I have a1995 chevy with 2 yellow top deepcycle batteries, runs the whol system. I purchased a 140 amp alt. from local part store, and a 1 farad cap. I have the 2 guage power wire running on a 100 amp fuse to the cap and then to the my Kenwood 811d(heard it was a power hog) and a 2 guage ground from the amp to the frame, a 2 guage ground from the cap to the same spot as the amp. I have put a 2 guage power wire from the alt-to the battery. a 2 guage ground from the battery to the fram and from the alt to the same spot as the battery ground. I have a rockford punch stage 3 in a ported box, wired 2ohm + 2ohm, itis at 4ohm now only driving 500 watts from my amp, but when low bas hits my voltage still drops low, and distorts, gain is set to about half, set to 60 htz. bass on radio is set to 0. can anyone tell me what my probleme is. I was thinking about buying a 200 amp high output alt, or adding my old 105 anp alt to my truck, but do not know how to wire the second alt. was told I would need an isolator but where to get one. and how to wire the black plug into the second alt, my black plug is on the first one. any help would be outstanding.
thanks
SSgt Wheeler
USAF
Alaska
Replies (8)
uochronos on 11/4/2004 02:35:47
your voltage drops low? as in dimming i'm assuming or on a voltage gauge on the truck? i'm jsut making sure i'm right hehe. anyway if the amp is pulling alot of current say 90amps and the car is pulling say 30amp thats 120amps. at idle a 140amp alt can only put out 70-80amps so if your engine is not above save 2-3000rpm then your pulling more then the electricals can handle.
howvere if this is happening while your driving something else is wrong... check all grounds make sure there is bare metal conections to floor pan of car no paint in the way or corosion.
also if you can get the alt checked make sure it is putting out full power when your reved up and not gone bad on ya or came bad.
Chronos
PS
nice set up looks like you definatly did your homework hooking this up. we should be able to work this bug out fairly quickly i think.
swez on 11/4/2004 11:58:48
A battery isolator may be a good solution on this application since you have a pretty large capacity ALT already.
A battery Isolator will monitor voltage between primary and secondary batteries. One battery should be powering your amplifier. The other will run car functions. The isolator will first top off the primary battery, then switch to proving needed watts to top off the secondary.
Picture 2 buckets of water of equal capacity. These are the batteries. The ALT is a large water pump and the isolator (2-way valve) tells the pump, which bucket needs filling and how much. That's basically how they work.
I see this amp is fuse at 3x25A =75A's net. Each BAT will take ~10A of power off the ALT to keep them topped off. So, that's 90A's right there. The rest is available to power car needs. That CAP also has a power draw to refill it as well. I suggest removing it from the circuit and see what ya get on the dash voltage gage. On most GM trucks, your normal start voltage should be in the 14.5 volt range for a few minutes. After the batteries are fully charged, the voltage meter should stabilize at ~13.5 volts. (no sub amp running)
If the voltage meter drops below 12.0 volts, you are running full ALT power and now borrowing reserve power from the BAT's. NOT GOOD! This can leave you stranded at night if the voltage drops below 10.5 volts.
Are there any extra high current devices used on this vehicle now? (Ie: high wattage lights, high current heaters for engine block or radiator?) If yes, these will also have an affect on the entire system.
Want to read more about Battery Isolators? GOTO:
1. http://www.bcae1.com/charging.htm
2. http://www.bcae1.com/battiso.htm
Comments?
Swez
wheelerdr on 11/7/2004 03:14:47
well my batteries run the truck I don't have an additional battery for the system.
swez on 11/7/2004 11:25:52
Will a single Yellow top still start your truck in extreme cold weather? If not, I believe there are 120 volt block and coolant heaters available as add ons. I think... there are also battery warmers (Pads) that can be used to keep the batteries warm in severe cold weather.
1. BAT warmer:
http://www.maesco.com/products/kim/kimbatwarm/kimbatwarm.html
You can also get engine block pre-heaters and coolant heaters as well. These are all 120/220 Volt versions to keep the engine block, oil sump and coolant warm to make for easier starts in extreme cold weather conditions.
Do you see a benefit to this line of thinking? If your truck can be started with a battery warmer (more CCA power @ sub freezing temps, then the other battery can be used for your audio amp. A heater pad on both Bats is a good idea.
Comments?
Swez
ttocs on 11/7/2004 12:17:20
You added the 2nd battery to help run the truck, or the system?
wheelerdr on 11/7/2004 15:54:25
my truck runs off of 2 batteries, I just changed from die hard to the yellow top to help the system preform better
ttocs on 11/7/2004 18:53:51
Your truck is no different from everyone elses, it can get by with just one battery to handle your starting needs, the only time the battery is needed. If you dedicate one batt to the system, you should have less pwr fluctuations.........
swez on 11/7/2004 20:13:46
Diesel engines often require a very large or dual battery systems to start in extreme cold conditions... but a standard V-8,V-6 engine usually does not need dual batteries.
If you desire more power for your sub amp, an isolator (mentioned earlier should help. The solinoid model is more efficient with power than diode jobs and probably cheaper too.
For now, try dialing your gain control a volt or two higher in number. That can often help on power drain issues, but still have adequeate SPL. Avoid using much bass boost on HU or Amp as well. These can push the amp into clipping much easier and cause the amp to draw additional current as well. Comments?
Swez
thanks
SSgt Wheeler
USAF
Alaska
Replies (8)
uochronos on 11/4/2004 02:35:47
your voltage drops low? as in dimming i'm assuming or on a voltage gauge on the truck? i'm jsut making sure i'm right hehe. anyway if the amp is pulling alot of current say 90amps and the car is pulling say 30amp thats 120amps. at idle a 140amp alt can only put out 70-80amps so if your engine is not above save 2-3000rpm then your pulling more then the electricals can handle.
howvere if this is happening while your driving something else is wrong... check all grounds make sure there is bare metal conections to floor pan of car no paint in the way or corosion.
also if you can get the alt checked make sure it is putting out full power when your reved up and not gone bad on ya or came bad.
Chronos
PS
nice set up looks like you definatly did your homework hooking this up. we should be able to work this bug out fairly quickly i think.
swez on 11/4/2004 11:58:48
A battery isolator may be a good solution on this application since you have a pretty large capacity ALT already.
A battery Isolator will monitor voltage between primary and secondary batteries. One battery should be powering your amplifier. The other will run car functions. The isolator will first top off the primary battery, then switch to proving needed watts to top off the secondary.
Picture 2 buckets of water of equal capacity. These are the batteries. The ALT is a large water pump and the isolator (2-way valve) tells the pump, which bucket needs filling and how much. That's basically how they work.
I see this amp is fuse at 3x25A =75A's net. Each BAT will take ~10A of power off the ALT to keep them topped off. So, that's 90A's right there. The rest is available to power car needs. That CAP also has a power draw to refill it as well. I suggest removing it from the circuit and see what ya get on the dash voltage gage. On most GM trucks, your normal start voltage should be in the 14.5 volt range for a few minutes. After the batteries are fully charged, the voltage meter should stabilize at ~13.5 volts. (no sub amp running)
If the voltage meter drops below 12.0 volts, you are running full ALT power and now borrowing reserve power from the BAT's. NOT GOOD! This can leave you stranded at night if the voltage drops below 10.5 volts.
Are there any extra high current devices used on this vehicle now? (Ie: high wattage lights, high current heaters for engine block or radiator?) If yes, these will also have an affect on the entire system.
Want to read more about Battery Isolators? GOTO:
1. http://www.bcae1.com/charging.htm
2. http://www.bcae1.com/battiso.htm
Comments?
Swez
wheelerdr on 11/7/2004 03:14:47
well my batteries run the truck I don't have an additional battery for the system.
swez on 11/7/2004 11:25:52
Will a single Yellow top still start your truck in extreme cold weather? If not, I believe there are 120 volt block and coolant heaters available as add ons. I think... there are also battery warmers (Pads) that can be used to keep the batteries warm in severe cold weather.
1. BAT warmer:
http://www.maesco.com/products/kim/kimbatwarm/kimbatwarm.html
You can also get engine block pre-heaters and coolant heaters as well. These are all 120/220 Volt versions to keep the engine block, oil sump and coolant warm to make for easier starts in extreme cold weather conditions.
Do you see a benefit to this line of thinking? If your truck can be started with a battery warmer (more CCA power @ sub freezing temps, then the other battery can be used for your audio amp. A heater pad on both Bats is a good idea.
Comments?
Swez
ttocs on 11/7/2004 12:17:20
You added the 2nd battery to help run the truck, or the system?
wheelerdr on 11/7/2004 15:54:25
my truck runs off of 2 batteries, I just changed from die hard to the yellow top to help the system preform better
ttocs on 11/7/2004 18:53:51
Your truck is no different from everyone elses, it can get by with just one battery to handle your starting needs, the only time the battery is needed. If you dedicate one batt to the system, you should have less pwr fluctuations.........
swez on 11/7/2004 20:13:46
Diesel engines often require a very large or dual battery systems to start in extreme cold conditions... but a standard V-8,V-6 engine usually does not need dual batteries.
If you desire more power for your sub amp, an isolator (mentioned earlier should help. The solinoid model is more efficient with power than diode jobs and probably cheaper too.
For now, try dialing your gain control a volt or two higher in number. That can often help on power drain issues, but still have adequeate SPL. Avoid using much bass boost on HU or Amp as well. These can push the amp into clipping much easier and cause the amp to draw additional current as well. Comments?
Swez
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