Firestorm Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 i have recently had a pioneer "premier" gm-7150m amp (800 watts, or 360 watt RMS @ 2 ohms) , with a single alpine sws-1042D 10" sub (4ohm+4ohm), and later added a 1.2 farad cap installed 6" from amp. all lighting dims to the beat. then i added the cap, it dimms less, but still a problem. (base did improve with the cap noticeably). i am using a 100 amp fuse and amp install kit with big wire, not sure of guage. i left the stock deck in, running stock battery, and the only other power drain not stock is my PIAA extreme white headlight bulbs.(all 4). what rating is our stock alternator? any suggestions from anyone in the know????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox_forma Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 did you try the BIG 3 Uprgrade, i dont think that is really enough juice to really need a HO ALT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 The factory alternator is barely enough to run the vehicle as delivered; you need to upgrade your alternator, the stiffening cap helping is telling you that. Keep using the stiffening cap, they're awesome but do the math and figure out what kind of current draw the amp will impose on the charging system, or you can cheat and skip the math and just look at the guage of wire (or input fuse) on the amp, that will give you an idea of current draw at max preamp level. Example - if it has a 60A fuse then you'd better add minimum 60A of power to the stock charging system. Mr. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestorm Posted January 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 thx for the input... as i stated earlier, my fuse is 100a, my amplifier draws 60 amps max..... i suspected a lack of alt-powa, but wanted advice of someone gone down that road. any suggs? the new ss' have a 145 amp alt. are the 2003 the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 No prob; I think the stock 2003 Delphi alternator is 130A. Remember that the car company actually employs a person whos job is to figure out how to shave 2-cents off the cost of a floor mat, so trust me when I say what we got from GM is *barely* adequate to safely operate everything in the truck simultaneously (seats + defroster + climate control + high beams + cig lighter + turn signals + cabin lights + etc). So as a rule of safety I would just figure out the current draw of your upgrades and upsize the alternator proportionately. And quit playing that bass so loud you overtax the alternator - you are causing damage to both the alternator and amp for those few milliseconds every beat of the music, you will eventually destory both. Mr. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestorm Posted January 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 doesnt the cap buffer that union of power. the alt load is stabilized but a more constant, higher rate of charge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaotik1 Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Here ya go, the buy of a life time.. New alternator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 doesnt the cap buffer that union of power. the alt load is stabilized but a more constant, higher rate of charge? Yes you are correct. I do not think you have enough stiffening cap to properly supply the amplifier you have. Realize that amplifier you own, assuming it is Class-D switching, DRAWS AT LEAST 60-70 AMPS!!! Maybe for only a couple milliseconds at a time but still I can stick weld 1/4" steel with that much power. That amp is at present still capable of draining your cap and even beyond (so the alternator is still suffering). So what you are seeing right now is that the present cap is able to cover the first couple hundred waves of the beat, then it runs dry and the system behaves as if it had no cap at all for the remainder of the signal. Until the cap is given the chance to recover again your alternator will still be taking it in the shorts, just for a shorter window of time. But I still think that even with a correctly sized cap you are going to need a larger alternator. I hope someone else can chime in with real formulas and figures because my Autosound 2000 stuff is in storage and my experience was so long ago I've forgotten Mr. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowKiss Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Big thing here is grounding, specifically getting a good quality ground, upgrading the wiring under the hood, and using a larger wire than you are now most likely. Cap can help but not near as much as people think they do. Having excellent grounds to complete the circuit(s) is the best base. First upgrade the wiring under the hood: -From alt to batt, battery ground(s) and motor to cab/frame ground -Even if your amp doesn't have a large opening for 0/1 gauge use it (or if you think you're not going to run anything more powerful or add an amp for highs/mids then you could do 4 gauge but I always like to give some head room for later usage if needed) you can run that back to a distrobution block and come out with 4 -Make sure your ground off the amp is grounded to the cab (not the frame of backseat etc. make sure you lightly grind/sand the cab to expose bare metal) and make sure it's SHORT (under 6") That's a start....a larger cap like a 5 farad that's close to 20/24 volt would be alright here's an idea on upgraded wire under cab I wish I had a pic of the inside of my box so you could see the short grounds I have off the amp but they are under 3 inches off each amp (I run a 1600watt [3200peak] amp for my 8 8"s and a infinity 4 channel for highs/mids 500watts]. I have Thursday off so I can take one sub out and take a pic to give you an idea. But playing 40 cycles I suffer a small drop after an extended note so I plan on adding a 10 or 20 farad cap later. But I know I'll be flamed for this post most likely...bottom line is hearing and seeing is believing (I'll be at Zippy2 with the SS). EDIT: I forgot to state...I'm running STOCK alternator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowKiss Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 ok truthfully my post is over the top for the setup you have... wire upgrades under the hood would help but I almsot guarentee it's the ground you have off the amp and the gauge (you should run 4 with that if you're not) you are using to power....and remember (not saying you did it) the ground and power need to be same gauge (just make sure it's grounded well short [under 6" and to bare metal) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 ok truthfully my post is over the top for the setup you have... wire upgrades under the hood would help but I almsot guarentee it's the ground you have off the amp and the gauge (you should run 4 with that if you're not) you are using to power....and remember (not saying you did it) the ground and power need to be same gauge (just make sure it's grounded well short [under 6" and to bare metal) Not over the top at all, it's awesome! Mr. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestorm Posted January 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 thx, the cap i bought was oversized as per 2 stereo shops telling me what i needed. (they both said i shouldnt need one.) so i arent going back to either of those. the cap manufacturer recommends 1 farad / 500 watts, and i've read on numerour forums that the standard is 1 fard/ 1000 watts. being an end user, not a stereo buff, i'm not sure who to believe. i bought the truck for my wife to drive to work, and her and teen daughter like that jungle crap music. so i got them more bass. in the interest of not avertaxing my alt. load, i figured you great guys in silveradoss.com can give me real answers. to make this part more clear, i bought a raptor?? amp install kit, had the stereo shop install it all, and the wires are every bit as big and same colors as widowkiss showed in his pix. same colors even. i am satisfied about the 100 amp service supplying the amp and the ground is underneath my amp.; the positive cable from the cap is 6" to the amp. i have not investigated into the chassis-body grounding.... isnt it at the firewall area and a braided line???that should pass a few hundred amps if it is 1/4" by 1' braided strap, no? i also do recognise that you cant gete too big of cap, but i was running under the assumption, that mine was already oversized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowKiss Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 thx, the cap i bought was oversized as per 2 stereo shops telling me what i needed. (they both said i shouldnt need one.) so i arent going back to either of those. the cap manufacturer recommends 1 farad / 500 watts, and i've read on numerour forums that the standard is 1 fard/ 1000 watts. being an end user, not a stereo buff, i'm not sure who to believe. i bought the truck for my wife to drive to work, and her and teen daughter like that jungle crap music. so i got them more bass. in the interest of not avertaxing my alt. load, i figured you great guys in silveradoss.com can give me real answers.to make this part more clear, i bought a raptor?? amp install kit, had the stereo shop install it all, and the wires are every bit as big and same colors as widowkiss showed in his pix. same colors even. i am satisfied about the 100 amp service supplying the amp and the ground is underneath my amp.; the positive cable from the cap is 6" to the amp. i have not investigated into the chassis-body grounding.... isnt it at the firewall area and a braided line???that should pass a few hundred amps if it is 1/4" by 1' braided strap, no? i also do recognise that you cant gete too big of cap, but i was running under the assumption, that mine was already oversized. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> for that amp you shouldn't need the cap, but it helps the amp last longer and speakers move faster (therefore giving more "punch" and move more air) did they upgrade the wires from alt to batt and battery grounds (if not that's a big problem...8 gauge from factory simply won;t cut it. another thing to check ... where is the amp mounted in vehicle? When this shop grounded it did they grind or sand down to expose bare metal? if not then there's your problem you also said the wire looked as big as mine...well the picture just doesn't do justice...that's 0/1 gauge...bigger than my thumb...either way...bigger = better in this instance --any combination of any of those will hamper performance and destine the alt, along with amp and speakers to a life shortlived main thing though if they did upgrade wiring under hood then it's most likely grounding ... either under hood or by amp....somewhere the circuit in the system isn't being completed as well as it could be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WidowKiss Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 if you didn't live in canada and perhaps closer I would be more then happy to take a look to diagnose...hopefully I'm not over looking something...if you have a camera and could take pics and perhaps send or post I may or perhaps a lurker would be able to provide a touch more precise insight for the time being I've run out of ideas other than the obvious ...is the gain too high...bass boost...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Firestorm Posted January 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 i should post a pic. ill investigate more v soon. thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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