cotjones
10+ year member
CarAudio.com Veteran
I get what you are saying, but its rare for the diodes to go like that, they go when you short circuit the battery or jump off your car because there is a massive amount of current directed to them, If your amp sucks enough power from your battery that your alt has to pretty much charge it from the ground up then yes you can fry your diodes easy. My point is that thats hard to do with any daily driver system, You aren't going to be burping your system for 30 sec at full power going down the road. In that situation yes you are likely to drain the battery, which will cause the voltage regulator to run wide open and fry your diodes
However, in most cases, that doesn't happen, notice headlight dimming? Thats your voltage regulator's delay in adjusting the current output, thus your headlights go to the battery for power. Since the current follows the path of least resistance as soon as your system hits the level of current draw your regulator is currently at, it draws from the battery, which won't get depleted enough to strain your alternator to the point of frying a diode in the assembly (USUALLY.)
Like i said, if you burp the hell out of it loud enough to drain the battery in a matter of seconds, then YES The voltage regulator will open up to charge the battery and the current flow will heat up the diodes till failure. Do you have any Idea how much current it takes to actually do that? Granted there are circumstances that make it more likely, such as not letting your car warm up before thumping, thus when you start bumping, and your battery is already half-depleted, it can drop to a dangerous level for your diodes when bass hits.
I have a friend who has run 3 1000/1's on a stock alternator and 2 regular batteries (no yellow tops or anything fancy) for about 5 years. He lets his car warm up with remote start every time he gets in it, and he has never replaced the alternator. My stepdad's car in the mean time has no aftermarket electronics in it and has had the alternator replaced 3 times and he NEVER lets his car warm up because hes always leaves for work last minute.
However, in most cases, that doesn't happen, notice headlight dimming? Thats your voltage regulator's delay in adjusting the current output, thus your headlights go to the battery for power. Since the current follows the path of least resistance as soon as your system hits the level of current draw your regulator is currently at, it draws from the battery, which won't get depleted enough to strain your alternator to the point of frying a diode in the assembly (USUALLY.)
Like i said, if you burp the hell out of it loud enough to drain the battery in a matter of seconds, then YES The voltage regulator will open up to charge the battery and the current flow will heat up the diodes till failure. Do you have any Idea how much current it takes to actually do that? Granted there are circumstances that make it more likely, such as not letting your car warm up before thumping, thus when you start bumping, and your battery is already half-depleted, it can drop to a dangerous level for your diodes when bass hits.
I have a friend who has run 3 1000/1's on a stock alternator and 2 regular batteries (no yellow tops or anything fancy) for about 5 years. He lets his car warm up with remote start every time he gets in it, and he has never replaced the alternator. My stepdad's car in the mean time has no aftermarket electronics in it and has had the alternator replaced 3 times and he NEVER lets his car warm up because hes always leaves for work last minute.
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