rpms drop at idle help?

[RollinRemz05 10+ year member]

When my bass hits my idle goes from around 700 to about 500 only when im at idle. Is this doing any harm or is it normal? Im running 600 rms @ 1 ohm. Stock alternator and oem battery (upgraded ground on battery) Thanks in advance!

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[RollinRemz05 10+ year member]

bump

 

[draarong2004 10+ year member]

kinda vehicle that it drops like that? idk if mine even drops that much.

and no, it shouldn't hurt it, it is straining the alternator though, which barely puts out a charge as is at idle, just shows what kinda power loss your alternator gives to your engine.

 

[RollinRemz05 10+ year member]

Its a 1994 Nissan Maxima GXE V6 3.0 anymore help or info would be great. Thanks.

 

[fireball75427 10+ year member]

sounds like u need a bigger alternator(200 amp). the stock one is prob around 120-130. yes u can buy a stiffening capacitor but my experiences wit caps tell me its a waste of money when u can just buy a bigger alternator for the price and does a lot better job. most likely ur lights dim if u havent noticed.

 

[RollinRemz05 10+ year member]

Yes my lights dim, im not too worried about that I am mainly worried about frying my eltrical system. Is it possible to fry it in my situation? BTW im upgrading my Big 3 tommorow I think. What size wire should i use? I have a 4 awg for the amp if that helps. Thanks.

 

[smd4life 5,000+ posts]

you alt is 125 amp if it's the same as mine on a 95 GLE which should be plenty for 600 rms, where is your battery grounded?

 

[hoss 5,000+ posts]

and no, it shouldn't hurt it

dangerous advice man... low voltage can kill electronics...

 

[RollinRemz05 10+ year member]

My battery is grounded to my wheel well with 4 awg and its about 6 inches long. Should i ground it to my engine block too?

 

[fireball75427 10+ year member]

ok heres the deal. when the voltage drops it hurts ur alternator which will go bad eventually which might lead to u stuck on the side of the road one day. also bad for the sub. but if it only happens at idle and the lights dont dim while drivin or a higher rpm, thats pretty much normal and will happen wit a bigger alternator that doesnt give out much amps at idle.

 

[RollinRemz05 10+ year member]

Thanks alot, its still a good idea to upgrade my Big 3 tho right? I was told by my local shop not to upgrade the Big 3 since im only running 4 awg power wire is this true or should i go ahead and do it anyway?

 

[hoss 5,000+ posts]

ok heres the deal. when the voltage drops it hurts ur alternator which will go bad eventually which might lead to u stuck on the side of the road one day. also bad for the sub. but if it only happens at idle and the lights dont dim while drivin or a higher rpm, thats pretty much normal and will happen wit a bigger alternator that doesnt give out much amps at idle.

how is low voltage bad for the sub? and also, how is it bad for the alt?

a large load of current draw is bad for the alt, but the alt is what is creating your voltage, so the low voltage itself is not detrimental to the alternator. what it is bad for, is all of the electronics that are supposed to be seeing the 12v from the alternator. low voltage fries electronics, this could include your amp, your HU, your cars computer, anything that runs off of electricity in your vehicle.

the increased current draw is bad for the alt, like i mentioned. it will cause premature failure, and probably wont leave you stranded, but will leave you upset. your electrical system should be up to par and capable of running all your electronics. its kind of a chain reaction, one thing can lead to another thing, can lead to another thing, etc etc...

 

[fireball75427 10+ year member]

if your only pushin out 600 watts rms, 4 gauge is plenty for any application. im in the business and sell car audio on the side and let me tell you, whenever i go into local stores and start talkin to them about car audio, i get pissed off. only reason being is b/c i realize how much they dont know what their talkin about. most likely the place you went to is yet another shop that doesnt know what there talkin about. im surprised they didnt try to sell you sum bass blockers to add to your subs.

 

[fireball75427 10+ year member]

how is low voltage bad for the sub? and also, how is it bad for the alt?
a large load of current draw is bad for the alt, but the alt is what is creating your voltage, so the low voltage itself is not detrimental to the alternator. what it is bad for, is all of the electronics that are supposed to be seeing the 12v from the alternator. low voltage fries electronics, this could include your amp, your HU, your cars computer, anything that runs off of electricity in your vehicle.

the increased current draw is bad for the alt, like i mentioned. it will cause premature failure, and probably wont leave you stranded, but will leave you upset. your electrical system should be up to par and capable of running all your electronics. its kind of a chain reaction, one thing can lead to another thing, can lead to another thing, etc etc...

drops in voltage like that hurts the alt. the alt can eventually go bad, not to say it will happen right away or anything but it is bad for it. just like you said it should be up to par and should be capable of runnin all the electronics. voltage drops like that means the alt is not capable of giving enough power and he would need a bigger alt.

 

[hoss 5,000+ posts]

drops in voltage like that hurts the alt. the alt can eventually go bad, not to say it will happen right away or anything but it is bad for it. just like you said it should be up to par and should be capable of runnin all the electronics. voltage drops like that means the alt is not capable of giving enough power and he would need a bigger alt.

right and wrong at the same time... re-read what i said...

low voltage is not the cause of alternator failure. increased demand from the charging system(IE excessive current draw) can cause alt failure, but seeing as how the alternator is the originating source of the voltage, i dont think it is likely that it will harm itself...

heat is the enemy of all electronics. extra current = extra heat. extra current needed = alt works harde. alt working harder = increased heat output. increased heat leads to alt failure.

but you are on the right track with it, saying that low voltage is going to kil an alt is kind of a blanket statement. re-wording it to say "the excessive current draw ******* my voltage down is going to harm my alt" would be more corrector //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif