Ground got pulled out, now can't go over 18 volume (amp cuts out)

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Driver door open, keys are not in ignition

Keys in, power on - motor still off

Car fully on

Music at volume 15

With drops at 18 vol. went as low as 14.2

with it that low with out the keys in and engine off your front batt could be on its way out. idk what kind of batt you have but mine i have under hood is also a regular lead battery but it rests about 12.8

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Bc I am an idiot at heart. I never had turned the car on when saying its idle voltage...I wasnt sure if 2.5volts was a huge difference so i just settled with the motor off numbers. Sorry bout that.

oh no big deal. but it sounds like your front battery may be going bad or just really needs to be charge secondary by like a battery charger for alittle bit to bring up the voltage. How old is that battery? because again lead acid batt rests at 12.8 or so

 

[ilikeradios 10+ year member]

I want to help you with the noise issue.

Unplug the RCA's from the amp, start the car, does it make the noise still?

 

[Tadmonty]

oh no big deal. but it sounds like your front battery may be going bad or just really needs to be charge secondary by like a battery charger for alittle bit to bring up the voltage. How old is that battery? because again lead acid batt rests at 12.8 or so

Bat is maybe 2 years old, close to it at least.

 

[Tadmonty]

I want to help you with the noise issue.
Unplug the RCA's from the amp, start the car, does it make the noise still?

Ill have to check tomorrow, Ill let you know though!

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

Bat is maybe 2 years old, close to it at least.

try putting it on a charger for a bit then remove it. and watch it for a couple of hours to see how its resting

 

[Staynlean 10+ year member]

I don't know wether to follow this thread for the lols or for the knowledge.

Either way, I'm following.

 

[The Silverman 10+ year member]

If it helps you figure out the thickness, its all from a Walmart kit. (wiring and cap, I know, im cheap) Gain is maybe around 65% up on the amp, but def not over 75%. Max volume i believe on my headunit is 40? I want to say 40 is the max. I have yet taken the volume past 21 on any song with actual bass and drops, too afraid of blowing my subs or car speakers.

So far i'd say turn that gain down and get thicker ground wire.

 

[bbeljefe]

You need to check all of the ground connections and all of the positive connections on your amplifier and on the capacitor. You could also have stressed a signal wire and that could be your noise problem, although I'm betting that the problem is with a ground connection.

You should also replace the ground wires with wires of the same size as the positives, which in the case of that Scosche kit, they're 5 gauge. You don't need to throw the capacitor away and you don't need to upgrade to 1/0 wire and 1/0 big three unless you're planning to upgrade the power you're running, as the wire you have is sufficient for the current your amp needs. A big three upgrade would be wise but to be sure, 4 gauge is large enough.

As for the capacitor, it can help a system like yours and it does not present an electrical problem for the alternator. As you've mentioned, the cap stopped your dimming and if that's what you bought it for, then it's doing its job.

Also, it would be a good idea for you to share the make and model of your head unit so we can determine whether or not your gain is set too high. Judging from the other equipment you've listed, I would hazard a guess that your head unit doesn't send a very strong signal and if that's the case then your gain probably isn't set too high. But again, it doesn't hurt to confirm.

In the end, you had no problem until a wire got stressed, so let's first worry about resolving that problem before we design and build an entirely new audio system for you. ;-)