Fcking electrical

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

How much friggin electrical do i need to run 3000 watts :/?
I have a HO 230a(biggest i can get) and d3100, i didnt hook up my d2400 yet. But i can drop down to like 11.8 and idk how the hell adding the d2400 will help

i dont understand why your dropping so bad. I have a 3500 watt rms amp, 220a alt, and stock batt & 3 dekas and on pretty much full tilt im maintaining 13.6 - 13.7volts @ idle. something doesnt seem right with yours.

idk if mines does better because i have 4 total runs of 0g front to back. I have 2 runs for power front to back and 2 runs for ground front to back plus the normal grounds to frame what not. that may be helping me a bit.

 

[East 10+ year member]

Not sure, i dont think something is right here

2 150a alts and 2 batts that size should handle 3k on an efficient amplifier no problem... I run 2200 off my stock 150 and odyssey 1500 and dont see under 14v

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

i dont understand why your dropping so bad. I have a 3500 watt rms amp, 220a alt, and stock batt & 3 dekas and on pretty much full tilt im maintaining 13.6 - 13.7volts @ idle. something doesnt seem right with yours.
idk if mines does better because i have 4 total runs of 0g front to back. I have 2 runs for power front to back and 2 runs for ground front to back plus the normal grounds to frame what not. that may be helping me a bit.

Meh, I'm running 8k off 1 lonely run to the back, a 300A alt and the same amount of reserves as you. The wire isn't what's killing him.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Meh, I'm running 8k off 1 lonely run to the back, a 300A alt and the same amount of reserves as you. The wire isn't what's killing him.

oh... i didnt know. well something dont seem right. has he tested with his RPM's at 2k, it may just be a alt that has low idle amps

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

oh... i didnt know. well something dont seem right. has he tested with his RPM's at 2k, it may just be a alt that has low idle amps

Could be, but at 2k engine RPMs, most alts are going to be in the 6k RPMs area. That's not exactly idle.

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Could be, but at 2k engine RPMs, most alts are going to be in the 6k RPMs area. That's not exactly idle.

oh. i mean my alt maxes out at 246amps tested @ 2krpms. my blazer idles probly around 1krpms.

if he's dropping that low and at 2krpms, someone ripped his @ss open....

 

[PapaGeno21 10+ year member]

Have you upgraded the wires from the alt to the batt? Big 3?

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

Have you upgraded the wires from the alt to the batt? Big 3?

Big 3 1/0 and 1 run of 0 to back

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

oh. i mean my alt maxes out at 246amps tested @ 2krpms. my blazer idles probly around 1krpms.
if he's dropping that low and at 2krpms, someone ripped his @ss open....

Yep 2K i can drop 12-11s; the alt clamped 190 @ 2k warm

 

[rockin15srandy 10+ year member]

Where are you getting those reading at? It might not be the alternator but it might be the regulator/rectifier not keeping up with the spikes quick enough. Just a thought on that. Check the voltage at different locations to see where this voltage drop is happening.

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

Where are you getting those reading at? It might not be the alternator but it might be the regulator/rectifier not keeping up with the spikes quick enough. Just a thought on that. Check the voltage at different locations to see where this voltage drop is happening.

My voltage monitoring is done @ cig lighter. The company who made the alt clamped it on their test bench using a regulated load

 

[rockin15srandy 10+ year member]

Take some different voltages one near the front battery, one before that battery, one at the rear battery and one going to the amp itself. The cigarette lighter gives a good indication of inside the car but you still don't know exactly where the problem is coming from. It could be the regulator/rectifier or it could be a bad ground/12V or something else is going on but make sure everything is working good.

You have to diagnose a problem in order to fix it. If not just get the parts cannon out and fire away.

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

Where are you getting those reading at? It might not be the alternator but it might be the regulator/rectifier not keeping up with the spikes quick enough. Just a thought on that. Check the voltage at different locations to see where this voltage drop is happening.

Take some different voltages one near the front battery, one before that battery, one at the rear battery and one going to the amp itself. The cigarette lighter gives a good indication of inside the car but you still don't know exactly where the problem is coming from. It could be the regulator/rectifier or it could be a bad ground/12V or something else is going on but make sure everything is working good. You have to diagnose a problem in order to fix it. If not just get the parts cannon out and fire away.

Well, considering the cig lighter position in the electricla system, thats what the alt has to be seeing as well... its wired at the same point the lines go back... and theres nothing intensive inside the car that would pull that much to throw the cig lighter off.. but its a good idea regardless

 

[rockin15srandy 10+ year member]

Thats what I was saying earlier if the regulator/rectifier is not keeping up then theres your problem but I have seen more often than not these types of problems being associated with wiring(usually improper grounding). But you need to check everything out first. If all the numbers seems to be equivalent the see how the regulator/rectifier gets its voltages, check the field connection on the alternator and make sure it is tight and is receiving the proper voltages. Also have someone (autozone/advance/your choice) check your batteries. They might look fine but not really hold enough of a charge. You want to know what it's life is (100%,90%, 20%). Just keep ruling things out until you narrow down your problem.

 

[JoeK 10+ year member]

Thats what I was saying earlier if the regulator/rectifier is not keeping up then theres your problem but I have seen more often than not these types of problems being associated with wiring(usually improper grounding). But you need to check everything out first. If all the numbers seems to be equivalent the see how the regulator/rectifier gets its voltages, check the field connection on the alternator and make sure it is tight and is receiving the proper voltages. Also have someone (autozone/advance/your choice) check your batteries. They might look fine but not really hold enough of a charge. You want to know what it's life is (100%,90%, 20%). Just keep ruling things out until you narrow down your problem.

Guys who tested my alt recommend to replace my front batt (apparantly its leaking acid too) and add a separate ground to the frame for each rear battery