Amps Shut Off when car is idle
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=80037
Printed Date: July 12, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Topic: Amps Shut Off when car is idle
Posted By: VTorrez723
Subject: Amps Shut Off when car is idle
Date Posted: July 07, 2006 at 10:35 PM
hello please help, i have a 2001 chevrolet Cavalier with 112,000 miles and origanal alt. NEW optima battery, and im running a brand new JVC headunit, 2 Polk/MoMo 10" subs, and 2 mono block 250w bazooka amps, a 4 ga. amp kit, and a 1.0 farad cap, and when the car is in idle with the A/C on the amps shut off untill i start moving again and i speed up then they turn on.. but when the A/C is off the bass is fine idle or not.. also i had the alt tested and they (autozone) say its fine.. but who knows... please help..its real annoying, and i wont sweat my ass off to hear the bass, but i need bass... also i was thinking of a dual batt hookup, or a new alt..
Replies:
Posted By: cntrylvr79
Date Posted: July 07, 2006 at 11:44 PM
First things first, make sure your ground is tight and grounded to a bare piece of metal. Also check the rest of the connections at the amps, cap and battery. Make sure all of them are tight.
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Cause I'm So white and nerdy...
First Class Certi-fried installer
Posted By: coppellstereo
Date Posted: July 07, 2006 at 11:58 PM
is this only at high volume? Keep in mind that your battery has to power your A/C, your amp, AND keep your cap charged.
Try reving the engine while stopped at a light and see if that helps
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Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 2:12 AM
First upgrade the big three, if you don't know what this is read the sticky above about upgrading the big three.
Doing this will definitely help out your electrical system...dich the cap or sell it.
Also how are your gains set? And like the others said check that all connections are good and tight.
Posted By: VTorrez723
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 7:49 AM
coppellstereo, when i do rev the engine when the a/c is on at idle the amps to turn back on, but when is goes back down then they shut off again.. i was thinking that my cap was bad.. what is the purpose of a cap if it osent do what its supposed to do? im Lost. also, they shut off any time the a/c is on at idle, loud or soft volume.. when the A/C is off then they shut off when the bass hits really hard and is loud, almost all they way up.. also , how the heck to i set the gains? how am i supposed to set them? thank you all for the help
Posted By: haemphyst
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 8:58 AM
VTorrez723 wrote:
coppellstereo, when i do rev the engine when the a/c is on at idle the amps to turn back on, but when is goes back down then they shut off again.. i was thinking that my cap was bad.. what is the purpose of a cap if it osent do what its supposed to do?
Ahhh... another "buyer of the bandaid story". And just what is it that you were told a cap would do for your system? That it would magically "find" power to keep your system running under all circumstances? That it would keep your lights from dimming? A cap will do nothing for your particular, obviously underpowered system. ALL OF YOUR POWER COMES FROM YOUR (presently too-small) ALTERNATOR. If you alternator cannot provide enough power to maintain 12 (let alone 14.4) volts, your alternator is too small. This forum has been over this and over this point, with argument after argument shot down. All a cap is good for is to minimize current demand spikes from your alternator/battery combination - it's a power-line filter. It cannot magically generate more power than the system has in total. Sadly, you are now learning this the hard way. You now need to come up with extra money (money that is now sitting in your wasted capacitor) to upgrade you alternator, and ALL the power wiring under your hood. The alternator, the alternator - battery cable and the ground - chassis cable are often referred to as "The Big Three". This is your next step... VTorrez723 wrote:
im Lost. also, they shut off any time the a/c is on at idle, loud or soft volume.. when the A/C is off then they shut off when the bass hits really hard and is loud, almost all they way up.. also , how the heck to i set the gains? how am i supposed to set them?thank you all for the help
Use the search function above, and search for "setting gain"... You might also check into a search about "The Big Three"... ------------- It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."
Posted By: VTorrez723
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 9:36 AM
Should i look for a HO Alt? or just an oem alt, since its the origanal and the car has 112,000 miles and its only a 2001, and this is like my 3rd battery? please help
Posted By: geepherder
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 9:43 AM
Does this also happen when the car is not running but the key is in accessory? Meter across the remote turn on and amp ground terminal at the amp and see what voltage reading you get. Be sure to try this under all conditions- car idling with a/c on, car idling with a/c off, car not running with key on accessory a/c off, etc. Also do this across the power and ground terminals of the amp. My bet is you have a voltage problem. If you have a good supply of power to the amp and the remote lead is at fault, wire a relay so the remote terminal gets power from your constant. ------------- My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.
Posted By: VTorrez723
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 9:48 AM
Also, what about adding additional alt to batt cable and batt to chassi ground instead of replacing original w/ smaller awg?
Posted By: VTorrez723
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 9:53 AM
so your saying that my remote voltage isnt strong enough at idle but it is when im normal driving? is it because i have 2 amps? it dosent happen when the car is off, it plays fine.. the amps mostly shut off when the A/C is on at idle. ive never had this problem before and ive always had a system, but ive always only had one amp, now i have 2
Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 10:07 AM
For the big three use nothing smaller than 4 gauge...this will do fine.
The a/c fan on full blast does pull a lot of current...I have an explorer and can see my voltage drop a couple volts when the blower is on.
There is no other way to fix your problem besides upgrading the big three and/or getting a new alternator.
Your amps are probably shutting off because of the voltage is too low...this is to protect them from frying themselves.
I'm sorry you've had to learn all of this the hard way.
Good luck...sell that cap and upgrade the three and alt.
Posted By: VTorrez723
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 10:41 AM
thanks for the help.. ill try upgrading the big three first, then the alt.. also.. i herd about the gain having to match your preouts voltage, well my amp dosent have a gain, it has a level , x-over and bass boost, what would be the proper way to tune these amps? im running 2 10" 4ohm Polk SVC subs
Posted By: VTorrez723
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 10:53 AM
Also, i have a digital volt meter on my cap and when the car is running it reads 13.2 volts and when the bass hits it drops to like 12.5 or lower, and when the car is off it reads 12.5 or so..is my operating volatage too low??
Posted By: aznboi3644
Date Posted: July 08, 2006 at 2:53 PM
Car battery should read between 12-13
Your Level adjustment is the same thing as a gain control.
Do a search on gain setting and your set.
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