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Silver Member Username: Alias747MN Post Number: 448 Registered: Apr-05 | I know that you explained this already to me in the accesories post Isaac, but there are a couple things I would like to clear up. I know that my alt must be putting out enough amperes because on a long bass note my interior/head lights don't dim at all. Since the only time my lights dim is when I have a fast bass punch you told me it is because it is from the voltage drop. In another post Glass said this: "you need a HO alternator if your voltage drops when the system is being used with the engine running or your lights dim when bass hits etc.. you're causing the amplifiers to clip when this happens from a lack of sufficient current causing voltage to drop which in turn will shred your speakers over time as well as damage the amplifiers." So even though I should have enough amperes, I could still be damaging my equipment becuase of the voltage drop? I was also wondering if my amp helps in any way, because I have an Xtant amp and it is fully-regulated from 10-16v, wouldn't that make up for the voltage drop in any way? Hit me with a technical and detailed explaination if you can, I always love learning about this kind of stuff! |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8019 Registered: Dec-03 | put a voltmeter or DMM on the circuit and see what the voltage is doing when the lights dim. that'd be a good first step then detail your car and system so I know what we're talking about. I'm old and cranky and I have a bad memory |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3545 Registered: Nov-04 | Just curious, when your lights dim, was the car in idle or moving? Like Glasswolf said, use a DMM and monitor the voltage. From my experiment, my HO alternator dipped with heavy bass from 14.6v to 13.3v. However, this was with the car at idle speed, around 800rpm. With a bit of gas, 2000rpm, the voltage was back to 14.6v constantly. A change in 1v is enought to cause the lights to dim slightly. It's nothing compared to 12.5v, which meant the battery was supplying all of the power. If you have a HO as in alternator not a female, then a cap might help. It will supply the power faster than an alternator. I would recommend you monitor your voltage first, and then throw in a cap. Compare the reading with and without a cap. I think with rapid drums, it should help smooth out the peaks. |
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Silver Member Username: Alias747MN Post Number: 449 Registered: Apr-05 | Thanks for the replies. Ok, I don't happen to have a DMM on me right now, so I can't test it at the moment. My uncle probably has one, that I could get from him sometime. If I was to use one, where would be the best place to test? At the amp, or at the battery? Glass, I have a Xtant 600 wrms amp @ 2 ohms, and it is fully regulated from 10-16v. I have 3 DVC 4-ohm subs, so I am actually running the amp at 2.67 ohms. Xtant informed me that at that odd impedance I would be getting about 480 wrms. The setup is currently in a 1990 Camry. I am not exactly sure what my stock alt is, but at the battery there is a fusebox and for the alt it says 80A. My uncle, who knows ALOT about cars told me it is probably a 65 amp alt. Not for sure though. Isaac, my lights dim when I am driving. So that is probably not a good sign. BTW, you say a cap might help if I have a HO alt, but I thought that caps don't make up for voltage drops, do they? Thanks again for the help. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 8032 Registered: Dec-03 | the cap won't help. a 90 camry is a 50 to 65A alternator, your uncle is right. that's too small to handle that audio system. I see toyota and honda 200A alternators all over ebay for pretty cheap though. test the voltage pretty much anywhere, ideally at the amplifiers |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 3551 Registered: Nov-04 | DMMs can cost as little as $10. You should really get your own. No man should be without it. Just like every man should have screwdrivers and wrenches. If your lights are dimming, then your alternator is not producing enough power. Why don't you install the HO? It might solve all of your problems. A capacitor will not help with voltage drop. However, under certain conditions, it can help. For example, if you listen to songs with rapid drums, the cap may hold enough charge to cover them, thus maintaining constant 14.2v. On the other hand, if the bass is a long beat, it'll drain the cap completely and render it useless. Again, you can test this out for yourself. Capacitor is like a double edged sword. It can help in some situations or cause more problems in others. |
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Silver Member Username: Alias747MN Post Number: 452 Registered: Apr-05 | Yeah, I probably should pick up a DMM and a HO alt in that case! Glass, where did you see those 200A alts? I just looked on ebay and couldn't find much for toyota. This is about the cheapest thing I have found: http://verizonsupersite.com/4alterstartcom/pages/store/skudetail.nhtml?profile=a lternatorscontinued&uid=13976&returnURL=http%3A//verizonsupersite.com/4alterstar tcom/pages/common/sitesearch.nhtml%3Fquery%3Dcamry&catuid=12942 I am not even sure how much the 150A version is, I'll have to give them a call. BTW, is it tough to install one? I don't know a ton about cars. |
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Silver Member Username: Alias747MN Post Number: 453 Registered: Apr-05 | Turns out that the 150 amp version is $249.99 and they 130 amp is $199.99. Well.... that is a little more than I wanted to spend. I don't even think that I would need something that big. My uncle said that I could probably pick up a 100A alt for my car for about $100-120, but I didn't get a chance to ask him where, he probably has connections or something. If you guys know where I could a pretty cheap one that will get me by, please let me know. I don't need anything too big. I am going to be adding another amp for some rear coax's soon. It is a JBL 2 channel amp that puts out 75x2 watts @ 4 ohms. So that will probably be using another 10 amps or so. So in that case I need a bigger alt for sure. |
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Silver Member Username: Alias747MN Post Number: 455 Registered: Apr-05 | Hey Glass, where did you see those 200A alts^^^^ |