amp voltage

[YourNameHere 10+ year member]

ok so i have a cadence sqa-1 running my re se 12 -- 1 x 700rms and the amp draws around 13.8 volts and when i checked how much it was drawing with a multimeter its was dropping to around 12 volts and the amp was dimming quite a bit..... i am only running 8 gauge wire to it will upgrading to 4 gauge make a difference..... and at the battery it was constant at 14 and dropping to about 13.9 to 13.5 i have not done the big 3, will upgarding all my power wire and doing the big 3 give the amp more output or not make that much of a diference?????

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[YourNameHere 10+ year member]

n e body?

 

[moo_awn 10+ year member]

The big 3 and heavier gauge wire will help and amplifiers draw current not voltage.

 

[qkassidyw 10+ year member]

YES! Do all that...upgrade to 4 gauge from the battery to the amp and do the big three with 0/1 gauge.

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

The big 3 and heavier gauge wire will help and amplifiers draw current not voltage.

wires drawing near or over their rated max current will have significant voltage drop

otherwise the only way to drop below 12.8 volts would be to have an old battery (which might go as low as maybe 12.2) or for the battery to be severly drained...which is generally not the case when you are getting voltage drops like that, its caused by the amount of instantaneous current being drawn through the battery/power wires

 

[qkassidyw 10+ year member]

wires drawing near or over their rated max current will have significant voltage drop
otherwise the only way to drop below 12.8 volts would be to have an old battery (which might go as low as maybe 12.2) or for the battery to be severly drained...which is generally not the case when you are getting voltage drops like that, its caused by the amount of instantaneous current being drawn through the battery/power wires

When starting the vehicle the battery should not drop below 10 volts, otherwise if it does then the battery is bad. 12.6 is the resting voltage, (6 2.1 V cells) and 12.2 should be fine. If the car is running and it is going that low then the alternator is probably going out.

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

When starting the vehicle the battery should not drop below 10 volts, otherwise if it does then the battery is bad. 12.6 is the resting voltage, (6 2.1 V cells) and 12.2 should be fine. If the car is running and it is going that low then the alternator is probably going out.

when starting the car its well possible it drops that low actually depending on the battery

Ever wonder why they shut off everything else in the car when you start it? Its pulling a shit load of current outta that battery to turn the engine over, and in fact if there were some other way to start the car, there would be no need for a battery at all (or perhaps just a small one for sitting parked playing music or using the lights and whatnot)

obviously I'm talking about for a typical car without a system, obviously for a system that's drawing more power than the alternator can produce a high current battery is invaluable