I've had an aftermarket head unit and speakers and amp for a couple years now but I've got a little problem I think.

The alternator guage needle bounces around a lot now. More so when the bass is pumping. It never used to do this. Probably been happening a few months now and Im tired of seeing it. Its bugging me. Everything else seems OK. Everything works and the car starts fine every time. Im trying to head off a potential failure.

Do I need a capacitor or something inline with the amp to stop this? Can someone recommend a part for me?

I have a Punch 360a II amp driving an Audiobahn 12" bass tube. It's currently wired straight to the battery with just a big fuse inline.

Thanks

 

your amp is drawing more amperage than your alt is capable of producing. The cure is a higher output alternator. A cap will help, but is only a bandaid.

 

My stock alternator can barely keep up with
full accessory load at idle. And I don't have
any boom-boom.

 

Seeing how I've had this system for 2 years plus and no real problems besides the guage bouncing recently, I think I'll try the cap first.

Maybe I can get away with just the band aid and not surgery

Thanks

 

Could be you are buring out your alternator. LKike stated above the stock alternator is crap and wont support a big system properly. By putting a strain on it you will cause something to eventually go bad.

Caps are NOT meant to fix current problems in a car audio system! They are made to stiffen up the power supply to the amplifier in heavy transient musical notes in the event that the small capacitors in your amp are exhausted (which is all the time).. They help supply your amp with a very quick burst of current to help satisfy the demands of very dynamic music.

I can't stand it when people come into my shop and say

Customer: "I need a cap"

Me: "Why may I ask?"

Customer: " Cuz when mah ****'s knockin my light be dimmin"

Me: *Pulls out a bat and whacks the customer in the kneecaps*

^^ Ok, so i dont do that last part but sometimes I want to when they start agruing. LOL

Like stated above, Caps are too often used as bandaids. Get a better alternator and a good battery first. IMO

 

What would be a good alternator? One from the trucks?

 

I bought my 200amp 14v at 900rpm alternator from Excessive Amperage for just under $300, but it was a little more because mine was custom painted. Check their web site out.