ryoj150

MY System drains my car... i think its my altenator because i didnt have this problem until recently.. any body had this problem

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

What kind of amp do you have? If your amps are pretty big, then its your alternator that can't supply enough current while you're driving. The battery is probably almost dead, if not dead already (low voltage isn't something nice for batteries).

will33184

it depends alot on your situation. here are a few things.

1 your battery could be dying. the stress of a system over time on a stock battery usually will make the battery life much shorter. usually people will opt for a aftermarket deep cycle battery as those can better endure the punishment of a aftermarket system. if i remember correctly, the stock lexus battery is not a very good battery for aftermarket audio. optima yellowtop is a good battery to buy.

2 maybe you are playing your system when your car is off, or when your car is just at idle. normally you should not ever play a aftermarket system with your car engine off. even if it is on, and at idle, you will probably be slowly losing charge in your battery as your alternator, at idle, cannot produce enough power to sustain it.

3 your system is installed incorrectly. many times, people have their system ghetto rigged by friends or a shop that dont know what they are doing. in those cases you can somtimes have amps/equipment that stay on after you turn off your car. this will slowly sap your battery while you do not drive your car.

hope that helps

Neil64

If you have a 12 volt test light or a multi meter, you can easily test for a draw - something staying on and using voltage with the engine off.

With the engine off and the key out of the ignition, all doors shut and accesories off, take the positve battery cable off the battery. Hook the clip of the test light or negative probe of the meter to the postive battery cable. Make sure the connector/terminal does not touch anything metal or the battery post. Touch the sharp point of the test light or the postive probe of the meter to the positive post of the battery. If the test light lights up bright, you have something sucking voltage. You can also measure voltage draw with the meter. If the bulb does not light up or is very dim, you are probably alright.

If this test comes out OK, test or have the alternator and battery tested.

I hope this helps...

Neil

933005spd

May I suggest you not use a test light for unknown wires though. Today's systems are fairly sensitive and the onrush of current from a test light vs. some components can be drastic and cause unintended consequences.

Get yourself a decent Volt Meter (VOM) and use that instead. Plus you can use it for all sorts of fun stuff.

salimshah

Recently, I helped my neighbor diognose a wiring problem. The VOM [Fluke; one of the best] would show 12v but when he installed the bulb, it would not light. Knowing the capabilities and limitation of VOM testing, I knew he had a bad connection. Since the VOM measures voltage with almost no current, a bad connection can not be detected and a bulb is a better checking device.

You can get into a stituation where the bulb may draw more current than the circuit can support, so that also can be bad.

One needs to know what is going on.

Salim

933005spd

I agree, fluke equipment is great salimshah!

Their VOM provides quite a bit of capabilities to diagnose that type of problem, you can use it to check continuity among other things. But yes, like you said, you do need to know what you are doing so perhaps a test light is better for novices or if your in a hurry. Just wanted to caution people so they dont accidently trigger an airbag or something.

ryoj150

The amp is a mtx 400watts or something.... I have a cut off switch.... And I got a brand new battery... Well it was brand new before the system drained it... I got the batter recharged... Somebody told me that all gs300's have the same problem with the power... He told me to redo my altenator... But he didn't really seem like he wanted to help me much.... I was thinking about adding another battery just for the amp but the same guy said easier said then done... I guess I'm gonna run those test you guy's suggested.... Thanx for the info...

Neil64

What is a cutoff switch and why would you need on for an amp? The blue wire (remote on 12V) from the head unit should be ran to the amp's remote turn on linput. If connected correctly, the head unit actually turns on and off the amp by sending 12V and 3-5amps on this lead to the amp. The amp will have a 2-5 second delay to turn on and will stay on for 30-60 seconds after the remote turn on is powered off.

With the system off, do you hear any hissing or noise coming from the speakers? How many amps do you have and who installed them? How much power on each? Are you using the stock head unit? Please provide details on your entire system.

Please explain what you mean when you state the system is draining your battery? Is that with the engine running or off? In most cases, I think that your OEM alternator, if in good shape, would be adequate to handle a reasonable size amp(s).

Last but not least, do you or your friends have a test light or a VOM? If so, we collectively (the forum) can probably help you determine what the problem is and how to fix it but we need details on what the problem is, when it occurs and your equipment. Pictures would help.


Neil

OutlawTita

iTrader: (1)

Class D amps (usually used to power subwoofer) could be the culprit. Class A/B amp should not be a problem though.

smuv gs3

iTrader: (1)

You have to remember one thing the amperage for your altenator is about 80 amps so to solve youre problem is to replace your alt cause if the car is a couple of years old it has shown its age and then run a second battery with a relay to take the load off your stock system and get a 1 farad cap and you should be good

will33184

thats not really going to do any good in his situation. its going to make it worse.

and to the poster, the gs300s do not have this "problem". The GS300 is a well designed car and I've done many installs on them without electrical problems. It can handle much more than a MTX 400 watt digital amp on stock alternator.

running a 2nd battery is useless if you cannot supply enough power at the source to charge it in the first place. running and 2nd battery is also dangerous, and very heavy/unncessary. If not properly mounted in trunk, the battery could cause serious mechanical/electrical problems if it say, tipped over, got water on, leaked, got hit etc...

a capacitor is also useless/hramful in his situation. caps should be used as sort of a buffer when your amps draw excessive power. instead of dipping dangerously low in voltage, capacitors can resist this change in voltage for that bit of time and save your gear/sound and then recharge off your battery. capacitors need to be charged as well and in most cases will hurt your battery life even more.

1. your install is wrong.

or 2. your alternator is broken (not likely)

or 3. your amp is broken ( not likely )


ALSO, a MTX class d 400 watt amp is BARELY any stress on your system if installed correctly. Contrary to what the person said above, class D amps are more efficent than class A ("regular") amplifiers. The Digital basically just means that it sacrifices musical integrity for distortion. But since distortion in Bass isnt easily heard, especially in the car, Class D amps are very often used in car audio. Also the MTX 400d is a very good little amplifier. Solid, reliable and it is efficient.

Just to give you an example, you can run a MTX 81000d (1200watts Digital RMS) and a JL 300.4 (300-400 watts class A RMS) off a single battery, no capacitor in a 1992 Honda Civic Hatchback (4cy engine very small alternator) and not have many problems.

It does not seem like you are able to do the tests people have reccomended above yourself. I suggest you take it to a different store. Though you might have to take it to a few before they will help you (troubleshooting is what car audio sales dread most).

hope that helps.

Neil64

I agree with the above post. One class D amp properly installed should not seriously tax the stock charging system in a GS provided that the charging system is in good shape.. A properly installed system will have the power, remote turn on wires run seperately from signal. The power leads should be fused in multiple locations. They will also run a ground from the head unit to one common ground - where everything, including the amp, in the system is grounded to eliminate ground loops.

I, however, disagree that a cap is bad. It just acts as a storage unit for immediate voltage when the amp driving the subs needs it and smooths out the demands placed on the charging system by dealing with the surge. When the engine is running and the charging system operating correctly, that is what the battery does, acts as a cap storing voltage. I do not think that a cap is a must and is often hyped but on bigger systems, does seem to allow the subs to hit a bit harder.

I have had multiple high wattage Rockford amps running perfectly fine on a stock charging system smaller than what's on a GS. I have also had older (1985) Nakamichi and ADS multi channel amps running on a 70 amp alternator. Those amps produced power. The secret to powering a system, in my opinion, is good grounding.

Good luck,

Neil

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

Will, agreed.
There is some serious mis-information going on in this thread.

Class-D vs. Class A/B amps? Scuuuse me? I'll debate the merits of each all day, but not for the purpose of this thread. No difference whatsoever in this case.
I'm sure the problem here is not happening when the car is running, (But alternator should be checked anyway.) You need to check for current drain when the ignition is off, as mentioned.

Jerry