two batteries or upgrade alternator?
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=85405
Printed Date: April 27, 2024 at 3:22 PM
Topic: two batteries or upgrade alternator?
Posted By: nava94
Subject: two batteries or upgrade alternator?
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 10:30 PM
Have A 2002 Dodge Intrepid with a 2400 watt system. Fosgate P3 DVC 12" subs (2) running at 1ohm from a SPL amp 2400 watts with a 1.5 farat cap. The subs sound real good the only thing is this guy turns the volume on the pioneer radio to 50 and the headlights dim when the bass hits.I ran a 2gauge power wire from the battery to the trunk dist.block inn 2ga./ out 4ga. Replaced the stock battery with a 1000A cold cranking battery.Replaced the stock alternator wire going to the battery with a 2ga. What is the best way to resolve the light dimming issue with this system. Upgrade the alternator or add a second battery for the sound system.Thank you.
Replies:
Posted By: theronsmith
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 10:36 PM
alternator! for sure..
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chevy II
Posted By: nava94
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 10:48 PM
I failed to mention that when he turns the radio volume to 50 the lights dim, and the picture of the battery comes on on the dash cluster.
Posted By: theronsmith
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 11:04 PM
k say your carr has a 130A alternator....im sure it dosent but if you are pulling 80 A from it max while your electrical is running max you only have 50A left over from you alt. It gives a 14.4V source. Say you have a 1400w stereo...you will be pulling max 188A....so you are taking all the power from your alt. Therefor you only have a batt. left. It is 12.2v. your lights will be brighter at 14.4 than at 12.2. to fix that you need a big alt.
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chevy II
Posted By: coppellstereo
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 11:23 PM
nava - this is for one of your customers?
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Posted By: druidpagen
Date Posted: November 09, 2006 at 11:56 PM
a bigger alternator would be the way to as theronsmith said. but there some factors im not sure of. is 50 the max volume or the volume at wich you start to have problems? me personaly i never run my volume more than 85% of the max, you get less clarity and it's overall bad on the system. if it's not loud enough you just don't have enough power for the set-up you want and need a bigger amp. if 50 is the max and he's pushing up there it's probably what we call a high risk customer lol and you have to idiot proof it (sad to say), or have him upgrade to a bigger alt first and preferably another bat on top of it at that much draw. alot of customers don't like to pay for the that kind of add-on and easlily accuss the installer of "installing it wrong". if you want to "idiot proof it" set the volume at 50 and adjust the gain down on the amp untill you you don't have any problems. the reason there's problems at volume 50 is amps aren't constant. speaker signals are AC . it depends on the volume,style of music, and play time. more volume= more amps. if it's a customer also let him know that higher powered alts actually charge less at idle speed some brands less so. so he might want to be carefull at stops or risk stalling. i prefer 2 stock alts to 1 aftermarket with higher output as i stop and go alot.
Posted By: theronsmith
Date Posted: November 10, 2006 at 12:00 AM
Well put druidpagen.....
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chevy II
Posted By: nava94
Date Posted: November 10, 2006 at 9:20 AM
the pioneer radio volume could go higher this customer just likes the deep bass so people could hear him & feel him too.I listen to it at 35, 40 volume and the bass hits hard.I know the subs are getting enough power from the spl 2400 watt mono amp that is stable at one ohm for the 2 12" dvc P3 fosgate subs.I'm going to ask him to upgrade his alt. thanks guys.
Posted By: druidpagen
Date Posted: November 10, 2006 at 2:46 PM
glad you could resolve it. have fun talking him into shelling out the cash ;)
Posted By: Alpine Guy
Date Posted: November 10, 2006 at 4:20 PM
If your a registered business you could order the guy an alternator at reduced price from www.mechman.com and sell it to him at retail and make some dough on that too lol. Mechman is one of the only alternators I have run across the actually charges in large quantities at idle, check out the power graph on their website, they aren't lieing. I would comment on Ireggi alternators, but I really haven't been able to test the one im currently running, my amp is on my bedroom floor smelling nice and toasty :) ------------- 2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.
Posted By: sedate
Date Posted: November 11, 2006 at 1:12 AM
Alpine Guy:
Regardless of the load you can hook to the alt, you wouldn't maybe run a DMM over it would ya? See what your idle voltage is? Irragi alts seem to fit everything and they're not expensive at all..
I've had really bad luck finding alts that don't drop to like 9v or something like that at idle.. the only solutions I've come across are like $1000, mod-requiring Stinger alts.. which are obviously prohibitive.
Nava:
If the customer proves dis-interested in the outlay an HO alternator would provide, perhaps a secondary DC power source much closer to the amps might do as much to alleviate the dimming headlights..
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"I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview
Posted By: Alpine Guy
Date Posted: November 11, 2006 at 9:24 AM
At idle with no load it charges at 14.9V, I would imagine that would change a few points if a load was attached.
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2003 Chevy Avalanche,Eclipse CD7000,Morel Elate 5,Adire Extremis,Alpine PDX-4.150, 15" TC-3000, 2 Alpine PDX-1.1000, 470Amp HO Alt.
Posted By: maliboom
Date Posted: November 12, 2006 at 10:59 AM
try a place called alternatorparts.com these alternators kick ass. Iv'e got the 250 amp vesion and its awsome. They are duel rectifier's which is like having 2 alternators hooked up. price is not too bad but they are worth every penny. The voltage does not drop to much at idle but it solved most of my power problems.
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