over the weekend, i installed a sterio system... not too powerful, but it sounds good enough for me. anyways, i drove around all day with it, everything was good. then yesterday mourning, it backfired 3 times, during lunch i figured out that the amp almost completely drained the battery, so bad the the car "boggs with the beat". the battery is so dead that i can't drive the car with the lights on. pulls too much power....

i would like to be able to drive my car at night with the radio on, the way it was supposed to be. the amp is just a jenson 400 watt amp. 4 channels, only 2 of them are used.

so, what should i do to fix this problem(besides taking out the sterio) what would be the best thing to start with, underdrive pulleys? a better battery, maybe 2 (if so, how would i hook those up?) two alternators? (if so, how to hook them?). also, what are good underdrive pulleys for the money? if you have a link, can you send it?

thanx

sunbound

 

anyone got any ideas?

i pulled the amp and the sterio... and nothing has changed...

i put the computer that was matched to the engine in, and kept the same chip in their, and everything was fine for the day(i didnt put the sterio back in) the next day, the same results... it backfired a couple times. when i floor it, i can feel the engine trying to work harder, but it doesnt happen... she just boggs down... and acts like shes gonna stall...

i disconected the accell supercoil and reconnected the original one, thinking that might have been the problem...

someone must have run accross this before..

help

sunbound

 

Underdrive pullies would make it worse. It slows down the speed that accessories are turned.

 

SB,

Lights? You don't need no stinkin' lights on the beltline.... Alll you need is a radar detector.

You may have overloaded the alternator to the point of damage with the 400W amp. The alternator ratings in our cars varied from 63A to 104A, and that is PEAK output at higher RPMs. 400W @ 12VDC is in the range of 33A. Add this to the 10-15A required to run the engine, fuel pump, stereo head unit, gauges, and other items, and the alternator is going to be working overtime at idle and lower RPMs trying just to maintain the battery, let alone charge it. If the alternator wasn't damaged, it at least got pretty warm trying to overgenerate at low RPMs, and couldn't keep up with demands.

There is a possibility that you operated at low voltage for long enough to start erasing or trashing the volatile RAM in the ECM. Try charging the battery fully while it is disconnected. This will not only bring the battery back to life (if it survived) but will clear the ECM of the BLM tables and force the use of the backup fuel tables until the ECM can write new data. This may result in less than optimal performance for the first twenty minutes or so, but the ECM should quickly learn the sensor inputs and write new data as soon as the engine is at operating temperature and is driven at various speeds.

As for the original problem, AMS would gladly sell you an amp but neglect to tell you that you need a larger alternator and cables to feed the amp and vehicle electrical system. If you really want to run the larger amps, you need the biggest friggin' alternator you can fit under the hood, and a separate cable from the alternator output directly to the amp power terminals. A 140A Delcotron from a cop car would be a good place to start.

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Later,
Vader
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"What a Day..."
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[This message has been edited by Vader (edited April 15, 2001).]

 

All i have to say is that if i see a crazy thirdgen in town with a beatin' system, i'm running, man... i don't want to be crossing the street when your car dies and you start hitting all of us students :O

Jon

 

thanx for the info

i'll try those things first. the alternator is a good bet, but why would the car be fine once i switched the computer? the amp was out before that. and THEN she started backfiring again.

vader, you sound like your from madison, wi. or around here... cool

thanx

sunbound

 

so, if overdrive pulleys make the accesory run slower.... do they make UNDERdrive pulleys to make it turn faster? or would a bigger crank pulley be better all around?

later
sunbound

 

monday, i had the battery tested.... and it was trashed! i got a new one, but the problem is still their.... i'm gonna test the alternator today, good thing i got the one with the lifetime warrenty...

if THATS trashed, i'll trade it in for another, and hopefully that will fix this problem....


call me crazy, but I MISS DRIVING MY CAR!!!

 

seems like i replied to my own post more than anybody else did.... oh well...

car is fixed!!!

aftre going out and getting a new alternator, installing it and having the same results, i got a little disapointed...

i started the car and turned on the lights to cause it to sputter..

i checked main ground, it was tight, when i wiggled it the condition didnt change...
when iwiggled the secondary, she stopped sputtering and idled where she should...

seems the secondary ground wire was shot...

god damn little wire...