Power Supply
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Audio
Forum Discription: Car Stereos, Amplifiers, Crossovers, Processors, Speakers, Subwoofers, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=22145
Printed Date: May 08, 2024 at 2:26 PM
Topic: Power Supply
Posted By: flashalexb
Subject: Power Supply
Date Posted: November 30, 2003 at 7:53 PM
Hey I just wired my car and instead of hooking the power supply to the battery I hooked it up to the altenator. What are the pros and cons to this?
Replies:
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 01, 2003 at 3:11 PM
Will this still create 12 volts for my amp or will it be more or less?
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: December 01, 2003 at 3:52 PM
Yes this will work, most if not all alternators have voltage regulators built into them, however a battery tends to smooth out "ripples" in the supply path. Usually it's a better idea to hook up to the battery or dedicated power terminal, rather than the alternator.
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Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 01, 2003 at 6:08 PM
So the supply ripples will make changes in the amout of power my amp is getting?
Posted By: defective
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 10:08 AM
ya, you will even hear the ripples, not a good idea. Very bad for caps that need to be regulated. Not to mention that if you suck too much power, your amp will probly turn off casue theres no reserve (a.k.a: battery)
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Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 10:15 AM
So you guys are saying I would be better off taking my power wire off the altenator and putting it on the battery. Or do u think I should try it on the altenator first?
Posted By: Stevolon
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 10:33 AM
defective. I am curious what you mean by "Very bad for caps that need to be regulated".
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Steve@A.E.S
Posted By: PuppyDawg
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 12:44 PM
well you have a choice flash......you could either hook it up to the alternator and get equal results PLUS ripples....OR you can just hook it up to the traditional battery and not have to worry about ripples......remember my friend, in a mobile electronic installation you want to lessen ripples as much as you can.
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*paw print*
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 3:35 PM
Im pretty sure I like the choice without ripples. Thanx you guys
Posted By: PuppyDawg
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 3:41 PM
*pats you on the back* trust me my friend......you'd definately rather the sound system without ripples.....let us know how it turns out man.
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*paw print*
Posted By: Durwood
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 5:50 PM
But if you have a clean, heavy-gauge connection between the alternator and the battery (as you should), than the quality of the DC voltage will be identical at both spots. Try it out sometime with an oscilloscope. Electrically, the positive terminal of the battery and the positive terminal of the alternator are equavalent points. If they aren't , then you have a poor connection between the two. Scott Gardner
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 5:54 PM
Aight Ive takin it off the the alternator. But my battery is all the way under my strut bar, fuse box, and window washier fluid reseivor. But there is a terminal that is used to make jump starting easier. So can I hook it up to this? It should still be the same thing as hooking it up to the battery but in a different place. Ohh and by the way my car is a 96 Buick Regal. Damn I hate the way they hid the battery.
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 5:58 PM
Durwood that is what my uncle was telling me and that is why I hooked it up to the altenator in the first place but as of right now its not hooked up to anything. I just need to know if it would be alright to hook the power up to the terminal which would be ohh so nice if I can without there being any problems. But the rest of my install peices will be here tomorrow so I will be able to test and find out..
Posted By: Durwood
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 6:30 PM
Yes, you can hook up either to the jump-start post or to the positive terminal to the alternator. They are all electrically equivalent and will provide identical "quality" power, IF YOU HAVE CLEAN, HEAVY-GAUGE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE THREE POINTS!!! Sorry to yell, but that's a very important point. If you use the alternator or jump-start terminal, make sure that the connection from there back to the battery is clean, and at least as large as the power wire you're using for your amplifier. As for there being "ripples" at the alternator, but not at the battery, that's impossible, unless there's a poor connection or some component other than a wire connecting the two. For "ripples" to appear at one end of a wire, and not the other, would violate Kirchoff's Voltage Law. Scott Gardner
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 7:02 PM
Thanx Durwood I wish I knew all of this before I unwired it from the altenator im using 4 guage wire and the jump start post is hooked up with an 8 guage wire. How much of a difference will this make because I can get to my battery(which I did today but I put it back together) Except I dont know how to get the power cable on the battery because its not only a screw it also has this big red thing and I cant get the screw out of the redthing to attach the power cable.
Posted By: Durwood
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 7:23 PM
As long as it's a short, clean 8-gauge connection, you're probably okay. How much current do you expect your amplifier to draw? Get a multimeter and take a resistance measurement between the jump-start terminal and the positive terminal of your battery. If the reading is zero, or at least less than a few hundredths of an Ohm, I'd say you're safe. Scott Gardner
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 9:04 PM
The distance is like 1 foot so it should be pretty good. Im hoping if not I can always connect it to the battery some how later.
Posted By: chriswallace187
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 9:22 PM
I've used the jump start post for every amp install I've ever done on a W-body. It works fine
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 02, 2003 at 10:03 PM
Aight sounds like Im in luck Im going to use the jump start post unless anyone else begs to differ.
Posted By: Stevolon
Date Posted: December 03, 2003 at 11:31 AM
I agree fully with durwood. as long as the resistance on the wire from the alternator to the battery is very low it is the same electrical point.
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Steve@A.E.S
Posted By: flashalexb
Date Posted: December 03, 2003 at 3:10 PM
Aight Im going to wire my system today thanks everyone for all the help. Ill let you guys know how it sounds.
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