Sindacious Posted August 10, 2013 Report Posted August 10, 2013 My system: 2 Kicker DS525 in the front doors 2 Kicker DS693 in the rear doors Hifonics GLX60.4 powering those speakers 2 Alpine SWS-12D4 Hifonics HFi1500D powering the subs Power Acoustik PTID-8920BT headunit Running 4 awg wiring to everything. I have 2 starter batteries in the car. one in the front and my older one (mechanic told me to replace, but i charged it and it read 12.6v) in the back wired in parallel to the 2 amps. I upgraded the ground on the front battery. and the grounds in the trunk are perfect. I sanded down to bare metal and bolted them. I do have the ground from the sub amp connected to the negative of the trunk battery, but i read somewhere that it is better to have it like that. It's a 2002 Ford Taurus with 148,000 mi. I think I'm going to do the alternator positive to the battery positive today to see if that helps. If I just have the speakers amp running it seems like there is no light dimming, probably because there is not that much power draw. Maybe my sub amp is bad.
TRON Posted August 10, 2013 Report Posted August 10, 2013 What is the voltage when the engine is running? Anything lower that 13.5 could mean your alternator is weak. Doing the "Big Three" is a way to make sure your alternator can get the juice to the primary battery. Also, ordinary lead-acid batteries wont really help out that much, especially if your mechanic said to replace one of them. (Just because you charged it doesn't mean it can hold that charge under load). AGM batteries are the way to go in car audio. I'd definitely check your alternator though, and I'd upgrade it too. Side note: Not sure how much you know about car audio but: Your vehicle wasn't designed to power aftermarket amplifiers, therefore you need so upgrade your electrical to support the amount of current an amplifier can draw.That's 101 of headlight dimming. If your budget has is, just get a HO alternator and a pair of AGMs Avalanche Alpine Type S comps Alpine Type S 10'' Alpine MPR-F300 Alpine MRX-M50 Mechamn 270 XS Power d3400s
Guest DC Power Kyle Posted August 10, 2013 Report Posted August 10, 2013 What is the voltage when the engine is running? Anything lower that 13.5 could mean your alternator is weak. Doing the "Big Three" is a way to make sure your alternator can get the juice to the primary battery. Also, ordinary lead-acid batteries wont really help out that much, especially if your mechanic said to replace one of them. (Just because you charged it doesn't mean it can hold that charge under load). AGM batteries are the way to go in car audio. I'd definitely check your alternator though, and I'd upgrade it too. Side note: Not sure how much you know about car audio but: Your vehicle wasn't designed to power aftermarket amplifiers, therefore you need so upgrade your electrical to support the amount of current an amplifier can draw.That's 101 of headlight dimming. If your budget has is, just get a HO alternator and a pair of AGMs Just because your alternator is charging at 13.5 or lower doesnt mean it's weak. My Toyota charges as low as 13 volts on a hot day but still can put out a ton of amperage.
AMI CUSTOMS Posted August 11, 2013 Report Posted August 11, 2013 The second battery needs to be load tested, could be bad. That could be your whole problem. 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
Sindacious Posted August 12, 2013 Author Report Posted August 12, 2013 So I did the big 3 and it still has dimming. It is better, but not by much. I only added that second battery because of the dimming. My friend has a 2400 watt amp in his 2002 Ford Escape with absolutely no dimming. I have no idea whats wrong. I think my next step its going to be to get a capacitor. The voltage of the alternator is a solid 14.01v.
Josef344 Posted August 12, 2013 Report Posted August 12, 2013 So I did the big 3 and it still has dimming. It is better, but not by much. I only added that second battery because of the dimming. My friend has a 2400 watt amp in his 2002 Ford Escape with absolutely no dimming. I have no idea whats wrong. I think my next step its going to be to get a capacitor. The voltage of the alternator is a solid 14.01v. Just because he has a "2400" watt amp doesn't mean he really has that full "2400" rms. Also even the smallest voltage drop could possibly dim your headlights. Chris Brown's build log, prepare for some beating
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