boxman420 Posted September 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 Im not sure if the volt drop will hurt you buuuut. Have you done the Big 3 yet? If not you should do it. It is pretty cheap, I think I done mine for under $40. I was running at about 13.4 and droppin to about 11. Then after the big 3 I run about 14.8 and drop to about 12.8. Voltage drops are actually pretty harmful for all electrical components. Remember this... Lower Voltage = Higher Amperage per Watt. Higher Amperage = MORE HEAT! So, if you are running 1,000 watts at 14 volts, that is just over 71 AMPS, but if that drops down to the 11 ~ 10 range it changes to over 90 AMPS. Plus, I think an automotive battery "dies" when it drops below 10.5 volts... As stated previously, a BIG-3 upgrade will help with running voltage, but do you only see drops at night? The problem may just be the fact that your alternator is not capable of keeping up with your amplifiers (Most likely the case). I am currently only 800 watts, and at night while my headlights are on, I see small drops on heavy notes. My alternator is only a 95 Amp, and I remember reading the headlights & fog lights alone eat up near 40 Amperes. So, I know that doesn't leave exactly enough for the 60+ Amperes being requested by my amplifier. A battery is a good solution, ONLY IF YOU PLAY MUSIC WITH THE CAR OFF. A battery will keep you running a little longer, but ultimately the alternator is where the power comes from. If your alternator can't keep up, your battery will never get fully charged; and you could prematurely kill it. I had a friend who ran an optima yellow top, and every time he got to where he was going, he had to sit and rev his engine for a few minutes before he could turn the truck off. Simply because, the alternator couldn't keep his amplifiers juiced, so the battery had to help fill in. i see voltage drops and dimming lights when ever my car is on and the stereo is at a decent volume. i have a display on my dash that has the typical "P, R, N, D ETC.) and that will dim way down. at night i do have HIDs in my head lights and fog lights. with some Leds under my dash. leds dont take much power but they are there. i did notice my amps were pretty hot last night. interesting point i can buy a nice HO alternator for around the same money as a XS battery. if i play music i turn my car on always cause it will kill my battery in a matter of minutes so i never play music with the car off.. im gonna have to look at getting me a new alternator now! . my stock alternator is only 102 amps so there is alot of room for improvement there. It wont nessecarily hurt, but it does hurt the output of your amps, your amps arent putting out as much power as they can. Id get a battery asap though. yeah thats not good.. so you suggest a battery? i have looked on other forums and most of the time people just upgrade their battery and not the alternator. i have even seen someone put 2 XS power batteries on a stock alternator.. which is a little confusing since mine cant keep up with my lousy die hard battery Quote 2001 Monte carlo 2-Crescendo BC5500 Bass, Crescendo 1600.2 and crescendo 1100.4 mids and highs clarion-702, 4 ZVX 15s walled, RF 360.3, knukonceptz, toolmaker, DC power 270xp and DC power 370xp alts, PWX mids, FT1 tweets, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMI CUSTOMS Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 LOL, all the power comes from the battery, the alt just maintains the battery. WOW, why do you guys think db drag competitors and extreme vehicles run an ASS load of batteries? Because that is where power is made at the battery. Granted on a daily system you want you current draw to match or slightly exceed your demand(current draw, i.e. the load). So best solution, slightly larger alternator and agm batteries, add your amp fuse ratings up and add that to your stock alt, best would be to current clamp the amps. So if you amps need 150 amps of fusing and your stock alt is 120 amp, then you need a 270 amp alt, PLUS the same amount of RC capacity in battery reserve to maintain a healthy electrical. BIG 3 is a MUST once you upgrade your alt. Is low voltage bad? Best way to toast your amps in a hurry. Hope that helps. Quote TEAM SOUNDQUBED -- TEAM SOUTH TEAM S.O.B. - Founder & Captain 3x Streetbeat World Record Holder 2017 MWSPL 1st place Mayhem & 4th Xtreme 4 2016 MWSPL 1st place Mayhem/2nd Adv 4/2nd Xtreme 4 2015 MWSPL 2nd place Mayhem & 4th Xtreme 4 2014 USACI 2nd place Streetbeat 5 - 162.6 db 2014 MWSPL 2nd place Xtreme 4 - 144.9 db 2013 USACI 1st place Streetbeat 4 - 161.9 db 2013 USACI 1st place Street Q+ - 162.8 db 2013 MWSPL 3rd Kaos2 & 4th Xtreme 4 2011 USACI 2nd place MOD 1001-2k - 160.0 db 2011 MWSPL 4th place: Adv3 - 157.8 db, Kaos2 - 150s db, Xtreme4 - 140s db 2010 ARSPL 1st place 501-750 - 160.3 db Arkansas loudest Best score to date 164.4 db - Termlab Outlaw Streetbeat 4 - 161.9 db Streetbeat 5 - 162.6 db MWSPL on Dash Legal door open (Music) - 162.5 db Sealed on dash Legal (Music) - 161.1 db - Termlab THE BLACK NASTY CURRENT BUILD & FAB The Black Nasty (6) 15 Rebuild Log 2012 (4) 15 Walled Sierra Build Log Evo X build log Facebook page The Black Nasty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxman420 Posted September 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) LOL, all the power comes from the battery, the alt just maintains the battery. WOW, why do you guys think db drag competitors and extreme vehicles run an ASS load of batteries? Because that is where power is made at the battery. Granted on a daily system you want you current draw to match or slightly exceed your demand(current draw, i.e. the load). So best solution, slightly larger alternator and agm batteries, add your amp fuse ratings up and add that to your stock alt, best would be to current clamp the amps. So if you amps need 150 amps of fusing and your stock alt is 120 amp, then you need a 270 amp alt, PLUS the same amount of RC capacity in battery reserve to maintain a healthy electrical. BIG 3 is a MUST once you upgrade your alt. Is low voltage bad? Best way to toast your amps in a hurry. Hope that helps. now this makes more sense to me. cause i have never seen a car with a large system with just one regular old battery. most have at least 2 XS power, stinger, ETC batteries. yes that does make a lot of sense my amps alone are pulling more power then my alternator puts out. ill look at getting a HO alternator with a XS power 3400 under the hood and see what that does and if its still dropping a lot ill put a smaller battery in the trunk as well. man i appreciate everyones help very much! i love this forum already! Edited September 5, 2011 by boxman420 Quote 2001 Monte carlo 2-Crescendo BC5500 Bass, Crescendo 1600.2 and crescendo 1100.4 mids and highs clarion-702, 4 ZVX 15s walled, RF 360.3, knukonceptz, toolmaker, DC power 270xp and DC power 370xp alts, PWX mids, FT1 tweets, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandorasCustoms Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 LOL, all the power comes from the battery, the alt just maintains the battery. WOW, why do you guys think db drag competitors and extreme vehicles run an ASS load of batteries? Because that is where power is made at the battery. Granted on a daily system you want you current draw to match or slightly exceed your demand(current draw, i.e. the load). So best solution, slightly larger alternator and agm batteries, add your amp fuse ratings up and add that to your stock alt, best would be to current clamp the amps. So if you amps need 150 amps of fusing and your stock alt is 120 amp, then you need a 270 amp alt, PLUS the same amount of RC capacity in battery reserve to maintain a healthy electrical. BIG 3 is a MUST once you upgrade your alt. Is low voltage bad? Best way to toast your amps in a hurry. Hope that helps. It is understood that power comes from the battery, WHEN THE VEHICLE IS OFF. Competitors and Daily Drivers are two totally different categories. In competition, you don't always have the vehicle running when you are in the lanes, so mass amounts of batteries are necessary. If you have a H/O alternator and as stated, the vehicle is always running; then you should never need to upgrade your battery. The amps should not take any draw off of it unless your alternator can't supply enough power. When the vehicle is running, it doesn't constantly draw from the battery and have the alternator recharge it, it pulls directly from the alternator. This is why manufacturers don't really care about A/H in batteries, just CA & CCA. A factory or aftermarket battery designed for a vehicle (One picked up from Autozone, Pep Boys, etc...) is designed to start the car. That is about it; because it is understood the alternator will be doing the rest of the work (Headlights, Radio, ECU, Etc..). In a perfect scenario, a battery & alternator upgrade would be optimal, but the OP was just concerned about the voltage drops. Additionally, be sure to check into the H/O alternators manufacturer,it has been seen that even though they are stated as 200, 270, 320 amperes of constant power, a lot of these are at a specific RPM range. Some manufacturer's will set it so you have to be at 2500+ RPM to even get the amount of power they state, and other have it a lot lower (I think Mechman was 1750?) Quote Chris - "The Apprentice" - Pandora's Box Customs 1994 Ford Explorer - "Midnight" - 4.0L SOHC SoundStream PCX-1000D & Kicker S12L5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirill007 Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 LOL, all the power comes from the battery, the alt just maintains the battery. WOW, why do you guys think db drag competitors and extreme vehicles run an ASS load of batteries? Because that is where power is made at the battery. Granted on a daily system you want you current draw to match or slightly exceed your demand(current draw, i.e. the load). So best solution, slightly larger alternator and agm batteries, add your amp fuse ratings up and add that to your stock alt, best would be to current clamp the amps. So if you amps need 150 amps of fusing and your stock alt is 120 amp, then you need a 270 amp alt, PLUS the same amount of RC capacity in battery reserve to maintain a healthy electrical. BIG 3 is a MUST once you upgrade your alt. Is low voltage bad? Best way to toast your amps in a hurry. Hope that helps. LOL(see what did there?) Alt makes "power", battery stores it, amps pull the "power" from the battery. So your competitors example is bad. They need a assload of batteries as a reserve because they can't put enough alts in the engine bay for their 2000-4000amps that they pull. Most important thing is the alt, first upgrade that and then the battery. That's the most logical order. Alt "feeds" the battery whcih "feeds" the amp. So with more batts you will be able to play a bit longer but the strain on the stock alt is much greater since it has to recharge multiple batts instead of 1. And to the topic starter, if you can buy a HO alt for the price of a decent batt, then it's possible the alt isn't good. Which one is it? Quote Thinking is the root of all problems... You ALWAYS get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 When i look at the pic he posted, i see a battery that has been boiling over. I would replace the battery first thing. Then look into a ho alt But that battery is done Quote 2008 California state record holder 157.2 Bassrace2009 California state record holder 157.0 BassraceRollin 50's 158.7db2009 King of Cali Bassrace2009 USACi score 160.5 @ 42hz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrionStang Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 I saw that, too, Ray. OP, if you can't afford XS, I would at least get an Optima or other more affordable SEALED battery. Quote SMD Super Seller My Feedback Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandorasCustoms Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) When i look at the pic he posted, i see a battery that has been boiling over. I would replace the battery first thing. Then look into a ho alt But that battery is done Good look Ray, and great point. I did make that mistake. I let a battery run itself to death and literally exploded while I was going down the road one day. Since the vehicle was my daily driver, I hadn't even opened the hood in many months. It had one of the caps come loose and was leaking out the top. Basically, dried up and one of the cells went Kaboom!... Exploded right out the side of it. Luckily, didn't damage anything else in the car. Just the leaking acid took some engine bay paint with it. Regardless of the alternator choice, some form of replacement should be gotten. Edited September 5, 2011 by PandorasCustoms Quote Chris - "The Apprentice" - Pandora's Box Customs 1994 Ford Explorer - "Midnight" - 4.0L SOHC SoundStream PCX-1000D & Kicker S12L5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebel4055 Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 When i look at the pic he posted, i see a battery that has been boiling over. I would replace the battery first thing. Then look into a ho alt But that battery is done That battery was someone else. Quote Rest In Peace mother. January 22, 1955 - February 14, 2013 http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/user/35351-megrch/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandorasCustoms Posted September 5, 2011 Report Share Posted September 5, 2011 When i look at the pic he posted, i see a battery that has been boiling over. I would replace the battery first thing. Then look into a ho alt But that battery is done That battery was someone else. Maybe Monkievlog should look into getting his battery replaced then... Quote Chris - "The Apprentice" - Pandora's Box Customs 1994 Ford Explorer - "Midnight" - 4.0L SOHC SoundStream PCX-1000D & Kicker S12L5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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