I recently did the big 3 in my tC with 4awg wire. it says that im supposed to get a constant 14.2 or at least somewhere in that ball park with it. im only running a 600w at 2ohms amp for my sub, paired with a AvicD3.

here are my points:

Alternator + to the Battery + (battery + not shown but you get the idea)


Engine to Chasis


Battery - to Chasis


Sorry if you cant see the run that well, but its the convoluted wire in the pics that are my runs ( i covered them ).

i have already sanded down the points, and checked with my multimeter for continuity. it works fine. but when my bass hits my lights still flicker and my voltage meter on my deck runs about 13.5... ideas? please?!

thanks in advance!

 

it's a band-aid, not a fix. figure with your amplifier running and the headunit (which pulls alot more than a stock does), your asking for an additional 50-55 amps from the charging system @ 13.5v. When the stock alt is only 95 amps, and then you consider the rest of electrical used in the car (ignition system/fuel system/computer/etcetcetc) along with the 50 something extra amps from the audio... yeah...

i'd be exstatic with voltage dropping to 13.5v when i had my system turned up all the way. my average is low 12.X's when it's turned up and i too have the big 3 done. Now i installed my big 3 wiring and the system at the same time, so i didnt get to measure its usefulness, but i did upgrade the big 3 on a friends car and we saw that it helped by .1->.2 volts. not much, but it helps.

and to think that i'm going from the ~1400 watts i'm running now to ~3800 here in the next month or two ^_^ (but that's comming along with another battery/250 amp HO alt/more 1/0 awg wiring)

 

thanks harrison for clearing that up. i know i didnt do the same points as you, thats why i was wondering if it was just my grounding points. lol. whats the equation again for the whole wattage into amps again?

ohh yeah good luck with that OMG system. ahhaha.

 

current=wattage/voltage

600/13.5v=4.444444444444

add in another 5-10 amps that hte HU pulls to power speakers/spin the cd/illuminate the screen/buttons..

EDIT:

 

remember, the regulators in the stock alternators take several seconds to figure out that a large electrical pull is being put on the system, which is why you get the voltage drop. Once it figures out that there is a large pull, the voltage has already dropped, and thus the current being pulled is larger (using the above equation, as the voltage drops, the current draw gets larger), and it's why the voltage doesnt come back up to 14.x


yeah, i've been researching alternators alot lately hehe


EDIT: IDK WTF your talking about ben

 

haha thanks. and i hope you would be with what you got planed. hahaha

 

and you did mean 44.44amps right? not 4.4? lol

 

yeah, that decimal came in a little too early

 

i guess im back to 400 until i either get a new bat or a HO alt. :'(

 

*battery* (kinetik please ^_^)

HO alt= unnecessary for your setup.


but in all reality, a voltage drop to 13.5v isnt really anything.

 

so a battery will help fix the dimming too?! i can sorta afford that .. lol. i guess i might have to put my speakers on a hold. lol

 

yes.

kinetik battery's FTW

(read up on posts by rocketgyrl as to why)

 

will do. any recommends before i search and read? lol

 

HC2400 *drool* i dont think it'll fit in the stock location without some "modification"

http://www.kinetikaudio.com/default.asp

 

hc1800 will fit 100%... the hc2000 *might* fit...

 

i like the website. haha. so for my app what should i be looking for and/or get? (sorry i had to take a shower) haha

 

this will work-

http://cgi.ebay.com/hc1800-KINETIK-B...QQcmdZViewItem

 

oh ok sweet. would the 1400 be enough?

 

when it comes to batteries... there is no big enough... you always want more

 

hahaa aint that the truth.. why the kinetic1800 vs the optima yellowtop?