F*cking electrical

[captaincheesey 10+ year member]

Ok, so I have a red top under the hood, two runs of 1/0 wire, a kinetik 2400 in the rear as well as a HC1800 equivalent and am having horrible voltage issues still with my Atomic 5000.1. I am wondering if this thing is jut that much of a current hog or if it can be remedied with just one more 1800 equivalent. I have not done the big 3, but I do have a H/O alternator, I believe it's 235amps?

By the way, 1800 posts

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[y2kbugger 10+ year member]

without the big three done, the current between alt and battery would be bottle-necked

 

[QuikSilverRS91 10+ year member]

without the big three done, the current between alt and battery would be bottle-necked

This man speaks the truth.

 

[captaincheesey 10+ year member]

Ok, bringing this back up to the top. Something is super wrong. I am killing my highs amps left and right. I am running a Fulton Memphis Belle now instead of the zapco since it got taken out as well. Could voltage destroy an amp? I would assume the Atomic 5000.1 I am running would be killed before the highs amps would be.

 

[12voltz+- 10+ year member]

dude u gotta do the big 3 upgrade all your grounds and a larger chargin cable from the alternator it self red top and a hc2400 and a hc1800 with a high amp alt and proper wiring should be able to keep up some up still could use another batter but other then that sounds like the wiring need to be up'ed a little

paint shop up your electrical out so maybe we can help guide you

 

[MikeyF 10+ year member]

Got a DMM?

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

Yes low voltage can harm amps. Most will go into protect before they harm themselves though.

And the Big 3 should be done asap. Without that, the wire limits the amount of current able to be relayed from your alt to the battery and electronics. Right now that 235A alt isn't able to get its juice anywhere due to the wire being overwhelmed. The wire can also become too hot and sometimes catch fire.

Get on it //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[captaincheesey 10+ year member]

dude u gotta do the big 3 upgrade all your grounds and a larger chargin cable from the alternator it self red top and a hc2400 and a hc1800 with a high amp alt and proper wiring should be able to keep up some up still could use another batter but other then that sounds like the wiring need to be up'ed a little paint shop up your electrical out so maybe we can help guide you

Yeah, I was planning on getting it taken care of tomorrow after I woke up, but now the ****ing amp died and I am fuming. Also I am adding another 1800 equivalent, pulling out the box, and putting the two 1800s in the spare tire well, with the 2400 tucked against the side of the trunk. And yeah, I understand the need to do the big 3. But right now, I have the H/O alt, red top, two runs of 1/0 power to a 2400 in the back, the two 1/0 grounds that are at a common point, and the 1800. But I have plenty of 1/0 left so I can do my entire big 3 in 1/0 and it will be fine. Luckily my zapco was under warranty and as soon as I send it off I should be able to get a new one, but I am hoping I can find a cheap replacement to tide me over until then.

 

[captaincheesey 10+ year member]

Btw, thank you everyone for your help instead of giving me the usual responses I would expect from ca.com members.

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

Until the big 3 is done the other add ons won't help much....

Edit:

Lets say there is some 10gauge in there, which is found on many cars. Lets say it is rated for 50A, and only 50a can go through. The other 185A that your alt can make is rendered useless.

It can't get to your battery or 1/0gauge runs to get to your rear batts to help maintain the voltage.

 

[Bumpin' Goalie 10+ year member]

Btw, thank you everyone for your help instead of giving me the usual responses I would expect from ca.com members.

Here to help, not hate.

 

[audiolife 5,000+ posts]

If your amp was 100% efficient doing rated power and nothing else like the car and other electronics didn't need anything you would need a 280+ amp alt. You can run it like you are I would just get an agm charger to top off your batteries at least weekly.

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

you could have 100 1/0 runs and without the big 3 done, it doesnt matter. unless you are going straight from the alt to the rear batts

 

[captaincheesey 10+ year member]

Ok, so the memphis amp wasn't bad. I'm an idiot and didn't notice that the remote wire had come undone so I reinserted it, and it fired right up. But yeah, I did one leg of the big 3 today 1/0 from alt to battery, just gonna do to the two grounds later this week, and I instantly saw an increase in available current, which is definitely nice. Gains are up a little higher on the amp, but low notes are still an issue. Adding the second 1800 and finishing the big 3 should fix that issue I hope.