weird voltage drop...

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

does the tined copper have anything to do with adding resistance to the wire. im using all copper 3/0 flex phrine welding wire and dont have any voltage drops.

oh, i forgot to mention it was tinned copper //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh:

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

few questions..

1. you said you upgraded your power wire.. did you do the grounds aswell?

2.when doing all these tests what happens when you drive around for a while and then do them?

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

few questions..
1. you said you upgraded your power wire.. did you do the grounds aswell?

2.when doing all these tests what happens when you drive around for a while and then do them?

1. yes grounds are all 1/0

2. nothing, voltage stays around the same, until i turn the HU off it will hop back up, driving or not. while driving i see the voltage go from, lets say 13.6, it will go up to 13.7 then back to 13.6, turn hu off.. goes to around 14.2-14.3 while driving and stays there till HU goes back on, goes down to 13.6 and tries to get 13.7 but goes to 13.6 so no difference really..

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

does the tined copper have anything to do with adding resistance to the wire. im using all copper 3/0 flex phrine welding wire and dont have any voltage drops.

"Tinned" copper generally adds a miniscule (and I mean miniscule) amount of resistance. It certainly depends upon the material used to "tin" it. The benefit of tinned wire comes with age. It doesn't oxidize like bare copper (turn green "patina" like the Statue Of Liberty) so it tends to maintain it's conductivity much better over time. This is especially beneficial in vehicles where rain/grime/SALT can come into contact with your wiring. Tinned copper is probably the best choice where it is in contact with the elements.

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

guys this is not a issue with his power wire.. it would not have any difference with anything if the amp is not pulling power through it.. his h/u has an issue.. whether it is it or the wiring to it.. its a h.u problem..

the only other thing i can think of is..

pull the remotes out of all the amps.. then do the tests again.. if same results i am positive it is a h.u related problem..

 

[jpexpc 10+ year member]

guys this is not a issue with his power wire.. it would not have any difference with anything if the amp is not pulling power through it.. his h/u has an issue.. whether it is it or the wiring to it.. its a h.u problem..
the only other thing i can think of is..

pull the remotes out of all the amps.. then do the tests again.. if same results i am positive it is a h.u related problem..

Woah. That is actually a really good idea. I totally missed that. Good call.

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

ok so basically just pull the remote wires from both amps, check voltage with car off, then on, then with HU on, then playing music, then music off, hu off, then hu on.. just like before? and if the same stuff is happening... the HU is bad?

 

[KyleBechtold 5,000+ posts]

ok so basically just pull the remote wires from both amps, check voltage with car off, then on, then with HU on, then playing music, then music off, hu off, then hu on.. just like before? and if the same stuff is happening... the HU is bad?

yes pull the remote wires out the amps you have.. do the tests you did previously... minus playing music unless you have something hooked up to the h.u power

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

yes pull the remote wires out the amps you have.. do the tests you did previously... minus playing music unless you have something hooked up to the h.u power

oh, duh lol, thats just the tests i did earlier lol, and yeah ive got my rear speakers on my HU.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

1. yes grounds are all 1/0
2. nothing, voltage stays around the same, until i turn the HU off it will hop back up, driving or not. while driving i see the voltage go from, lets say 13.6, it will go up to 13.7 then back to 13.6, turn hu off.. goes to around 14.2-14.3 while driving and stays there till HU goes back on, goes down to 13.6 and tries to get 13.7 but goes to 13.6 so no difference really..

I see only three possibilities:

1) HU and/or whatever amp(s) its remotely turning on are drawing quite a bit of current (which shouldn't happen with the volume down). Unplug the amp remotes and see what happens. If your amp(s) are drawing that much idle current, they need some work.

2) A REALLY poor connection somewhere. It would take an extremely piss-poor connection to cause that kind of voltage drop with no music playing. It would naturally become more pronounced as the load is increased.

3) God hates you.

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

I see only three possibilities:1) HU and/or whatever amp(s) its remotely turning on are drawing quite a bit of current (which shouldn't happen with the volume down). Unplug the amp remotes and see what happens. If your amp(s) are drawing that much idle current, they need some work.

2) A REALLY poor connection somewhere. It would take an extremely piss-poor connection to cause that kind of voltage drop with no music playing. It would naturally become more pronounced as the load is increased.

3) God hates you.

well tomorrow im going to conduct new tests without any turn on wires into either amps, like said above and do your idea without the fuse or the cap.

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

Sorry I type so slow (I'm getting old). 25W/ch (a guess) out of your HU shouldn't drop the voltage much if at all. Keep eliminating/stripping things until you find the cause. Divide and conquer. Start with just the HU, add things one at a time. It will reveal itself.

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

Sorry I type so slow (I'm getting old). 25W/ch (a guess) out of your HU shouldn't drop the voltage much if at all. Keep eliminating/stripping things until you find the cause. Divide and conquer. Start with just the HU, add things one at a time. It will reveal itself.

it does 22 rms per channel, but im only running 2 channels for just my rear speakers, front staged is amp'd... but it'll do it even with no music playing, sound on 00

or maybe it could possibly be the fuse holder? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

 

[McIntosh 10+ year member]

The key is always: Don't do two things at once or you won't know which action was positive. Baby steps. Take your time and change only one thing. The norm for troubleshooting is to start in the middle, then you know which halve is the problem. Then you halve that halve and so on. In your case start from scratch and add things until you find the culprit. Good luck.

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

The key is always: Don't do two things at once or you won't know which action was positive. Baby steps. Take your time and change only one thing. The norm for troubleshooting is to start in the middle, then you know which halve is the problem. Then you halve that halve and so on. In your case start from scratch and add things until you find the culprit. Good luck.

umm.. what? lol