Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="gckless" data-source="post: 7834675" data-attributes="member: 635756">Definitely do the Big 3. It&#039;s easy and can be done very cheap. I also have a very small stock alternator, and was getting no more than 14.1V at full output. Combine those 2 factors and it means very little current left for the amp. I did the Big 3, and immediately was getting 14.5V. When you see what wires you are replacing, you will be amazed at how small they are.A HO alternator is on it&#039;s way to my house, and I am in the same shoes you say you want to be. That is, to only use a small amount of wattage from that big amp. I have a DC 2.0k, and I&#039;ve got the gain set to a little bit over 300W. Even this little amount of power will still pull my voltage down to 13.0V (the lowest I&#039;ve seen it). My alternator is only 80A right now. I only did this in order to get some output while my alternator is on it&#039;s way. If you do want to run that amp and do this, know that it is very tempting to turn it up, but you must use some self control. I have almost done it once, but then remembered the catastrophic events that would follow. You WILL toast something, your amp, at best. But you doing this is no replacement for a bigger alternator. If you don&#039;t plan on getting a bigger alternator, then you would be foolish to buy that big of an amp. Get something smaller. Save that $80 and do the Big 3.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="gckless, post: 7834675, member: 635756"] Definitely do the Big 3. It's easy and can be done very cheap. I also have a very small stock alternator, and was getting no more than 14.1V at full output. Combine those 2 factors and it means very little current left for the amp. I did the Big 3, and immediately was getting 14.5V. When you see what wires you are replacing, you will be amazed at how small they are. A HO alternator is on it's way to my house, and I am in the same shoes you say you want to be. That is, to only use a small amount of wattage from that big amp. I have a DC 2.0k, and I've got the gain set to a little bit over 300W. Even this little amount of power will still pull my voltage down to 13.0V (the lowest I've seen it). My alternator is only 80A right now. I only did this in order to get some output while my alternator is on it's way. If you do want to run that amp and do this, know that it is very tempting to turn it up, but you must use some self control. I have almost done it once, but then remembered the catastrophic events that would follow. You WILL toast something, your amp, at best. But you doing this is no replacement for a bigger alternator. If you don't plan on getting a bigger alternator, then you would be foolish to buy that big of an amp. Get something smaller. Save that $80 and do the Big 3. [/QUOTE]

Verification