Finally got my system all sorted.
But now i have another problem.

My headlights are dimming, i can handle that.

But my head unit turning itself off becuse the voltage must have dropped too low, well i Can Not handle that!

I have a 1997 suzuki swift. With a rebuilt alternator, fully rewired electricals (4 Gauge all around) including charging system and grounds. Also running an Odysee 1000 battery.

I had my aircon, headlights, fog lights, and my system running. When the alpine head unit shut down a couple of times when i had my music cranked while sitting at traffic lights. My Amp gauge was reading
-60amps (on low notes) when idling and about -10 amps when alternator was charging (driving along).
If i turned the aircon off the amp gauge reads as +10ish amps when charging (driving along).

I am running 3 amps.
-Eclipse EA4000 running Midbass. 2 x 150wrms @ 4ohm
-Epsilon ea1000d mono running Sub. 1 x 1000wrms @ 2ohm
-RF Punch 200a4 running Tweeters. 2 x 100wrms @ 4ohm

What else can i do to prevent my system shutting down when i crank my system while car is only idling?

Some say a Cap. Some say other things. Please help me out as i thought after the Alt. rebuild and Battery/Wiring upgrade it would have enough power, but obviously not.

What size wire are you running to your amps? Upgrade all the factory engine bay earths in 0AWG, and add a few more for good measure. Upgrade you altanator charge wires to 0AWG as well.

what about the head unit earth?
and what size is the upgraded alternator?
I just put a 120A bosch on the VR commy, and it's fine at 1000W - bit of dimming. initially the head unit would die, but upgrading the head unit power wires fixed the problem in 5 mins.

Your amp meter telleth the truth. Your problem is you have an alt that can put out lots of power IF revs are high enough. This does you no good at lights. Caps wont help. You need an alt that puts out great current at idle or near idle. picture this...2 scenario's...you have a 4wd that has dual batts and fridges etc to charge and you are trawling along the outback ?....your alt is working at mid rpm...so keeps up...scenario 2... you are driving an ambo with apatient on life supprot or critical monitors and you cop a red light ? k well in first situation your rebuilt alt is fine as it puts out lots o power at higher evs so fridge batt etc gets recharged....situation 2 your alt is as god as useless as patient dies coz equipmwent shuts down due to lack of current



answer is you need an alt that puts out current at low rpm. its not about total power but the rpm V output graph. I know of 2 alts that do low rpm high output...both bosch. Mine is a bh1259(if memory is corect) from a V6 supercharged statesman...the other is a cop/ambo spec unit. Mines good for 40 amps at neaar idle and other is good for 60 amps at near idle. My alt puts out about 100-120 cont at higher rpm where as cop spec puts out 140-160 at higher rpm.


Do you buy a car based on if it does 100kph or do you want to know more ??? like how quick it gets there ?. Knowing max output of alt is like saying a hyundai is like a ferrari because they both do 100 kph. when you get all the specs and ferrari does it in 5 seconds and hyundai does it 12 then both cars are not same. Your problem isnt having high output alt, but more that it is only hi output at high rpm and so not suited to your specific needs.
hope it helps
peace
cyberpunky

mine's the ambo-spec one

Ferrari's do 0-100 in way under 5 seconds lol...Anyway, back on topic people!

where would you get an ambo spec altinator?

Technically if your battery can output enough and your wiring is all upgraded you should get no headlight dropping etc but eventually you will get a flattened battery

seams as if your battery cant keep up

a good auto elec will be able to fit an upgraded alternator
expect to pay around $400 or so

as a side note - sweet FA people I know have needed to have their alternator upgraded. 9 / 10 cases can be solved by using a large battery (or 2 using a redarc dual battery isolator if 1 isnt enough) upgraded engine bay wiring and correct size cable from front to back and for earthing.

yeah, the alternator upgrade was for dBdrags (to charge the battery quicker between runs), not general motoring.