Alternator

[dmathews]

Ok in my explorer when I have my subs on and the headlights on it dims the headlights pretty bad when driving but my battery meter is ready just under normal unless I am setting still. I can have my car off and listen to my stereo with subs on for a good while and it not hurt my battery or anything so would this be the alternator or something else, it is a 1000w amp pushing 1600w subs, would a cap solve this problem or what would it be. The battery is a everlast max and its a pretty big one. thanks in advance

 

[nitro71]

I would start with cleaning your battery terminals and cable connections to the battery. Clean till shiny and apply some Permatex anti-corrosion spray to them. Permatex also makes a cleaner, make sure you grab the anti-corrosion one.

I'm not a audio expert but I've learned something about battery terminals the hard way. Almost stranded 30 miles from home with my boat one time..

 

[2000StreetRod]

Current Draw

Ok in my explorer when I have my subs on and the headlights on it dims the headlights pretty bad when driving but my battery meter is ready just under normal unless I am setting still . . . it is a 1000w amp pushing 1600w subs, would a cap solve this problem or what would it be. The battery is a everlast max and its a pretty big one. thanks in advance

I = P/E = (1000w+1600w=2600w)/12v = 216 amps not including lights, fuel injection, fuel pump, blower motor, etc. If you have the stock alternator it's probably rated between 60 and 80 amps. A capacitor bank only helps with the peak current draw - not the average. You can buy a 140 amp alternator ($240) or turn down the volume.

 

[BigBoom]

a capacitor will only help if you have little to no voltage drop. and to streetrod...he has a 1000 watt amp, so he's still only pushing 1000 watts, not 2600. the subs can handle 1600 watts...but only getting 500 a piece. what i would do is upgrade the battery under the hood first to a nice performance battery. if you still have voltage drop, add another. still get voltage drop, you'll need to upgrade the alternator

 

[90ranajo]

A 1000 watt amplifier should draw between 70-85 amps. The stock alternator on a '99 is rated at 130 amps.

Capacitors are nothing more than band-aids for car audio. You best bet would be to increase your amp-hour rating. In other words go to dual batteries wired in parallel. You should also look into upgrading your alternator charge, primary feed and ground wires to a larger gauge. I'm sure the factory 8 gauge charge wire is inadequate for your needs.

 

[dmathews]

ok so how do i hook up a second battery with my subs bc i really have no clue about that but the alternator right now is a little to much until i get a job but is something i am def doing bc i am going to add lights and other things to it soon.

My battery says that it is 1000amp and 350amp cold so that should be pretty good then shouldnt it, the optima have less cranking amps but are alot better when cold. Could it be where the amp isnt large enough to push the subs or anything bc i know people who have 1000w amps in theirs and they have no problem, this amp shuts off on me and everything so Im thinking that it might be a reason but idk, thanks for the help

 

[90ranajo]

ok so how do i hook up a second battery with my subs bc i really have no clue about that but the alternator right now is a little to much until i get a job but is something i am def doing bc i am going to add lights and other things to it soon.

I'm not familiar with the newer Explorer engine compartments. But if you could find room to mount 2 smaller batteries (such as 750 ca) and wire them up positive to positive, negative to negative. Doing so will keep the voltage at 12VDC but increase the amperage to 1500 (assuming 2 750 ca batteries). The closer you can keep them the better. But you could run the second battery in the back in your cargo area, you'll just need to increase the cable gauge of the run.

Also what size cable are you running from the battery to your amp rack? i would believe your best bet and cheapest route to start with would be to up-size some of your cabling.

The Big 3

The Big 3 is a charging wire upgrade that allows your alternator to get the best connection to the battery and charging system. It also makes certain your chassis is the best ground it can be. This is done by supplimenting the stock wires from the alternator positive to the battery positive, engine block/alternator case to battery negative and battery negative to chassis ground.

You use a larger wire, preferably the same size as that wire which feeds the amplifier(s) but not less than 4ga for any pratical gain. You also place a fuse in the wire between the alt positive and battery positive to prevent a short causing a fire.

By making these connections better, many people see as much as a full volt of increase in charging voltage. Also, many times you'll recover from a hard discharge more quickly than before because current can flow more freely into the electrical system. You also remove strain from the stock wiring when powering a high wattage system.

More info can be found here.

 

[BigBoom]

you could have the amp wired to too low of an impedance for it to handle. that will cause it to shut off. or it may be cutting out from overheating.

but to wire a battery, just run a positive wire from your main batt to the second one, and ground the second batt to the chassis. you could run another ground wire from the main batt to the second one...but for your needs grounding to the chassis will be fine.

 

[dmathews]

not to sure about my ohms or anything but will have to check on it, my amp wires are 4 guage and suppose to handle 1200w

 

[aznboi3644]

please state the amplifier make and model. As well for the subs.


A lot of people nowadays call there 300 watt amplifiers "1000 watt amplifiers" just because the manufacture prints "1000 watts MAX!!!!!!"

Means nothing. I know of 200 watt amps that put out more power than "1000 watt" amps.

 

[dmathews]

well I dont know the model of the amp but it is a 1000w sony xplode, i belive that it is 380x2 max and 160x2 rms I think but not to sure and the subs are Kicker CompVR which are 400rms a peice and 800max which is 800rms and 1600max together. subs are 4 ohm DVC and they are not bridged. The speakers are wired to 2 ohm a peice and the amp is suppose to carry ohm per channel

 

[BigBoom]

just for future reference, when going by ratings, do not go by max power. that's a big marketing gimmick for companies to use to sell products. your subs would be 400 watts rms a piece, 800 watts for the pair. they do seem to be wired properly tho. check all connections tho and make sure they're solid. i had an xplod amp i got for free a loooooooong time ago and tried using it and it kept going into protect. it had something to do with the remote terminal if i remember right. not sure why tho

also, i got two of these to fit under the hood in the stock battery tray with just a little modification:
http://mechman.com/store/product_info.php/cPath/1/products_id/32