the case, bc obviously its not, but if he had a bigger battery bank, would this still be an issue?? because of the power curve? or would a big a$$ battery bank help that?

The OP's vehicle idles below the rpm level needed to trigger the alternator to turn on. At idle, the alternator is off, the entire electrical system relies on battery voltage(float level).

From the chart Kyle posted, their 320HP would produce around 93amps at idle (whether this be near the stock alts rating or below, I don't know), but 93a for stock electrical + a big stereo = no bueno.

So as you can see in either case, your mainly going to be relying on your batteries when the vehicle is parked or idling.

If the OP had thirty large agm batteries in the back of his car, he would have plenty of battery reserve, and the alternator's nearly non-existent contribution at idle wouldn't really matter in the scheme of things. (assuming your driving around like normal)

But having thirty agm batteries isn't going to change the alternator's turn on speed or power curve.

gotcha.

Thanks for the input Kyle, nice to hear from you.

Knowing the exact unit they're using and knowing this car like the back of my hand you have these options.... and they're not gonna be what you want to hear. That alternator is NOT designed for idle output in a camry. They idle too low. If I was at work, I would show you what alldata says for what our idle speed is in our cars. It's just not going to happen with that unit. You're wasting your time. Remember when I said our car idles at 2000 Alternator RPM?

Here is a power curve of our 320HP that is the same alternator you got for your vehicle.

Notice what it does at 2000? it does 39 amps.. what happens when you increase it 800 rpms? 8000*3 = you get over 100 amps... this car is not capable of hitting the sweet spot you need it to hit.

So your options are:

Deal with it.

Have them swap you out for a denso 180 amp unit. That unit WILL charge at idle and you WILL be happy with it.

I've ran the 320 in my car, i hated it. I ran the 180HP in my car and I loved it. I now run the XP and well, i love it like a fat kid loves cake.

You want idle from mechman? get the 180 amp denso.

Sorry to be blunt, but I want you to realize that you're wasting your time. you can't make more idle performance out of an alternator by replacing wires. Our car is a 3 alternator rpm to 1 engine rpm. want to know what the alternator does? look at that power curve and do (engine rpm) * 3 = alternator RPM.

Hey Kyle, not saying this is the case, bc obviously its not, but if he had a bigger battery bank, would this still be an issue?? because of the power curve? or would a big a$$ battery bank help that?

The more batteries you have the more load that will be to sustain the higher voltage. It will be a trade off, you get more batteries, you will have better voltage at idle, but you'll be requiring more power to recharge them. More batteries to bring up to 14.5-15v takes more power..

Knowing the exact unit they're using and knowing this car like the back of my hand you have these options.... and they're not gonna be what you want to hear. That alternator is NOT designed for idle output in a camry. They idle too low. If I was at work, I would show you what alldata says for what our idle speed is in our cars. It's just not going to happen with that unit. You're wasting your time. Remember when I said our car idles at 2000 Alternator RPM?

Here is a power curve of our 320HP that is the same alternator you got for your vehicle.

Notice what it does at 2000? it does 39 amps.. what happens when you increase it 800 rpms? 8000*3 = you get over 100 amps... this car is not capable of hitting the sweet spot you need it to hit.

So your options are:

Deal with it.

Have them swap you out for a denso 180 amp unit. That unit WILL charge at idle and you WILL be happy with it.

I've ran the 320 in my car, i hated it. I ran the 180HP in my car and I loved it. I now run the XP and well, i love it like a fat kid loves cake.

You want idle from mechman? get the 180 amp denso.

Sorry to be blunt, but I want you to realize that you're wasting your time. you can't make more idle performance out of an alternator by replacing wires. Our car is a 3 alternator rpm to 1 engine rpm. want to know what the alternator does? look at that power curve and do (engine rpm) * 3 = alternator RPM.

Hey Kyle, not saying this is the case, bc obviously its not, but if he had a bigger battery bank, would this still be an issue?? because of the power curve? or would a big a$$ battery bank help that?

The OP's vehicle idles below the rpm level needed to trigger the alternator to turn on. At idle, the alternator is off, the entire electrical system relies on battery voltage(float level).

From the chart Kyle posted, their 320HP would produce around 93amps at idle (whether this be near the stock alts rating or below, I don't know), but 93a for stock electrical + a big stereo = no bueno.

So as you can see in either case, your mainly going to be relying on your batteries when the vehicle is parked or idling.

If the OP had thirty large agm batteries in the back of his car, he would have plenty of battery reserve, and the alternator's nearly non-existent contribution at idle wouldn't really matter in the scheme of things. (assuming your driving around like normal)

But having thirty agm batteries isn't going to change the alternator's turn on speed or power curve.

The alternator is "essentially" off. The vehicle takes about 30 or so amps to run without the AC or defroster. Put those two on you're at about 70-75 amps. If you guys want, I can shoot a video clamping it.

By the way, here is alldata spec for this car for idling:

The in-gear idle on the A/T cars is what kills it, the Denso's fall just below turn-on even with a 44mm pulley.

My BMW idles even lower than that at times, down around 500rpm, it kills alternator output.

This is defiantly things that the average person doesn't know. Hell these last posts opened my eyes to a little bit more things. It sucks to have had to spend money on anything and fid out later that its not going to work how you want it to. The only thing I can add to anyone that is looking at either mechman or DCpower, I might be off but go to autozone and read the haynes book on where your engine RPM is at idle and then see what can be done for you. This last sentence might offend but I think that This should have been caught way before a sale was ever made.

INB4

You're right, I noticed the 700rpm "turn on" ... But I didn't not realize that it actually meant the alternator supplied 1 or 0 amps below 700rpm. I made an assumption that the "turn on" meant more than stock ... May have been a stupid assumption, maybe a common assumption but I know now... I just have to make time to go see the mechanic to have the alternator removed and shipped back to Mechman for the "adjustment" of the "turn on" speed for the alternator. Hopefully it can be brought down to around 500rpm without making it shitty...

We all make mistakes, this being an expensive one even though I thought I researched properly. Guess I should've bugged them more, or at least known the right questions to ask...

You're right, I noticed the 700rpm "turn on" ... But I didn't not realize that it actually meant the alternator supplied 1 or 0 amps below 700rpm. I made an assumption that the "turn on" meant more than stock ... May have been a stupid assumption, maybe a common assumption but I know now... I just have to make time to go see the mechanic to have the alternator removed and shipped back to Mechman for the "adjustment" of the "turn on" speed for the alternator. Hopefully it can be brought down to around 500rpm without making it shitty...

We all make mistakes, this being an expensive one even though I thought I researched properly. Guess I should've bugged them more, or at least known the right questions to ask...

Did Mechman say they could adjust the turn on?

Yes. They sent me an email stating they can 100% do it, but the sacrifice being the top end lowering which I've already seen with other companies like DC Power. So I'll bite, but it sucks because now I'm looking at another $80 to remove and $20 to ship. Plus I'll need it installed AGAIN.

You could always ask me... as you know, I know this car better than anyone else. Which is why i told you in the first place XP or 180HP if you got from us..

You could always ask me... as you know, I know this car better than anyone else. Which is why i told you in the first place XP or 180HP if you got from us..

I didn't realize some information I needed to know.... But thanks Kyle...

Thanks for the insight Rob.... Would be nice...

Thank god for M/T cars. I have a scion with the exact same engine but M/T and it seems to idle consistently around 650 or so, right at the kick on point for my mechman. I'm not gonna lie, I would have been pissed to spend 500 bucks on an alternator for you to tell me, sorry, it just wont work on your car. (why offer it?)

The idle speed is adjustable via a flash program available from an import tuning shop or the dealer. This will allow cars with a lower idle to use the higher output units.

If I haven't seen it my bad, but maybe this should be part of the criteria when labeling anything a "direct plug and play" Again the average person doesn't know this at all. An extra sentence or two in the technical section would help a lot. will it discourage buyers? maybe, but at least things like this would get cut down a bit and better questions can be asked.

I understand we are modifying our cars but if I had known I would have to pay more for this to work I might have pasted. Sorry to sound messed up, I'm just looking at it from a customers view which I myself am. Regardless of company this thread is a learning experience, might be common knowledge to some but understand things better.

good luck Shogen.

The idle speed is adjustable via a flash program available from an import tuning shop or the dealer. This will allow cars with a lower idle to use the higher output units.

not on the Scion's.

I have not seen a vehicle yet with an electronic throttle body that can't have the idle speed raised via a flash at the dealer. They may not want to do it, but it can be done.

I've yet to find anyone with capabilities to do so for my car...

I've contacted o9 shops since this mention of the ECU... NONE of them can do it because the software apparently isn't available... 2 of them did mention/ask if I can adjust the throttle cable on my engine?? I didn't know the answer to that... Those 2 were interested in my question and asked why I was looking to do so, they told me to ask around and see with a local mechanic which, I may do...

Toyota dealers can do this, the problem is getting them to do it. They will tell you they can't, it's because they won't. They don't want to risk any liability in making that kind of adjustment.

Toyota dealers can do this, the problem is getting them to do it. They will tell you they can't, it's because they won't. They don't want to risk any liability in making that kind of adjustment.

I will be sending my alternator to you soon Eric, just had to get paid first so I could get my alternators switched.

Interesting thread since I have the same car as the OP with the Mechman 220A unit. I also can't get my alt to charge at idle, but I'm just about 25 RPM away from that. I could probably blow on the pedal and it will charge.

Toyota dealers can do this, the problem is getting them to do it. They will tell you they can't, it's because they won't. They don't want to risk any liability in making that kind of adjustment.

I will be sending my alternator to you soon Eric, just had to get paid first so I could get my alternators switched.

Send me a message when it's on it's way and we will get you handled fast.

Interesting thread since I have the same car as the OP with the Mechman 220A unit. I also can't get my alt to charge at idle, but I'm just about 25 RPM away from that. I could probably blow on the pedal and it will charge.

Sounds a bit ghey!!! Lmao