i have a modest audio setup. it includes alpine type r speakers all around. a v-12 4 ch amp. 2 type r 10" subs. 2 v-12 mono amps. 1 farad cap. optima yellowtop battery.

the situation is this. i keep having the v-12 multi channel amp cut out at high volumes. the mono amps NEVER CUT OUT! it usually happens with something bassy, such has "on fire" by llyod banks or "too slow" by crystal method... this is weirding me OUT!

i have reinstalled the wiring of the car twice, changed out the v-12 amp once. I have changed out the battery and added a cap as you see, I have even added a voltmeter to moniter the situation. It will be between 14 and 12.5... no reason for the amp not to get enough power.

I just found out that the installer only put a 60 amp maxi fuse in, so i just bought a 100 amp maxi fuse.

can someone please tell me what i have to do to get this to work??? please do not turn this into a thread about how much the v-12 amps suck, and how small the fan is in the amp, because I know it runs hot... i need answers... if I get them... and it solves my problems, I may even be willing to throw money your way... THAT IS HOW DESPERATE I AM!!! help, please!!!

in advance to the masters who will be helping me

 

which amps are you using (which models)? how many Ohms are you running your subs at? also, what gauge cables are you running from your battery to your amps and how are you distributing it?

what it sounds like is that your pulling too much power from your battery. but depending on your answers to the questions above will help determine the problem.

also when it died, was your car on or off?

if all else fails, drop in your stock battery and see what happens with the same songs...

hope this helps.

 

sorry... i didn't realize that v-12 was not descriptive enough...mono amps are MRD-M605s... 4 ch is MRV-F345... subs are at 2 ohms... the guage cables are good i think... but i can check for you (guessing 4 guage, but could be 2 for power and subs)

 

well according to the alpine website, if you run the MRD-M605s @ 2ohms and at 600watts a piece (totalling 1200 watts for your subs alone), then in addition to the 200watts total for your components, totals out to 1400 watts. math aside. .lol.. 1 farad is 1000watts (so ive been reading)... and your pushing 1400watts rms.. so my best guess is you need a bigger capacitor (maybe a 1.5 farad or 2.0 just for safety)

 

This is mostly correct.(He pushing 1400W peak, not rms) You do need a bigger cap, typically 1 farad = 1000watts
HOWEVER that will not cause the amp to shut down, maybe dim your headlights, but not shut down the amp. Three MAIN causes of this are the gauge of the wire, which you say are good, heat of amp, i know you said the fan sucks, and grounding. Even something that looks like a good ground might not be so good. Maybe try to rerun your ground for that amp. And also is your amp dying right away or after like a half hour of bumpin or so. If its taking a while before it starts acting up, then its definately heat related, if it does it as soon as you turn it on, then you can rule out heat. And head straight for the "not enough power" troubleshooting.

I run 8AWG for 1500Watts with only 1.2 farad cap and no problems. so 4 or 2AWG should work great.

 

I'd say check the ground, sand that biatch down to bare metal...

also, unhook the cap all together... Personally, I've never used a cap as I don't believe majority of stereos need them... just see if it'll affect your problem in any way... check your signal wires (RCA's or whatever) and make sure they're continuous...

 

It sounds like your amp may be going into protection mode. you may have the gain set to high?

 

Amplifiers should only go into protection mode if they are shorting out, not clipping. I've never seen one that does but they may exist.

Question Ska.. Does this happen immediately after you turn the car on or does it take a little while before it starts?

 

You're wrong 600watts is 600watts, its not gonna total 1200watts, each sub is getting 300watts. Thats if he's running the sub out at 2ohm to get 600watts out of the amp.
Caps will do absolutely nothing.

To the OP are you over playing your system? Overplaying it can overheat the amps and put them into protection.

I see people have problems and I'm running a huge RF t1001bd in my car to power my sub , that thing alone has a 150amp fuse, but definitely theres no way my car can ever provide 150amps and i have never had a single problem.

 

hes running 3 amps total. 1 mono amp each for his 2 subs. thats why its 600watts x 2.

 

I hate to sound like a jerk, but don't listen to the part about the cap, just trying to help. Even if you can't tell if your system is pulling too much current (dimming headlights, dash lights, dome lights, etc.), it might still be stressing the alternator. A cap can never be a bad thing. ( with that wattage, im 99.9% sure that you do need one)

But yeah, grind down that ground to bare metal, and keep the gropund wire under 3-4 ft if possible.

 

Arguing about a cap is pretty useless because people will believe in what they believe in. But if you look into the physics of it caps do NOTHING.
Sorry didn't catch the part where he said he had 2 mono amps. Honestly like I said my sub amp is an RF T10001BD, never had my electrical system begging for mercy yet. I'm willing to bet its something else along the chain of equipment. If you were closer I would give you a hand.

 

I really don't want to start any fighting or name calling here (don't take it personal), And i definately don't wanna sound like i'm being a badass, but i have an electronics degree, and i know for a fact that capacitors work, I've worked with them for years. The tCs alternator might be beefy enough that you don't need it for 1000Watt amp, and it may not be stressed, im not sure of its specs, but caps are definately not useless.

PHYSICS of caps = Stored energy (from battery) that when called upon, discharges. Thus lightening the load of the alternator. Right??
In my tC, i have a rockford 1500Watt amp that dimmed the dome light until it was just about out, i added the cap and then my light didn't even flicker

Either way, on topic, a cap whether you believe it serves a purpose or not, will not cause the problems you are having.

 

Ok stored energy, and when needed is discharge. Whats the discharge rate of a cap? Unless your bass is hitting for a few milliseconds then maybe it will help. Also that cap has to be charged back...

Maybe you should go and tell all those people that do DB drag hey you need caps in those then you can hit 200db

 

just like tCizzler, not trying to start anything but...

heres the actual link
http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/S-...ar.html?page=4

if your running that much power, get a bigger capacitor.

while i dont know what the discharge rate is (my best guess is how much you actually kick it too.. the harder you thump the faster it will discharge), some music is just flooded with bass (i.e. Danity Kane's Show Stopper) as compared to other music that has a simple kick (i.e. some rock music like Fall Out Boy). So when music is flooded with bass, having that capacitor actually takes alot of stress off the alternator. Mind you he also said that it only happens when a really bassy song hits, my best guess is that the mono amps are asking for alot of power, thus the multichannel turns off, and the bass still kicks. imo i think that having a good capacitor that is fit for the sound system, and paying for it now, is far better than having to buy a new alternator later down the line, at that time most likely will be the same stock one (i havent heard of any aftermarket alternators that push out more power than the stock one, ive passed the posts but i dint read them..lol) , but if you do replace it with the stock one, and running the same set up, its only time until you have to replace the alternator again.

summary:
[buy a fit capacitor x 1] vs. [buying alternators (and maybe batteries) alot faster than you should x as long as you keep that same system]

but thats just my opinion, to each their own :D

what exactly do you mean?

back to the point...
SkaTG2k3 my best guess is the capacitor, i cant gurantee that it will solve your problem, but if your running that much power, it will be a really good investment to go and buy a higher capacity capacitor anyway, having just one farad for all that power is just not enough :D.

 

ok... first of all... you guys are amazing... 14 posts in just the time I was going to saturday class!

I did not think it was the cap, as I purchased it because my headligths were dimming. I will buy a 2 farard as its only 60 bucks. Next lesson I seem to be getting is check my ground, as that seems to be a good suggestion.

I DO NOT BELIEVE that this 4 channel amp has anything to do with heat. If I play my volume past 2/3, I know I am just going to overdrivve the amp... it will turn off, flashing the error message "CURR", "CURR" before finally turning off. It does not matter if I play this for an hour or 5 minutes... I push the amp past 2/3... it will turn off... the amp will be hot after 30 minutes, no question, but I believe heat is not the problem, boys.

I am going to install my MAXI fuse on monday to see if that is it, as right now, I am running a 60, and I apparently need a 100... if this info gives the experts any more insight onto the source of the problem, please chime in! You guys are the reason I love this site...

 

yo dude that avatr is freakin hilarious....could u imagine riding in that thing....lmao...my ___ will be numb after 30 minutes

 

Where is the gain set at?

From ALPINES website CUR error means:
• The amplifier has been shutdown
due to excessive
current.
• Find and eliminate the cause
of the excessive current, then
turn the power off.

Check the grounds. What OHMs are you running the amp at? I know the amp is able to go down to 2ohm.

TO each its on with caps then, like I said I am NOT running one and was able to hit 139db on a termpro mic. Last guy I seen at a local DB drag hit 165 he's one of the leading amateur world champ for db, and he doesn't have any caps what so ever, running 20K watts. I have no dimming problems, etc...

Also which fuse are you trying to replace? If its the one on the main power wire coming off the battery, add all the fuse rating on all 3 amps and run that fuse size on the power wire. What ever fuse rating that is required for the amp run that one.
Currently my amp requires 150amp fuse which is on the amp itself. Its an ANL style fuse, and the fuse that is on my main power wire coming off my battery is 150amp also.

 

thanks, i try, and good luck with the girls this year! I do not know why you brought new york back to the show, but it is your decesion to make!

and ill check out the grounds on monday and post up right here... kind of funny that it is EXCESSIVE current! I see the voltmeter go down to 12 or 13 something when the system dies off. I do know that current and vlots are not the same thing, but they are interelated! im confused once again! any other info I need before going in, lemme know!

 

Current = amps

Anyways I put a DMM to my batter while the car is running and have a song full with bass, and I didn't see the voltage drop below 12.

In my old Z32 i watch that voltage drop all the way to 10 before but that was when I was running an old school Orion HCCA amp that was rated 50x2. Yeah right that was an old school cheater amp, it actually gave me 800watts at 1ohm and it was 1/2ohms stable!!!!