can this cause electrical issues?

I just purchased a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville that is fully loaded with power everything. Currently, there are two issues that (in my opinion) are electrical problems: Back power windows do not work and the heated seats also do not work.

I told the dealer my intention of adding in-dash TV to replace the stock stereo as one of the lights is currently burnt out in the display, and then adding my JL13W7 and JL1000/1 to the mix. He told me that adding an aftermarket stereo of any kind and "messing around" with the wiring can cause many electrical issues within the car and that his reputation is on the line if the car fails.

I've had car stereos in my cars before and I can sort of see where he is coming from, but I am not 100% convinced that this is an inevitable scenario.

I went to the shop I get all of my work and equipment from and they just told me to add an additional battery and it will be fine.

Is this true? Seems too easy.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Will the addition of a car stereo cause inevitable doom to the rest of my electrical systems?

That amp is very power hungry.  Save the battery money and put it towards a High Output Alternator.  Look in the Car Audio Hot Topics forum for the thread on Upgrading the Big 3, do that and upgrade the alternator and all will be fine.  Running that amp with the stock alternator will not do any damage to your vehicle.

Thank you very much!

But have your two issues sorted first, then they CAN'T blame you!

I installed the sub and amp into the car and it rarely dips below 14V, but as soon as I turn the car off and play music, my battery last about 5 minutes.

I've been hearing from people that a second battery is more important than a HO alt.

Also, I don't know where to find a decent alt for a fair price. Any suggestions?

IDMAX12V3 wrote:

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I've been hearing from people that a second battery is more important than a HO alt.

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Yep, there are lots of morons around.

It's not moronic if you like supplying below 12.7V to your system rather than 14.4V.
Nor is it moronic if you want to be left with a flat battery after 10 minutes instead of 5.   


But clever people upgrade their alternator to handle its load.

They then add batteries is they want to increase their reserve time (the time it takes until you get a flattery - whether not charging, or if the alternator does not handle its load).

oldspark wrote:

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IDMAX12V3 wrote:

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I've been hearing from people that a second battery is more important than a HO alt.

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Yep, there are lots of morons around.

It's not moronic if you like supplying below 12.7V to your system rather than 14.4V.
Nor is it moronic if you want to be left with a flat battery after 10 minutes instead of 5.   


But clever people upgrade their alternator to handle its load.

They then add batteries is they want to increase their reserve time (the time it takes until you get a flattery - whether not charging, or if the alternator does not handle its load).

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I had an issue again tonight with my car dying. This time I have no explanation.

I parked my car at work and went to get something from it on my break and I noticed my remote unlock didn't work. I tried starting the car it was dead. A few hours later a co-worker came to jump the battery and I noticed the headlight/tail lights were flashing (almost like hazard lights) and my amp had the 'Low Voltage' light on. There was a clicking sound coming from in or around my fuse box every time the lights went on.

I boosted it and it worked fine, but when I turned my car off, I noticed that a power light is still on the amp. That isn't normal, is it? What could be the issue there?

The Amp was on.
It drained the battery.
Or the alarm did (it was responding to a low battery voltage as many (IMO crap) alarms seem to do).

The battery needs a good charge else it is stuffed.


If you mean power light on the amp as in "the amp is on" power light (not a low voltage power light), I'd argue that having it on when you leave the car is not normal.

I have no alarm on the car, so it must have been the amp. I just don't know why the amp is still on when there is no key in the ignition.

I even had a 'pro' install it. I guess this just goes to show that you should do your own work whenever possible.

Main reasons for flat battery:-
Leave lights on
Leave dome lights on
Charge failure (short journeys etc.)
Bad alternator, loose drive belts.
Lack of battery care and maintenance.
Loose terminals, bad connections (not flat but same symptoms)
Lousy wiring such as wiring an amp full time rather than via the H/unit's switch trigger or faulty head unit and accessories.

Lights were off, journey was about 7km at 60-80km/h.

Not sure about alt or battery yet, but the connections for the battery should be tight.

I have a feeling it is a lousy wiring job. There is no reason, in my mind, for why the amp is still powered on.

When I am playing it loud, no lights dim, no noticeable dip in V, and there is no sign of anything going wrong. It's only when the car is off.

IDMAX12V3 wrote:

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I even had a 'pro' install it. I guess this just goes to show that you should do your own work whenever possible.

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No - the advice after that statement (before your reply above) is by a pro.

I suspect you had it installed by a professional.

Next time, get a real pro - not someone that is merely paid for doing it.

(Relax Max - I'm having my usual go at "qualified" and allegedly expert people... Few of those on here, though there was one about to take an exam....)

I took it back today and they said that it was because I don't have an after market HU yet and there is no remote switch on the stock one. They hooked it up to my AUX power, but now when it turns off, there is 'pop' and then it comes back on about 15 seconds later and then goes off again.

I'm going to just get my TV installed sooner than expected and see where that takes me.

The answer they gave you is no reason for doing what they did. They should have informed you of the situation at the time of the original install. They must have known that wiring the amp like that would lead to grief. I'm also sure that a couple of people on this site have the answer to the popping, or if you have a screen antenna rather than a rod, there WILL be a switched output SOMEWHERE on the head unit. I don't know the vehicle or the head unit enough to comment, but, back in the early 70s I remember soldering to the backs of the volume controls on the old push button radios.

What can I say...?

There is NEVER a pro around when you need one.
EXCEPT on this site.


(The pot soldering was to earth/ground the housing to avoid static buildup of interference. But that was when components were analog... (lol))

upgrade your battery add one or more batteries upgrade your alt upgrade your ground and charge cables upgrade all cables going to and from battery to battery and battery to amp 4ga /0ga that amp with that woofer pulls a lot of current if you are playing your sub while driving alt not charging fast enough while sitting no charge left also check if the inside of your cables are green and since you probably have side post make sure the connection to battery is not rusted or loose

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abethebue

IDMAX12V3 wrote:

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I installed the sub and amp into the car and it rarely dips below 14V, but as soon as I turn the car off and play music, my battery last about 5 minutes.

I've been hearing from people that a second battery is more important than a HO alt.

Also, I don't know where to find a decent alt for a fair price. Any suggestions?

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If you do add a second battery, then isolate it from the starting battery with a diode isolator (or build your own relay isolator) and run all your audio equipment and aux. wiring off the isolated battery. That way you can drain your aux. battery but the starting battery will have plenty of juice to start the motor.

I also think that a deep cycle battery would work best as your aux. battery. It does not have the CCA of a starting battery but it handles deep discharge very well and can just be recharged.

But the alternator is what makes the power, a battery is mostly there so you can start your motor.

Good to see those Viking Gods are on the ball!

Call me a pagan, but I too believe isolators to be essential. (Actually it's not a belief - it is knowledge, but I let live. And let die.)

Though I reckon diode isolators are "the worst" type for heavy currents etc. (Plus no battery is on the same rail as the alternator...)
Even "smart" (aka voltage sensing etc) isolators are preferable IMO.

But the only time a "smart" isolator is warranted is when there is no charge light - as with permanent magnet rotor alternators etc (marine applications etc).
Or if people prefer spending money on a "transportable" device rather than finding which wire is the charge-lamp circuit.


But for those with a charge light, it's usually a case of adding whatever capacity relay you want - whether 30A or 300A. (Big relays may need a intermediate relay or FETs so they don't overload the alternator/regulator's charge lamp circuit.)

Heja Tor!