voltage???

[loserpunk 10+ year member]

where does the input voltage figure come from..like when they say output power at 14.4 or 12 volts...where does that figure come from....it that from the car battery or what??

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[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by loserpunk where does the input voltage figure come from..like when they say output power at 14.4 or 12 volts...where does that figure come from....it that from the car battery or what??

12 would be from the batt, 14.4 from alt (ideal world) , 13.8v from alt (real world)

 

[loserpunk 10+ year member]

so......almost all cars are running 13.8 volts if you hook the power to the batteries + terminal or what??if not then how do you hook up to the alt

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by loserpunk so......almost all cars are running 13.8 volts if you hook the power to the batteries + terminal or what??if not then how do you hook up to the alt

erm, you connect directly yo the battery. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

if the alt pumped lower than 12V, then the batt will power things. SInce the alt delivers 13.8V, it charges the batt. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[loserpunk 10+ year member]

oh ic...you're always getting 13.8 unless your alt's gonna die soon

thanks for your help

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by loserpunk oh ic...you're always getting 13.8 unless your alt's gonna die soon

thanks for your help

whoa, hold on there...

you're NOT gonna get 13.8 all the time...

with a stock alt, you probably wont.

everytime the bass hits, the voltage is bound to drop, unless you've got yourself an HO alt. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif even with a HO, it will still drop a bit everytime there's a BOOM.

 

[awalbert88 10+ year member]

I usually get right about 14V all the time. As long as I don't have the system playing full volume, the neons on, the highbeams on, etc etc, I don't have any real voltage drops, because I'm not pulling that much power with it all. If you redo all the wiring in your car, you can probably get closer to 14.4V, because of poor grounds or oxidization of the connections, etc.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by awalbert88 I usually get right about 14V all the time. As long as I don't have the system playing full volume, the neons on, the highbeams on, etc etc, I don't have any real voltage drops, because I'm not pulling that much power with it all. If you redo all the wiring in your car, you can probably get closer to 14.4V, because of poor grounds or oxidization of the connections, etc.

hmm... set this scenario...

it's raining at night, with fog on the road...

you'll switch on your wipers, lights, fog lights (if any), emergency indicators as well as a defroster, if the windows gets clouded. I say you're alt's not going to produce 14.4V...

I say a dark rainy day is enough to get a normal stock car's alt below 14.4V if you're system is playing above the noise floor.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

but with the system playing above the noise floor?

I've got a 160amp alt, and the voltage still drops a bit when the system is playing at night... (spotlights on)

and my system is weak...terribly weak.

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Originally posted by paikiah but with the system playing above the noise floor?

 

I've got a 160amp alt, and the voltage still drops a bit when the system is playing at night... (spotlights on)

 

and my system is weak...terribly weak.

u got problems then man...heh....no voltage drops here.....well cept for when my batt was bad....

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by Goddyd4me u got problems then man...heh....no voltage drops here.....well cept for when my batt was bad....

a large system (say, about 1500w) would draw a lot of currnet, so even with a 180amp alt, there will still be voltage drops, no?

I've seen some cars here with radical stuff in them, with a 190amp alt (3 tarantulas) and the voltage does drop. Well, when I say drop, it doesn't mean dropping to 11.6 or anything, I mean about 12.8 or so.

Mine drops to about 13.3v with test tones, until my amps go into protection, or the hu dies off.(that's another problem altogether)

maybe it's got something to do with my cap..

 

[awalbert88 10+ year member]

Dude. Go remove the cap and find out. If your results are anything like I expect.. well, let's just say it'll put the argument to rest for a lot of people //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif.

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by awalbert88 Dude. Go remove the cap and find out. If your results are anything like I expect.. well, let's just say it'll put the argument to rest for a lot of people //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif.

prior to caps, the lights dimmed, the voltage dropped to about 12.6V.. after caps, it's what I mentioned above. (with caps, voltage dips slightly with prolonged test tone)

Actually, on both occasions, the dip wasn't for very long. It'd be a dip for about 1 second, then it'd be up again, to about 13.9~14.0V. I guess my 1.8l LPG engine isn't turning it too well, or the alt is very slow to reproduce power. Well, I can live with it. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[loserpunk 10+ year member]

ok so the only way to avoid voltage drops is to get a bigger/better alt....well i have a 97 truck w/ a v8 so that should get the alt spinnin purty good and i should have adequate power since it's a purty new car.....it should be enough to run a jbl 1200.1 for now....what will i have to do to run a second 1200.1???//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[paikiah 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by loserpunk ok so the only way to avoid voltage drops is to get a bigger/better alt....well i have a 97 truck w/ a v8 so that should get the alt spinnin purty good and i should have adequate power since it's a purty new car.....it should be enough to run a jbl 1200.1 for now....what will i have to do to run a second 1200.1???//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

even with new cars, and even though the motor is big, doesn't mean that you've got a high ouput(HO) alt. Most import cars should come with about 75~90a, and american cars (as I heard) are between 110~130A. You should look into a larger alt or rewinding them, especially if you plan to run two 1200.1