Amp Not Pushing Rated Power?

[ATOMICxTomato 10+ year member]

I recently got my system installed about maybe a month ago or two, but the guy that installed it told me the amp wasn't pushing out that much power. Its a Phoenix Gold Tantrum 1200.1 hooked up with an RE Audio hc12 at 4ohms. He said that the amp wasn't getting all the volts in needed, and said my car was only giving out 12 volts, and the amp needs 14.4. We also compared it to my friends system and his was louder. He is running an older model Alpine Type R on an Alpine amp putting out 600 watts. Both are trunk set ups.

I was thinking it could be that my electrical is to weak since i have an older car and the electrical is stock. I don't have the Big 3 upgrade yet, and my alternator only puts out 78 amps, so I think that may be why. But i was wondering if there was anyway I could actually check and see how many watts I am actually putting out?

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[Villainstone 10+ year member]

I dont know if you can test your amp wattage installed. But I think its called clamping, where you test your amp output. I definitely suggest getting the big three done. Give your electrical system the power it needs. Hope this was somewhat helpful. Also you might want to look at other model cars that use the same engine as your car, but has a bigger alt. That way you can get a cheaper alt upgrade compared to aftermarket alts. Like I have a tiburon GT came stock with a 90amp alt, But the Santa fe has the same engine but with a 110 amp alt. So when my alt blew I just bought a santa fe alt for my car. extra 20 amps for the same price as a regular alt for my car

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

I recently got my system installed about maybe a month ago or two, but the guy that installed it told me the amp wasn't pushing out that much power. Its a Phoenix Gold Tantrum 1200.1 hooked up with an RE Audio hc12 at 4ohms. He said that the amp wasn't getting all the volts in needed, and said my car was only giving out 12 volts, and the amp needs 14.4. We also compared it to my friends system and his was louder. He is running an older model Alpine Type R on an Alpine amp putting out 600 watts. Both are trunk set ups.I was thinking it could be that my electrical is to weak since i have an older car and the electrical is stock. I don't have the Big 3 upgrade yet, and my alternator only puts out 78 amps, so I think that may be why. But i was wondering if there was anyway I could actually check and see how many watts I am actually putting out?

theres alittle more to it take into account to get rated power. not only is there voltage drop, but you also have impendence rise as well. tho you are wired starting @ 4ohms, your not just staying there once you start your load(playing your system). its rising so you could actually be going up to, for example 5 ohms or more. so say that you amp is rated at 600 rms @ 4 ohms, when you rise to 5 ohms you may only be getting say 450 watts rms then with voltage drop, maybe 250 watts rms depending on the amount of power you can supply the amp. thats just a basic run down of how it works.

 

[momofx 10+ year member]

Definately do the big three first before considering alternator or battery upgrades. You will be surprised how many oem grounds are just not strong enough for high current accessories.

No offense to the op, another thing I dont understand is why do shops install these amps KNOWING that it will have high current draw and not suggest having the big three done at the same time to the customer? I know money might be an issue with some customers but really, why buy a high current amp when you cant supply the high current lol?

 

[TaylorFade 10+ year member]

"That guy" is an idiot.

 

[momofx 10+ year member]

LOL - I was thinking that but did not want to post it lol.

 

[ATOMICxTomato 10+ year member]

Thanks for all the replies. It was actually my homies cousin that installed it. I asked him about the big 3 and all that but he said just to get an amp that gives out full power at 12 volts. How much would it be to get the big 3 done?

 

[OldManBass]

theres alittle more to it take into account to get rated power. not only is there voltage drop, but you also have impendence rise as well. tho you are wired starting @ 4ohms, your not just staying there once you start your load(playing your system). its rising so you could actually be going up to, for example 5 ohms or more. so say that you amp is rated at 600 rms @ 4 ohms, when you rise to 5 ohms you may only be getting say 450 watts rms then with voltage drop, maybe 250 watts rms depending on the amount of power you can supply the amp. thats just a basic run down of how it works.

Pretty much said it all. The amp was likely rated at 14.4 etc. etc. without impendence rise or voltage drop or anything else taken into consideration.

 

[mclerico83 5,000+ posts]

also that amp only puts out 600rms at 4 ohm

you need power at 1 ohm man. sell that amp, its a really nice amp and get something that will power your sub correctly also big 3 //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif