so i have a cheap kicker sub and amp and when the bass hits the lights flicker and the sub cuts off for like 2 seconds then comes back on. i dont know what the problem is but i know what it isnt. My amp is wired fine and grounded perfectly my stereo is hooked up right. i had my alt. tested its working fine. we tested my alt with the bass hitting and it went from 14a down to 12a on every bass note is that normal? also i have a second hand battery , one that is also too small. this setup that i have right now is sad so is this all i can get with my stock alt. or do i need an aftermarket one? i drive a 1993 lexus ls 400 any thing would help. ive talked to alot of people some said get a cap others said i need a new alt. or battery. so can someone tell me whats goin on? my amp is 800w max but its only running around 400w with my speaker at the most.

 

I would probably recommend running a capacitor and if your running a smaller battery than what the car calls for that's not good either. The stock alternator is not that strong at all. It just sounds your discharging more power than you have.

 

Capacitor is a band-aid and ultimately will not solve the problem. Multiple bass notes will be draining the cap and the cap has to recharge from somewhere......the battery/alternator.

First, what gauge wire are you using for your 12v lead and ground connection on the amp? What model is the amp?

From what you wrote in your post you should not have any issues of overdrawing the alternator. I'm currently running much more draw than what you listed with no issues on a stock alternator.

You could be suffering from a regulator issue in the alternator. Also, check your grounding point on the amp and alternator.

 

there both 6g wires 12v and ground. also the ground coming from the amp goes straigt to the body to the left of the cd changer in the trunk ive sanded all the paint off too. and the amp ground wire is 6 -8 inches long. also i forgot to mention when im on the road the bass still cuts out but the lights barely even flicker, its not noticeable. but when the car is not running the lights flicker like crazy. the amp is either an Slr or srl lol i always get them confused but no other details other than 800w max output
and it has stereo and mono outputs im currently using mono

 

you should not need a cap for a single amp that size. I would try a new battery first, since you say yours is undersized to begin with. Plus it's a hell of a lot easier to swap that than the alternator. Consider it proactive maintenance

 

I don't know of any SLR or SRL series from Kicker. ZX or DX maybe? But, from what you were saying it sounds much more like the alternator or some other short somewhere.

 

Hmmm...

Car not running takes the alternator out of the equation entirely. Change your battery to the proper size (or go mo bigga), and you'll increase the reserve (engine off) playing time. Nothing is going to stop the lights from dimming, however, if there is no juice going into the battery. Once you get below that threshold, it's all downhill.

Big Mack

 

Very true! I went right over the "while car not running" info! Shame on me for shabby troubleshooting! I'll have to buy you a drink whenever you come to Jersey Mack!

Thanks for having my back!

 

so i got a cheap 1100 10" xplod put it in mono and it still cuts out..... well i gave up and tried something else i put the xplod and my 10" alpine in seperate boxes and ran them in stereo cranked the amp all the way up along with the volume, and guess what.... it rattles your brain and doesnt cut out. so thank god its not my alt. or my battery so for some ungodly reason it was my mono output. sorry for wasting your guys time, its a little hard to teach an idiot. ive never even tried the stereo outputs

 

No prob, glad to help, but I have a mo betta idea. Skip the snow and roll out to AZ, mang! I know yous didn't get much snow this year, but my pool will be warm enough to swim and have a beverage or 3 in about a month, then it's all summer long of flinkin!

Ah, so it really wasn't cutting out, it was just getting quiet when the bass was on one side of the material you were playing. No worries on wasting time, mang! It's how we all learn.

Big Mack