i<3myz

Ok so here is the problem when I turn the bass up on the equalizer and turn the volume up the voltage on my dash starts jumping. Once I turn the ac off its a little better but being that I live in Florida i really enjoy my ac it started doing this about a month ago after a few years of being perfectly fine. I prefer not to get a separate battery for the back because that just sounds like a pain. So I was wondering if it would be wise to look into getting a bigger alternator for my optima battery my car is a 1997 Camaro Z28 and here is a couple pics of my setup thus far. Also i run 2 12's to my fosgate.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

are you being serious, or are you trollin?
Of course running 2 amps of that kind of power consumption is gonna make your headlights dim, hell one of those by themselves would do that quite easily, upgrade your alt dude.

IrbyBocksnick

Get a good capacitor too.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

caps are crap, don't waste your money on them, trust me I have, on any car I added a cap to I had MORE headlight dimming.

http://fatfist.hubpages.com/hub/Car-...They-DONT-Work

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I think this says it all. Everything was fine and now something broke.

You may just have a bad voltage regulator in your alternator. (Time to get a new one.)

Lots of people will tell you that getting a larger alternator will fix the problem. It will - because (if the issue is indeed a bad alternator) any good alternator will work.

i<3myz

obviously... and yes im trolling thanks for your help....

anyways i took it to my mechanic and he said the alternator and battery were fine no serious problems. My question is why would it start doing this recently it was always hovering above 13 but now it is right at 13 with drops when i turn the bass up and the volume. There must be a new problem somewhere just cant figure out where....

sick_tight

after the years the amps could be drawing more power? and under these excessive loads of use your alternator could be crapping out. I did the truck alt swap and i have 2 amps as well (rockford fosgate p5002, and sound ordnance 4 channel 75 or 100 watts i dont remember) and zero problems. also did the battery relocation but that doesnt change anything

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

That may be the case - I would not call your issue a "serious problem" if its charging the battery properly. I'd expect that you'd need to get the alternator off the car to really test it with the proper equipment. Do you think he just confirmed it was putting out voltage and charging the battery?

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

When he tested the alternator, did he just confirm voltage output or did he load test it to see how many amps it was putting out? It is possible for just one diode to go bad and while it would still put out power it would only put out 2/3's (because typically there are 3 diodes) it's former max output, this is why you need a proper tester like what HO alternator builders use not one of those roll around cart testers, that only read up to a certain output level.

SOHCNightmare

I've seen people use some kind of battery in place of the capacitor. It's been a long time since I've been into car audio.

Could also be the VR in the alternator going out as someone else said.

99Bluz28

iTrader: (35)

Make sure the groves in the alt pulley are clean, check the belt for proper belt tension and excessive wear. I'd also check for loose and/or corroded power and grd cables ends and terminals.