normal voltage drop?

[Kastlez_ 10+ year member]

I can't play music at ANY volume with the car off without having my voltage drop from 12.4-11.9v within 1-2mins

Does this happen to everyone who doesn't have 2 or more batteries or is something else wrong?

obviously big 3 is going to be suggested but is this the only solution?

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[terra 5,000+ posts]

seems right depending on what batteries. car off I sit at 12.1v

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

I can run fine with motor off and only one battery.....how much power is/are your amp(s)?

edit: ALSO, does the voltage continue to drop past 11.9 or is it fairly stable?

 

[Kastlez_ 10+ year member]

I can run fine with motor off and only one battery.....how much power is/are your amp(s)?
edit: ALSO, does the voltage continue to drop past 11.9 or is it fairly stable?

(1)saz1500 but even with the volume at 6/40 it drops quickly 11.9-12 is the lowest i let it get before i shut it off haven't seen how low it goes.

whats a dangerous voltage level to run?

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

(1)saz1500 but even with the volume at 6/40 it drops quickly 11.9-12 is the lowest i let it get before i shut it off haven't seen how low it goes.
whats a dangerous voltage level to run?

there isn't really a dangerous voltage.....minimum would be when the equipment shuts off.

you may need to get a larger reserve capacity battery to keep up with the power requirement.

edit once again: what battery are you running and how old is it?

 

[terra 5,000+ posts]

(1)saz1500 but even with the volume at 6/40 it drops quickly 11.9-12 is the lowest i let it get before i shut it off haven't seen how low it goes.
whats a dangerous voltage level to run?

when i turn my car off it drops from 13.1 to 12.1 but then it stays solid.

Yours shouldnt continue to fall.

 

[dman4486 5,000+ posts]

the big 3 will only keep the voltage up if the alternator is functioning (engine on).

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

anything under 12 isn't too good for your amp, if my voltage drops below 11 my amp starts to clip like hell but other than that it just puts out less power

 

[Rashaddd 5,000+ posts]

the big 3 will only keep the voltage up if the alternator is functioning (engine on).

yea, but make sure you at least have an upgraded battery ground wire. If you have your stock ground and you're running a bigger power wire to your amp, that bigger power wire isn't able to do its job

 

[Kastlez_ 10+ year member]

edit once again: what battery are you running and how old is it?

Stock battery under the hood, no clue what it is.

when i turn my car off it drops from 13.1 to 12.1 but then it stays solid.Yours shouldnt continue to fall.

Mine keeps falling i've had it drop to 11.8 then i shut it off

 

[Kastlez_ 10+ year member]

yea, but make sure you at least have an upgraded battery ground wire. If you have your stock ground and you're running a bigger power wire to your amp, that bigger power wire isn't able to do its job

really? I'm going to have to look into big 3 then and upgrade all the wires.

About how many feet of 1/0 does an average big3 take?

 

[Motley 10+ year member]

Stock battery under the hood, no clue what it is.

Mine keeps falling i've had it drop to 11.8 then i shut it off

Well, go get a new one. Just get the best they have at Autozone, for like $120

Thats what I did, and I'm fine with the car off for 30 min, with music pounding.

 

[cdimic25 10+ year member]

mine drops to 12.8 after 2 1500ds and a 100.2 full tilt.

 

[Kastlez_ 10+ year member]

mine drops to 12.8 after 2 1500ds and a 100.2 full tilt.

with the car off?

car on i still get a steady 14.1-14.2 volts

 

[fbi90909 5,000+ posts]

what car is it??

what type of battery do you have up front? is it a small battery like a honda/acura or a normal size battery?

with your voltage meter do you drive and watch your voltage or is it just a dmm that you are using while the car is off or idle?

depending on how old the battery is the voltage drop you have seems slightly normal. you need to upgrade the battery under the hood or get a second battery. as for voltage drops i've seen my batts drop down to 11.2 on 2 saz1500ds.

at idle with 13.v it'll drop to 11.9 after maybe 5 seconds on full tilt. at 14v it'll drop to 11.9 in 7-10 seconds at full tilt. also depends on the music.