i have a new stock alternator and a farely new battery, the battery is kind of small. the voltometer always is at about 12-13. i have a little jenson amp on it so i'm not sure whats wrong. tonight me and my friend were messing with my system and later when i try starting my car it wouldn't start, we had to jump it. i'm worried when i put a bigger amp on it or more than one, it won't ever start, thanks for the info.

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191(3.1)V6 1992 Pontiac Firebird,K&N drop in filter, bosch patinum spark plugs, Pioneer reciver, kenwood 4x6's, sony xplod 6x9's, two kenwood tornado 12's with a 300 watt jenson running them, check it out at www.geocities.com/my_92firebird

 

Get the batt&alt tested again. Your amp should not be drawing enough to kill the battery unless you guys really had it cranked for along time. All else fails look in to a spiral cell battery or high output alternator.

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1987 T.A.
4 bolt 40 over MSD 6al BBK/EDL throttle body Accel coil, wires Compu Cam Roller roc K&N filter Jet custom chip Removed screens and cooling fins on M.A.F. Ported Corvette heads 700r4 shift kit 40+ 4th gear 2300 stall Stock GTA rims with 255/50/16 rear 245/50/16 front Z rated comp ta's

 

Forget about the volt meter on your dashboard and get a digital multimeter. With the car not running you should have 12.5 to 12.75 volts, and with it running you should have 14.4. Having a bigger amp will draw more current, so if you play it for a long time when the car is not running, it can kill your battery sooner. Playing it while the car is running won't cause the battery to drain unless you're exceeding the current output of the alternator, which is evident by lights that dim with the bass.

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The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

You shouldn't worry at all about volts. What you need to think about boosing is your amps. A higher amperage battery can take care of this. I used to have a 430 cranking amp battery, and the lights dimmed. Then I changed to a 1100 cranking amp battery, and nothing kills it.

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'82 Firebird, dead stock, 9 bolt disc rear, over 200,000 miles and still going strong, more to come...
http://www.spinfrenzy.com/stingerssx...easures.html#4

 

A bigger battery is not the solution. Your bigger battery is just masking the problem, and is going to cause premature failure of your alternator. A bigger battery puts additional strain on the alternator, which was obviously hurting to begin with if the bass was making your lights dim.

Voltage is very important. If your voltage fluctuates too much, your equipment as well as your ECM will not operate properly.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

 

i agree with jim 100%

 

I would too, but when I changed batteries, my problem dissapeared. That was three years ago. No problems since. I am running the stock '81 alternator, that I think puts 65 amps, but I run at a strong 14.6v, and when not running, 12.5. That's with an Alpine MRV 1000, and a four channel kenwood, and other accesories. Go figure.