electrical questions

[TERROR-TRON-74 10+ year member]

my set up > 87 chevy caprice, normal voltage is 14.6 v, 11v when audio in use

the big 3, zero guage wire, large battery under the hood big enough for a truck, kinetic battery in the trunk,bass cap 3.0 farad, hu-pioneer dep510ub,cross over- hifonics hfxr, subs and amps-2 hifonics brutus bxi08d 1200w amps powering 2 pioneer 12 " 3000w, 1000w rms subs. hi's and mid's- a legacy rebel 1200w amp powering 2 600w 6x9's. a 1000w amp powering 4 200w 6x9's and a pair of 300w tweeters.

i might add 1-2 more woofers, and other components in the future, so i would like electrical upgrade room,

questions >

1. how can i measure the output of my altenator ?

2. how do i know if i need a bigger altenator ?

3. how to tell if amplifiers are not getting enough power ?

4. what is the true meaning of clipping ?

5. what should be a constant system voltage when amplifiers and subwoofers are operating at medium to high volume ?

6. what should be done for a high output , high demmanding electrical system in terms of general maintainance and must have for high performance ?

7. what size alt is needed to give my set up the proper power plus upgrade room ?

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[thevic24 5,000+ posts]

1: you can take your alt to an auto parts store and they can test/measure it

2: with an alt, bigger should allways be better anyways

3: they can go into protect from under voltage and can start clipping as well

4: when the input or output signal starts to distort

5: should allways be above 13v imo

6: mantain your batteries-mabie put them on a charge every few weeks depending on use

7: that depends on your system but 200a should do

all in a nut shell

-vic

 

[rickymac21 10+ year member]

if you dont already have an upgraded alt. somewhere around 200 amps should be good enough. And an easy sign to notice your amp isnt getting enough juice is voltage drop (lights dimming), or distortion. and if you here distortion you better play those subs quiet until you get that juice up or the subs will be ruined real quick... as for volts, if your truck is running at 14 volts then it should never go below 14 volts. at all... i recommend running another 0 guage power wire and 2 runs of 0 guage grounds from under the hood... try to keep all the wires as short as possible.. if you upgrade your electrical everything will be much better...

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

my set up > 87 chevy capricethe big 3, zero guage wire, large battery under the hood big enough for a truck, kinetic battery in the trunk,bass cap 3.0 farad, hu-pioneer dep510ub,cross over- hifonics hfxr, subs and amps-2 hifonics brutus bxi08d 1200w amps powering 2 pioneer 12 " 3000w, 1000w rms subs. hi's and mid's- a legacy rebel 1200w amp powering 2 600w 6x9's. a 1000w amp powering 4 200w 6x9's and a pair of 300w tweeters.

i might add 1-2 more woofers, and other components in the future, so i would like electrical upgrade room,

questions >

1. how can i measure the output of my altenator ?

2. how do i know if i need a bigger altenator ?

3. how to tell if amplifiers are not getting enough power ?

4. what is the true meaning of clipping ?

5. what should be a constant system voltage when amplifiers and subwoofers are operating at medium to high volume ?

6. what should be done for a high output , high demmanding electrical system in terms of general maintainance and must have for high performance ?

7. what size alt is needed to give my set up the proper power plus upgrade room ?

Call a certified electrician //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[alvitae 10+ year member]

I've heard of a rule of thumb for alts, Is it 100 amp alt for every 1000 watts or something?

 

[TERROR-TRON-74 10+ year member]

loopkiller if u were as smart as u think, you should know that most cert. electricians would say,i dont do auto work, only commercial and residental. what u mean to say was a certified auto electrcian. go do your homework, but i got this, i ask questions to aid me with knowledge when i do the work, that way i will have more support and ideas, FYI

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

my set up > 87 chevy caprice, normal voltage is 14.6 v, 11v when audio in usethe big 3, zero guage wire, large battery under the hood big enough for a truck, kinetic battery in the trunk,bass cap 3.0 farad, hu-pioneer dep510ub,cross over- hifonics hfxr, subs and amps-2 hifonics brutus bxi08d 1200w amps powering 2 pioneer 12 " 3000w, 1000w rms subs. hi's and mid's- a legacy rebel 1200w amp powering 2 600w 6x9's. a 1000w amp powering 4 200w 6x9's and a pair of 300w tweeters.

i might add 1-2 more woofers, and other components in the future, so i would like electrical upgrade room,

questions >

1. how can i measure the output of my altenator ?

2. how do i know if i need a bigger altenator ?

3. how to tell if amplifiers are not getting enough power ?

4. what is the true meaning of clipping ?

5. what should be a constant system voltage when amplifiers and subwoofers are operating at medium to high volume ?

6. what should be done for a high output , high demmanding electrical system in terms of general maintainance and must have for high performance ?

7. what size alt is needed to give my set up the proper power plus upgrade room ?

loopkiller if u were as smart as u think, you should know that most cert. electricians would say,i dont do auto work, only commercial and residental. what u mean to say was a certified auto electrcian. go do your homework, but i got this, i ask questions to aid me with knowledge when i do the work, that way i will have more support and ideas, FYI

Well I am neither a certified electrician (as you have claimed to be) or a certified auto tech. I am just an average Joe that knows a thing or two and does some research on things that I do not know and need help with.

Here are some answers to your noobish questions above that even an average Joe can answer:

1) Amp meter

2) Your amperage usage exceeds your amperage supply

3) Volt meter

4) A clipped signal. You need a scope to determine for sure.

5) >12.5v for long run times, >11.0v for short burps

6) Simply check batteries voltage (open circuit) and charge if necessary

7) More amperage output potential than current use (no puns intended)

 

[TERROR-TRON-74 10+ year member]

thanks for the good responses and info, except looped tubes

 

[GMCJimmyslt2000 10+ year member]

Wow u got so much trash in ur car. Instead of doing more, sell all of it and get some quality equipment. All those speakers aren't doing shit, get a pair of nce components and a decent amp, not a piece of shit legacy.

With all that shit u were talkin b4 ur CA doesn't back it up, garbage at it's finest.

 

[gotparts90 10+ year member]

if you need a new alternator local there is a good shop in Arlington heights. mg electrical is the name of it on aurtor street. A few places I worked for used to buy from them and they gie a good deal for a rewind that is boosted with an under drive pulley on it. They wont lie to you also about what the actual output is. If you have a large case in there they can ake you a very nice 200 amp that will give you a good idle current as well. should be around 20o bucks or so.

MG electrical does not have a real webstore but they also sell externally regulated leece neville alternators that are 300 amp and its a real 300 amp its huge and has a 6 inch pulley.

 

[IDSkoT 5,000+ posts]

my set up > 87 chevy caprice, normal voltage is 14.6 v, 11v when audio in usethe big 3, zero guage wire, large battery under the hood big enough for a truck, kinetic battery in the trunk,bass cap 3.0 farad, hu-pioneer dep510ub,cross over- hifonics hfxr, subs and amps-2 hifonics brutus bxi08d 1200w amps powering 2 pioneer 12 " 3000w, 1000w rms subs. hi's and mid's- a legacy rebel 1200w amp powering 2 600w 6x9's. a 1000w amp powering 4 200w 6x9's and a pair of 300w tweeters.

i might add 1-2 more woofers, and other components in the future, so i would like electrical upgrade room,

questions >

1. how can i measure the output of my altenator ?

Only a shop can, unless you have the tester yourself, which I doubt.

 

2. how do i know if i need a bigger altenator ?

Well, depends on how big your alternator is vs. how much power you're using. I normally like to keep the alternator = or 250 w less than how much the car is running (in which case you need a bank of batteries to make sure your amps have enough power.) The general equation for it is:

Alternator's Amperes * Regulated Voltage * .80. For instance, my car has a 180 alternator, and it charges at 14.4v. My car's electrical system can handle 2,073.6 Watts with out the assistance of batteries. (But this doesn't take in the power your car takes to run, and what not. So, bigger is always better.)

What you do have to watch out for is to make sure the voltage is set right. Your car's electrical system can fry if it's charging at 16 volts.

3. how to tell if amplifiers are not getting enough power ?

You can't, really. A lot will have a low-current protection mode, which will turn the amp off if the current gets too low. Other than that, you can get a DMM and check at the amp's power posts to see what the voltage is. It shouldn't be lower than 11.5.

4. what is the true meaning of clipping ?

A sound wave is a Sin wave.

Like this:

It represents change in polarity from positive to negative.

A clipped sound signal looks like this:

 

That's a completely clipped wave.

But, it's to illustrate that it flattens out. So, in technicality, the A/C current (alternating current) becomes D/C current (Direct Current) at the top of the wave.

This creates a bad audible sound, and it exposes the voice coil of the speaker(s) to an excess amount of power for more time than it's designed to take. So, with time, it'll heat up the coil and over time break it down.

 

NOTE:: Those aren't my pictures. Found them on Google.

5. what should be a constant system voltage when amplifiers and subwoofers are operating at medium to high volume ?

12v is fine. Anything under 11.75-11.5v is dangerous to your amps. Some amps CAN run to 7v. But most can't. The idea is 14.4v. That is where most amps are rated at. If you can have an extra circuit (I.E. An extra alternator, that has it's own current) you can have 16v. There are some amps that can be powered at 16 volts. They can get incredibly powerful.

6. what should be done for a high output , high demmanding electrical system in terms of general maintainance and must have for high performance ?

You must do the 'Big 3'. There's a sticky on this sub-forum. Make sure you fuse properly, and make sure you use a wire big enough for the current you're using. I always use a bigger ground than power, simply because grounds are more important anyway. But there isn't much maintenance needed. After you do a successful install, and everything works, it's just listen until you want to change, then re-do it.

7. what size alt is needed to give my set up the proper power plus upgrade room ?

I say if you're gunna buy a H.O., just get a 300. That way you have enough power for 3.5KW. Then have some batteries in your trunk, if you need them.

There.