lancerman
Jan 5 2003, 11:43 PM
I was wondering how much voltage drop other people get in their systems and what amount is normal. I have just installed 0g cable to the boot and 6g to the amps (the 2 in my sig).
With the engine off and the stereo off, I get 12.6v at the battery and at the amps.
With the engine on and the stereo off, I get 14.1v at the battery and at the amps.
With the engine on/off and the stereo pumping music, I get ~0.2v (fluctuating) drop at the amps from the above figures.
Jetstream
Jan 6 2003, 12:13 AM
To me, that sounds pretty good. With the amps I am going to have i will be running 0 awg to the DB and then 4G to the amps. Make sure that you have your earth the same size as your powerwire. If you want to try something extra upgrade the wire from your alternator to your battery.
ripped
Jan 6 2003, 12:53 PM
measure the drop when you play a test tone at full volume with engine on... the difference between the voltage at the battery and at your amp terminals will be very little (ie. <0.5V) since you have the thick stuff...
with my amp running at 2ohms, i get a voltage drop from 14V to 11.3V when playing a 1.5sec burp... ie, i have big problems with voltage
icebreaker
Jan 6 2003, 12:57 PM
what battery??
you should be able to sit on 13.xv with the car off.
that's what i was getting, and then 14.x with it on, and 15.1V with the a/c on.
on burps it would drop to 11.xv or sometimes 10v
lancerman
Jan 6 2003, 01:57 PM
I have the little stock panasonic battery, about the size of a motocycle one...
ripped
Jan 6 2003, 05:52 PM
icebreaker.
i have a big mofo delkor battery in atm. car off voltage is about 12.6v, which is very normal i assume...
car on, i get about 13.9-14.1v... i read the haynes manual for my car and the voltage regulator is set to about 14v, hence that why i can't get much more then 14v... never tried measuring with a/c on... never ever seen my car above 14.3v. dodgy regualtor me thinks.
[ January 06, 2003, 15:59: Message edited by: rippedskin ]
Bodyjar
Jan 6 2003, 07:00 PM
Can someone explain to me why you get more voltage when ur a/c is on Dan?
icebreaker
Jan 6 2003, 07:09 PM
It does something to the regulator... If it wasn't for the regulator your alernator would would out whatever voltage.
And i guess due to increased load, or whatever electrically having the A/C on does, it brings up the voltage about .5-.9 of a volt.
Also you should be able to get your battery to sit above 12V when it's topped right up. i was sitting on about 13.2 or 13.4 i think. and 14.1-14.7 running (can't remember exactly.. it was back in november when i was checking it - FB)
Purps and JETET were the ones that told me about the A/C trick... But you have to test it, cause it can help or hinder you, depending on the current drain...
Bassaholic
Jan 6 2003, 07:11 PM
QUOTE
Originally posted by Bodyjar:
Can someone explain to me why you get more voltage when ur a/c is on Dan?
Because in his car, when the a/c is on, the engine is at a higher rpm.
ripped
Jan 6 2003, 07:39 PM
just tried the a/c thing... mine drops a little when it's on. my regulator stops the voltage pretty early, 13.9V was it's max, with a/c on it dropped to 13.8V...
oh well, i'm pretty 1V won't make that much of a difference. as long as my amp does smoke, it's all good hahahahaha
Bodyjar
Jan 6 2003, 08:36 PM
Hmmm... I'll check that out. Thanks for the info guys!
SUBWRX
Jan 6 2003, 11:54 PM
anything less then about 1 volt is very good in my books.
a past system which ran only 2 amps with 2 4 gauge to each amp from battery used to drop to nearly 10 volts for a big burp.
Anonymous
Jan 7 2003, 01:31 AM
I also have a big mofo delkor battery...
running normally at 13.4 volts when car is off
but then when the car on the trouble begins, on large peaks it drops down to 12.1volts, sumtimes even under 12 :/, normal volume though it sits around 14.2 though...
is this normal for the amps i hvae do u rekon??
i keep a constant watch on my current draw and my voltage thanks to the nifty accessory to the M500 amp, its a remote bass controller that displays this aswell as the temp, very nifty
Jetstream
Jan 7 2003, 02:37 AM
Wouldnt the A/C trick work on the principal that when you turns on the A/C your car's revs increase, there alternator output increases?
But would that the disqualify you from dB drags if your car went over the 2k RPM limit?
ripped
Jan 7 2003, 10:35 AM
having the a/c on increases the revs by like 100rpms... my car with a/c off idles at 750rpm, a/c on about 850rpm... you'll still need to use a brick or something in dbdrags to pull the revs upto the 2Krpm mark....
icebreaker
Jan 7 2003, 12:37 PM
yeah but who cares... cause the car was reving at 2,000RPM when i did it. not idling.
Bassaholic
Jan 7 2003, 11:34 PM
Well my battery voltage is about 12.8 v with the engine off. With the engine on, the voltage is around 15.5-15.6! Of course with the stereo cranked it drops to around 11v.
QUOTE
Originally posted by Bassaholic:
Well my battery voltage is about 12.8 v with the engine off. With the engine on, the voltage is around 15.5-15.6! Of course with the stereo cranked it drops to around 11v.
well with ur amp sitting here with me i doubt it will have much of a voltage drop
hahahahha
Bassaholic
Jan 8 2003, 12:45 AM
Yeah
Stone
Jan 8 2003, 10:39 PM
With my car running, my car's voltage drops below 11v and causes my front stage amp to shut down when the volume is up
Would a bigger battery stop the voltage from dropping below 12v as easily?
I already have 2ga from alt to batt, batt to chassis, and batt to amp... and good earths.
ripped
Jan 8 2003, 11:00 PM
stone, yes it should, provided you have the stocko battery in, fitting a bigger battery like the yellow top will help lots.
damn, you must be getting some really big drops! with music my ppi front amp never shuts down...
Bassaholic
Jan 9 2003, 12:03 AM
QUOTE
Originally posted by Stone:
Would a bigger battery stop the voltage from dropping below 12v as easily?
Yes, a bigger battery will make the voltage less likely to drop below 12v, but you also have to hope that your alternator is still charging up the battery enough, or you may find yourself with a flat battery.
(note no smartass comments from SA members.. )
Walkinshaw
Jan 9 2003, 01:38 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Bassaholic:
[b]or you may find yourself with a flat battery.
(note no smartass comments from SA members..
bassmekanik
Jan 9 2003, 02:26 AM
my amp drops thae voltage down by les than a volt even at ful crank with burps but it prolly has to do with the size or my power cable for a small amp 4 gauge redy for my usa1000dx to go in
Sathid
Jan 9 2003, 04:40 AM
the u say u have a big mutha of a battery r u referring to the CCA rating of the battery?
or the number of cells it has or what?
cos i've got one of those batteries thats like 520CCA or something, and standard is only like 320.
WeaponX
Jan 9 2003, 06:52 AM
Lancer,
Mate upgrade that 6 guage I reckon, if its dropping under 11 then maybe a second battery for runs (if its allowable in the rules) or a larger battery.
Upgrading the alternater power/ground cable can also help matters when the engine is running, and is a cheap option also (lots of modern cable run eight guage here - not too efficient at carrying sixty or so amps).
A last option would be upgrading / adding a second alternater, pain in the Butt I reckon getting brackets/belts to line up..
[ January 09, 2003, 04:53: Message edited by: WeaponX ]
Stone
Jan 9 2003, 08:47 PM
Thanks
rippedskin... I don't think the amp turns off, but the music fades out because of the low voltage and all I can hear is bass and vibrations.
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