vicious audio system.....having electrical issuess now

[ltdcrwnvic]

whats up guys, been away for a long while but im back....

well heres the issue....i have a vicious audio system....i have four(4) 12in. subs in the trunk of the cv, i have four(4) 6x9's in the back dash, and two(2) amps powering all of this. the subs are rated at 2,000watts each, so thats 8,000 watts total. the 6x9's are rated at 360 watts each, so thats 1440 watts total. one of the amps is rated to push 600 watts (i use this one for the 6x9s) and the other is rated to push 2,400 watts @ 1-channel(monoblock). obviously i dont have enough power to push all my subs/speakers to their full capacity. but heres the problem...a while back i noticed my lights would dim everytime i would bump the system. everytime the bass would hit, my headlights would flicker. so i went up and bought myself a 1-farad capacitor (no not a flux-capacitor like 'back to the future' although if it helps, then why not). the issue seemed to be resolved for the time being.

but now the flickering of the lights is worse, and now my battery gets drained completely if i crank up the system. all this happens in a matter of minutes, 30-45mins tops. so i had my battery checked....it was holding its charge, no leaking of any acid, clean battery connector posts, good battery cables. so now i gotta check the alternator, to see if that sucker is working. if it is then what are my options....?

this is what i was brainstorming....
-buying a higher rated capacitor....upgrading from a 1-farad to possibly a 5 maybe a 10 farad capacitor......
-upgrading to a Optima high crank type battery (the yellow one since i hear thats the one for audio use situations).....
-upgrading or just modifying my current alternator to a higher amp rate....
-all of the above......
OR
-running a whole independent electrical system based for the audio system alone. new battery, a lil bit better capacitor(3-farad maybe). re-wire everything to the trunk which would eliminate a ton of wires, and make it easier to access a power source in the trunk for anything i may need.

both of these are just ideas that i was thinking of. in both of them i would actually be able to add more amplifiers and eventually get more power to push my system to the limit. let me know what you guys think....what you guys suggest....any other options i may have....im open to anything, so thanks for reading...

[LumpyCheeseman]

adding a larger cap wont do much if you dont have enough power supporting it.

start by checking the alt, and switch to a 3g if you havent already. running all that on a stock alt is asking for trouble. if the 3g and an optima pushing into a cap dont help, then add a second alternator and battery and run everything off that.

[85crownHPP]

Your stock alternator cant handle the stereo mang, upgrade to 3G!

[85MercPark]

Admin: Please move this to the correct forum.

Thanks.

[85MercPark]

I just put this post in the Trash, but if he still has the dual alternator set up that would be ideal..

http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthread.php?t=25060&highlight=dual

[DuceAnAHalf]

all those power ratings you posted are MAX power ratings. normally those are about double your RMS (which is what you want to match)


you said your sub amp is rated at 2600W, what Ohm is that at? what resistance is your amp seeing at the terminals? what resistance are the subs and how are they wired? series, parallel?

to produce that 3000 watts at 12v you would need 250 amps (right guys? 3000 watts @ 12V = 250A?) but you can only produce that for very short bursts,

you need a second battery. to run it you either need an isolator or a second electrical system

[JumboFriendly]

Second battery, larger (and independent) wiring, and upgraded ground, battery, and alternator cables will get you started. Capacitors are a band-aid, in my opinion. If none of the above gets the problem under better control, a higher output or second alternator should.

[gadget73]

a
to produce that 3000 watts at 12v you would need 250 amps (right guys? 3000 watts @ 12V = 250A?) but you can only produce that for very short bursts,

Thats assuming 100% efficiency. Reality is that it will need somewhat more current since amps just aren't that efficient.


Upgrade the alternator, and add another battery. The stock alternator can barely keep up with a stock car's needs, no way it will handle that much stereo and a second battery without melting down. Battery isolators would be used to allow both batteries to charge without allowing the main battery to be discharged by the stereo amps. Theres still a good possibility of the stereo battery draining flat, but at least you will still be able to start the car and charge it, assuming the isolator is wired properly. This will tax the hell out of the alternator though, so don't be too surprised if they burn out once in a while. If you really want to resolve the problems, figure out some way to run dual alternators. Run one to the stock electrical system, run the second to the audio battery. No interconnection at all between the systems. That would give you maximum charge capacity on the audio side, and has no risk of damage to the main electrical system.

[ltdcrwnvic]

thanks for all the help, suggestions, recommendations, ideas, and thoughts on my issue guys. well i decided to get an optima battery(yellow), 3g alternator upgrade and a 5 farad capacitor (just incase).

as i was cleaning the battery tray last night, i saw my fuse holder (the one that powers my amps) and noticed it was melted(dried but melted) and the fuse itself was just hanging by a thread. i touched it and the glass thats on the fuse just broke off. looked up some fuse holders on ebay and those digital ones look nice and clean! as i was ready to 'buy it now' i saw some circuit breakers. now my questions is............................

what would be the benefit of having a fuse compared to having a circuit breaker?

-i know the circuit breaker just 'pops' outta place when theres a short circuit or something of that nature, therefore cutting power to my amps and capacitor
-the fuse/fuse holder would probably just melt again, but the one i was looking at is a 300A fuse that should withstand, if not solve the melted fuse problem. the circuit break im looking at is also 300A.

both of these would be a in-line fuse or in-line breaker. so what do you guys think?

[gadget73]

You need to fuse things appropriately. Figure out how much power you're actually pulling, and fuse it for like 10-20% over that. Using too much fuse will not provide proper protection in the event of a short circuit. Not enough fuse, and it will blow under normal usage.