Added XS Power battery and lights still dimming. Could my NON class D amp be the culprit?

[walwalka]

The regulator on the alternator uses a load sensing mechanism to determine what the output needs to be for the given load. This takes time, milliseconds but time none the less. Being that the D925 is a very small battery that carries very little surface charge your voltage is going to drop enough before the alternator picks up some of the slack. There is three ways to fix this issue, changing to HIDs is an option as it will work. My preferred option is caps banks and alternator upgrade, caps help maintain constant voltage if you have enough alternator to charge them. 

[koolcat90]

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys. As for changing to HID's I understand how they'd be better, a lot less sensitive. I don't want to go that route though because in my area people are constantly ticketed for such aftermarket things and I do a considerable amount of driving.

I am going to upgrade my main 2GA line to 1/0 and see if that helps any. I know for a fact my grounds are good.

The isolator I absolutely need because when I had my smaller Kinetik HC600 blu battery wired directly to under hood Interstate battery for 6 months, it KILLED my Interstate battery. Its a Stinger 200A isolator/relay.

I do not plan on keeping this car for more than another 6-9 months so spending $500+ for a custom high output alt doesn't make sense. It's a 98 Altima and I had some timing chain issues that a shop "patched" for me, runs OK but doesn't have nearly as much power/acceleration than it did when I first got it. Timing chain replacement for my car NOT a cheap fix due to all the labor and not a job I feel comfortable doing.

I'm still having a hard time understanding why a 620ish watt amp is making lights dim especially after I made sure both batteries were fully charged externally. The lights dimming bothers me, and it bothers me to know that I'm going from 14.3V-12/13 volts which makes the bass a lot lighter on those low notes.

Also, the D925 may not be big but it has made a noticeable difference in sound quality compared to that tiny Kinetik I had in there.

[koolcat90]

33 minutes ago, walwalka said:

The regulator on the alternator uses a load sensing mechanism to determine what the output needs to be for the given load. This takes time, milliseconds but time none the less. Being that the D925 is a very small battery that carries very little surface charge your voltage is going to drop enough before the alternator picks up some of the slack. There is three ways to fix this issue, changing to HIDs is an option as it will work. My preferred option is caps banks and alternator upgrade, caps help maintain constant voltage if you have enough alternator to charge them. 

Thanks for the info. I was going to try caps but I don't like the idea of them... I've had several friends (maybe they hooked things up wrong I don't know...) one of which car caught on fire when cap exploded and another friend whose cap killed several of his amps or so he claimed.

[Jessica]

5 minutes ago, koolcat90 said:

Thanks for the info. I was going to try caps but I don't like the idea of them... I've had several friends (maybe they hooked things up wrong I don't know...) one of which car caught on fire when cap exploded and another friend whose cap killed several of his amps or so he claimed.

He is talking about supercaps, like the maxwell brand, they are usually 2.7v and you wire 6 in series for a "12v" bank. Not those other caps. If you do decide to get caps later, make sure they are as close to the amp input as possible. Why it makes a difference i dont know, but it does.

[koolcat90]

5 minutes ago, strangeduck said:

He is talking about supercaps, like the maxwell brand, they are usually 2.7v and you wire 6 in series for a "12v" bank. Not those other caps. If you do decide to get caps later, make sure they are as close to the amp input as possible. Why it makes a difference i dont know, but it does.

Gotcha! Found them on amazon, will give them a try if all else fails.

[koolcat90]

I was going to try and bypass the voltage regulator on alternator but decided that's probably not a good idea. Or is it?

[Jessica]

Bad idea

[SkarredSierra]

Ive had the same kinetik batt as you wired to my front lead acid for 3+ years with no isolater and havent had a single issue.  Interstate must have been on its way out.

[meade916]

18 hours ago, koolcat90 said:

Wow, thanks for all the replies guys. As for changing to HID's I understand how they'd be better, a lot less sensitive. I don't want to go that route though because in my area people are constantly ticketed for such aftermarket things and I do a considerable amount of driving.

I am going to upgrade my main 2GA line to 1/0 and see if that helps any. I know for a fact my grounds are good.

The isolator I absolutely need because when I had my smaller Kinetik HC600 blu battery wired directly to under hood Interstate battery for 6 months, it KILLED my Interstate battery. Its a Stinger 200A isolator/relay.

I do not plan on keeping this car for more than another 6-9 months so spending $500+ for a custom high output alt doesn't make sense. It's a 98 Altima and I had some timing chain issues that a shop "patched" for me, runs OK but doesn't have nearly as much power/acceleration than it did when I first got it. Timing chain replacement for my car NOT a cheap fix due to all the labor and not a job I feel comfortable doing.

I'm still having a hard time understanding why a 620ish watt amp is making lights dim especially after I made sure both batteries were fully charged externally. The lights dimming bothers me, and it bothers me to know that I'm going from 14.3V-12/13 volts which makes the bass a lot lighter on those low notes.

Also, the D925 may not be big but it has made a noticeable difference in sound quality compared to that tiny Kinetik I had in there.

fyi: if you get an HID upgrade, you stick to 6,000k and below, you won't have any problems with cops.  4500k would be perfect and not much of a color change. It's those ridiculous 15,000k and up fools that get busted.  I personally like 7-8k max.  

[ShadeTreeMechanic]

If you don't want to do an alt because you might change vehicles, then add more batteries to the back. Pick up two G31 AGM locally where ever they are on sale. I have seen people compete with six g31 on a stock alternator. This will allow you to play longer before the voltage goes down, but remember that what you take out of the batteries you must put back in. This might mean driving around for almost an hour with the volume down to recharge and/or putting it on a charger overnight. Then the batteries can be transferred to the next vehicle when the time comes.