Electrical problem

[jdawg90 10+ year member]

About a month ago i was bumping and a minute or so after i turned the volume down my abs light came on. I turned the truck off and started it and it went away and never came back on. Well today i had the volume up and it came on again. I restarted the truck and it went away, turned the voume back up and it came back on after about 30 sec. I restarted truck, didnt turn the voume up, and it didn't come back on. Im dropping to low 11's at the amp and am staying at 13 or above at the battery. I get basically no voltage drop at the battery. Also, the voltage gauge in my dash doesnt drop much at all.

Do you think low voltage is causing hte light to come on? I had the same setup for atleast a month before the light ever came on. Am i going to screw anything up?

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[Bigbear 10+ year member]

ive had the same problem. it came on one day and stayed on and disappears the next. idk wtf it its

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

Probably voltage drop.

How do you get 11 at the amp and 13 + at the battery?

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

Probably voltage drop.

How do you get 11 at the amp and 13 + at the battery?

thats weird. maybe alt? or maybe a wire issue

 

[jdawg90 10+ year member]

Probably voltage drop.

How do you get 11 at the amp and 13 + at the battery?

No idea.

Think a G31 deka intimidator would fix my problem?

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

It would help, but that 2 volt drop is either a serious cabling problem, or something wrong with how your testing.

If you plan on doing much listening with the engine off I suggest you add that second battery with a battery isolator. Even then that 1500.1 will drain it in a few minutes, but at least you will still be able to start your car.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

No idea.Think a G31 deka intimidator would fix my problem?

He's asking exactly how did you test your voltage to get that reading. A voltage drop that high between the front bat and rear amp means you have a poorly installed electrical system for your amp - most likely your ground. What guage wires you running?

 

[DidUHearThat? 10+ year member]

His sig says he's using 1/0 wiring, so I think he just did something wierd when testing and didn't get a good reading. It doesn't make sense that you would get a 2+ volt drop down a 1/0 wire. Either a cheap *** meter, or poor testing contact, or engine off versus engine on, etc. There's probably a logical explination for it.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

If he tested properly he has a poor ground at his amp and that's why the voltage is lower. Most likely he's using his chassis as the amp negative and depending on his car his frame may not be able to handle the current he's trying to draw. I'm running 1900RMS myself and had to run a dedicated 1/0 negative due to my chassis being a poor negative.

 

[jdawg90 10+ year member]

Well i grounded the amp directly to the frame rail (I sanded the paint off the frame). I am running 1/0 power, ground, and alt to battery. I suppose i will finish the big 3 with 1/0 and see if that fixes my voltage drop at the amp. I talked to my dad and he said it was probably low voltage causing the light to come on, but he said its not a big deal and won't mess anything up.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

I'm trying to understand. You say you're running 1/0 power and ground but also say the amp is grounded to the frame rail. So are you running a dedicated 1/0 negative from front battery to your trunk?

If not, I'd try moving the negative on the amp around to see if the voltage improves and if you have enough 1/0 you should also test run a dedicated negative to see if it works better (it most likely will).

Also, before bothering with all this, exactly how did you test your voltage at front battery and amp so we can ensure it was tested right.

 

[jdawg90 10+ year member]

I'm trying to understand. You say you're running 1/0 power and ground but also say the amp is grounded to the frame rail. So are you running a dedicated 1/0 negative from front battery to your trunk?
If not, I'd try moving the negative on the amp around to see if the voltage improves and if you have enough 1/0 you should also test run a dedicated negative to see if it works better (it most likely will).

Also, before bothering with all this, exactly how did you test your voltage at front battery and amp so we can ensure it was tested right.

its grounded to the frame with 1/0. And believe me, the frame is not the weak point. However, battery - to frame may be.

 

[jrwalte 10+ year member]

If you haven't upgraded the chassis to bat negative then you are essentially running your negative wire to your amp the size of the current chassis to bat neg. Your electrical will always be limited by the smallest wire.