Bandit400

okay here goes, I'm at work atm so more info and pics will be added later at home.

Ive got a 13w7 powered by a 1000/1 with a 20f tsunami cap. and my head unit is the double din clarion with the music catcher2. Im having this issue where my head unit shuts off when the music gets loud and all my electrical stuff in the car including gauge cluster and headlights dim with each punch of bass at high volume. The stereo shop i went to has no idea on this kinda stuff and thw only solution they offer me is a negative balance in my books and a whole lot of trial and error.

Sooo im never going back there nor recommending anyone to them but anyways ive replaced my car battery twice since april and now ive got an optima yellowtop d34 and im still having issues with the juice in my system. I suspect that it is my car alternater... Sc400 @ 170k miles and uncertain if alternater was ever serviced or replaced. Another culprit could be the wiring... 4awg kicker wires from car battery to cap and some unknown same size wire from cap to amp...

This is as much info i can post for now and will post my amp settings after work. Id highly appreciate any input on this subject from those who can and from other owners of the same sub n amp setup.

Robert_J

First try the Big 3 upgrade with 2 or 0 gauge wire. Then replace the wiring to the sub amp and the ground with at least 2 guage. Make sure your grounding point is a good one. I like to use a large bold into the body. Make sure the paint is scraped away and you are touching bare metal.

I've read hundreds of threads from competitors in the car audio scene about caps. Most say that are useless because they just aren't big enough. Your 20f cap may be the exception but I'll leave that judgement up to the people who have used them.

If all else fails, upgrade the alternator. It's really what powers the system while the engine is running.

-Robert

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

I would attribute it to the cars kinda halfway ****ty stock wiring (and old, obviously).... upgrade the wiring from the alternator to the battery, and either make or buy an engine grounding kit... the alternator grounds to the chassis through the engine... I used to have a similar issue with just a small Kicker amp (no capacitor), and went through all my grounds, cleaned and replaced, and the problem went away

your 4AWG wire from the battery to the amp should be sufficient, if anything, it could cause a drop in voltage a tad at the amp, but you could run a 12AWG wire to that amp and not cause a problem at the head unit... a 15ft wire run at 4AWG, drawing 100 amps will have less than a half volt current drop - no big deal...

Are we sure we aren't having a capacitor issue though? Because you have such a large capacitor, I could see it causing an issue - it is able to draw over 100 amps within milliseconds which could cause a massive systemwide current drop... That, potentially coupled with some bad engine grounds could easily cause your issue...

I would start with engine grounds and alternator wiring - also, make sure you have good attachment points at the battery - everything is tight, clean, and making a good tight fit... Then, as a test, take the capacitor out of the system and see what happens... If both of those don't get you anywhere, take your car to a mechanic or shop and have them run a battery / alternator test... just because a battery works doesn't mean it has a lot of reserve capacity... I see batteries every day that are 1-2 years old (sometimes younger) that are rated for 600 cca and have been diminished to 150-200 or less, leaving them just enough to start the car (maybe)... Also at the same time, alternator output should be checked and should be at least 60 amps under load, maybe more (I don't recall what ours are really rated for)...

good luck...

Bandit400

i had this problem before when i didnt have the cap... i was told the cap would resolve it and guess what it didnt.

Bandit400

thanks for the replies, i will go out to my car and check all grounds once i gather information on where they could be grounded especially under the hood. The trunk ground should be easy to locate and i will go about redoing my grounds under the hood.

cliffud

iTrader: (3)

i bet it's the ground from the 1000/1 amp - not big enough.

i have the same bass setup and i forget what size wire i used for my ground but it is HUGE.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

that will cause a localized current drop, at the amp only, not a system wide current drop...

4 AWG wire is plenty big enough for up to a 15 ft run, and as a ground cable of 2 feet long, even 12 AWG would still be less than a .5 volt current drop

lightwave76

iTrader: (12)

Bandit400,

all the above responses are good, but you are going to have to upgrade your alternator. Without a strong source your system and car will eventually suffer. I run a 1000/1 JL and 300/4 and I had to upgrade to a 250 amp alternator or something around that range. I had the dimming lights when the bass hit and many of the symptoms you mentioned above. I also had caps as well. Before the alternator when the bass hit hard I could see the voltage drop significantly. After the alternator upgrade it only would drop a few .1 or .3 volts when the bass was hitting. Also after the alternator replacement my other problems were resolved. I'm running 4 gauge, but I'm swapping it out for 0 gauge since I'm redoing the system.

I know JPI offered a high output alternator for many of the lexus models.

mitsuguy

iTrader: (2)

nothing wrong with a high output alternator, but a properly operating OE alternator and battery is more than capable of keeping up with a single 1000/1... they draw about 100 amps at absolute max power consumption...

even when I used to compete, the stock alternator in my 3000GT (rated about the same as ours) was more than enough for 1600 watts...

the only time when you would need any more real amperage from an alternator is if you are running it full out, I mean more than 80% for hours at a time...

Lexis11

Great setup just sad you cant enjoy it thoroughly yet.

The cap is useless, when I went to JL training in Miramar our triner was showing us how the caps are basically an expensive digital volt meter.

Upgrade to a new alternator, stock should be sufficient and enjoy your new setup. Very simple

xsdbs

as others have said, the factory grounds suck when you are trying to pull high current. I have fixed so many of these types of problems only after people have tried everything else, they spend the money on caps (waste), batteries ( which will help for a little while only because the add on batt is close to the amps) heavy gauge wiring from the front of the car to the back and yes a bigger alt is always nice. the bigger alt puts juice back in and can better keep up with the current demand that you hav however if the ground is not heavy enough you cant get the full current to the elec system.

xsdbs

break was over and i had to run, your car is a series circuit to the battery and if you have a large feed (battery, alt etc) the performance can be held back due to the small ground. think of it this way, if you have a large supply of water and a huge pump but used a 1/2 inch garden hose to spray the water, you could never get the full force or use out of the pump untill you hooked up a larger hose. hope this helps

Bandit400

big update:

I got a new aftermarket alternator and that didnt solve the issue completely as where i get to max volume and i get sound clipping (headunit shuts off and on and off). The solution was to get another amp for my speakers... At those high volumes my speakers weren't getting enough juice to keep up with the output on the sub and i my headunit has some sort of protection to prevent speakers from blowing out.

Now I've got a 300/4v2 hooked up and it sounds AWESOME. ill take some pics of the whole setup asap.

engin_ear

iTrader: (1)

You should add a full grounding kit (TeckKit, etc.) if you haven't already done so.

Bandit400

update:

My car died on me earlier today and ever since I got the new amp I been pushing the system real hard it got to thepointwhere my lights dim like lightwave mentioned and my cap was reading 11.3 volts...

After jump starting my car im getting less tahn 10 volts... I guess i ruined the new alternator i put in this past week... Im now thinking of adding another battery in the trunk but im wondering how all that works. A new grounding kit sounds like a solution but are we talking bout one under the hood or trunk or both? My electrical wiring under the hood looks like it needs to be replaced too lol