OK so i just hooked up my system...i got a thousand watt kenwood amp with a xdvd8181 7" touch screen lcd from Dual with 4 new infinity reference series speakers for interior...now if i crank it my fuse blows on the power coord running from my amp to my battery and my volts thing sometimes jumps around if its hitting hard...should i get a bigger alternator a cap or what do you guys think

 

Im not sure on what mods you've done to your car but search the big 3 if you havnt done it, sounds like you havent its a electrical system upgrade and as amatter of fact if you go over to the electronics section I myself have a post over there because I was looking for a particular memeber who did a really nice job upgrading the wiring for the electrical I think I will speak for most of the memebers when I say that a cap is just a band aid for a biger problem you have with the electrical but do the big 3 and get a larger alternator. And what gauge wire are you running to your amp? sounds like you need a bigger one with a bigger fuse if its blowing. Thats my oppinion though and Im sure that others will come and give you theres. Hope that helped and lets see some pictures of your setup when you get the chance sounds sexy to me lol.

 

k ill get some pics up

 

yea he is right! are u running 8 gauge wire if so drop ir to 4g or 0g. is ur fuse a 60 amp fuse if so bump it to a 80amp or 100amp fuse. the wire that ur using is small and insufficient for a high power amp, run a heavier gauge and bigger fuse and also may wann change ur altenator to a 100 amp or larger. i have a 100amp and it rolls wit the knocks! ohh i almosy 4got make sure u have a good ground and that wire is pretty meaty also!

 

Definitely do the big 3 upgrade. Check what gauge wire you are running from the battery to the amp. Check what amp rating your fuse is. Check what amp rating your alternator is. A thousand watt amp is pulling quite a few amps. Your alternator is putting out 13.8 volts to 14.4 volts. Though most are 13.8v. If your alternator is a 100 amp alternator than the maximum amount of power available is 1300 watts. And keep in mind that this amount of power is with no loss which is impossible. Plus you are running your engine, lights, radio etc... Anything you have that requires DC. I disagree with the cap comments as I believe they serve a purpose. But that is not what you need right now.Good luck.

 

I would say put in a bigger fuse!I had that problem well not in a camaro but in my f150.I had 4 kicker 15's and 2 amps and a cap with 80a fuse and my power wire is/saw 5 gage.As far as caps go they arent worth it.they dont hold a constant charge.

 

this is what i have in my irocz : optima dry cell red top battery, 100amp alt, 1800@1 @2ohms amp,3 10in kicker comp cvr's( soon to be 3 10in L7's/ wit a kicker 1200@1 @ 1ohm), 2 pioneer 5 way 6x9's, 5.25 kicker seperates, 3in kicker seperates,and a zr 460 4ch kicker amp, and i have no problems all wire is zero gauge even the grounds and positives under the hood, and 2 100amp fuses(have a distubution block!). i say just upgrade ur wire and alt.

 

RocsRose86, I understand what you are saying regarding the wire but a 100 amp alternator is not enough. You could be getting more power from your amps. After the alternator runs out of ooomph, the battery supplies the rest at 12 volts. I had a 100 amp alternator in my car. It is a toyota (on here for my son Matt's car). Changed it to a 250 amp alternator. I am running for amps a Zapco C2K 4.0 and a Zapco C2K 9.0. These amplifiers pull some current!! At Zapco's request I have a 2 farad cap on the 9 and a 1 farad on the 4. I have an Optima red top for the mainbattery and a yellow top as an Auxilliary battery. I needed a larger alternator than what I even have. This was as big as I could realistically get for my car. A solara. Caps "stiffen" your power supply. Thats it. Zapco does not sell caps. They do recommend them. Even if running dual 300 amp alternators.

 

Cap will help the Voltage spiking. the cap stores energy like a battery.

 

my 100 amp alt is beefed up but he is not pushing that much so a 100 amp reg alt should b ok...right!?

 

a cap is useless.. if you get the right electrical upgrades you wont need a cap.. end of story..

 

I realize that the capacitor debate on this forum is largely a negative one. But I still feel that when used for what they are intended, a capacitor helps an electrical system. Caps are not batteries, they store and discharge power. They help eliminate voltage sags during musical transients. All high end amplifier companies recommend having them. Why would they do that if caps are "useless"? I will agree that one must upgrade ones electrical system. A cap is not a bandaid.
As for JohnyP's problem, Most likely he has the wrong size fuse. Also he talks about voltage drop. Most likely he needs to do the big 3. That will help. And for a 1000 watt amp what is the amp rating of it? 1000w/13.8volts=73 amps rounded. it is 83 at 12 volts. Now if he is listening to his music at full volume, gains set high, bass turned up, at nights with AC on and lights on a stock alternator is most likely not enough. So he is going to see his voltage gauge bounce around.

 

k so it looks like im using stock alternator stock battery some 8ga wiring with some 20amp fuse its yellow...i know how to hook this **** up i never said anything about right fuses....lol and heres some pics to go along with this stuff of my setup...

 

heres more

 

WTF i have no idea to do attached thumbnails or picks there there one second then there gone then there attached then i save and they disapear..i dunno

 

OK, I looked up the specs of your amp. It has a 40 amp fuse on it produces approx 450 watts. If you have a 20 amp fuse on the power wire, that is the problem. I would put a 60 amp fuse at the battery. See if it helps the issue.

 

ok thanks alot ill throw one on there tonight and see how it runs

 

how is it now with a bigger fuse johnny? Was never saying that u didnt know what u were doing just that ur fuse for the load was too small! No hard feelings?!....

 

Nah lol i knew that i was bien sarcastic thats all...its alot better with the fuse...but i really need to get that alternator upgraded my volts are really jumpy..x-pecially with that LCD screen open the fog lights on and stuff like that its not helping any so i need that done next but the fuse helps alot.....i also tuned it a bit to catch the lower stuff and not the midrange as much it sounds better and everything.....ill let you know with further progress whats going on...how do you guys like my gear tho?

 

Yeah, your system seems nice. If you haven't done the Big 3, do those before the alternator. Also, I haven't researched it, but I remember reading on here in the past that the HO Alternators put out less power at idle than the stock ones, but make up for it in the higher rpms.

Finally, just to add my .02 to the capacitor debate...
They are recommended not to fix anything, but as a preventative measure. I think of it as a damper, shielding the *normal* electrical system from the shock of the massive loads that the amp will pull at the peaks. So, they are not a band-aid, and when used as such, will only slow the death of the bat/alt.

i.e., using a hammer without a rubber handle on it can hurt like hell, but you put some rubber around it and its no big deal.

 

LOOKS SWEAT J. HAVE FUN WIT YA SYSTEM AND BE SURE TO GET THE REST OF YA SH// DONE!!

 

k thanks for all the input makes me feel good about doing stuff myself...but i still cant find the BIG 3 Upgrade and ive been searching hardcore anyone got the link or can describe it to me?

 

lol I posted a big 3 post over in electrical Ill run and grab the link for you. I was trying to find a few pictures that members had done and I belive I ended up with a few photos so Ill link you.

Edit: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/elec...big-three.html

Stupid link isnt working for me so if it doesnt work for you look at the first part of the website www.thirdgen.org/!tech blah blah! http:// delete everything before the second http:// and it will take you there... stupid link lol.

They where talking about replacing the wires but the way Im doing it is replacing the 3 wires with 0 guage wire and a fuse for the hot. Ill post some photos but the wire and what not wont be here until tuesday (5-22-07) to show everyone how I personally think it should be done (everyone has there own way/oppinion.) But the consept is the same hope that helped!

 

the Big 3 upgrade will help quite a bit. also, if you do not want to buy a new alternator, you could add a battery easily enough

 

like it was said before.. change your 8ga wire to 4 or lower with a 1000watt amp