[chargerup92]

recently installed a new radio and amp w/12" speakers into my RC. on the first start up of each day or after a long period of sitting after driving the rc has a hard time starting, sometimes. i have noticed that when i have the key switched on, (rc not running) the interior lights and the light on the radio will get bright & dim when the bass hits hard from the amp & speakers.
what could be causing this?

 

[chrysler300le]

Might be how you have the stereo stuff wired up. Unhook the main power wire to your amp at the battery for a week and see how it works. First have the battery fully charged up. Battery could be starting to get weak. Places that sell batteries can do load test on them. The only way to get an accurate load test is with a fully charged battery with over 12.5 V after surface charge has been removed.

 

[hardway42]

I was just taught that you can load test then down to 75% charge, or 12.4v after surface charge is removed. if it is an unsealed battery, you may want to check your electrolyte levels... wear gloves and safety glasses and make sure that the plates are completely submerged in the sulfiric acid/water combination.

 

[Dodge 85 RC]

How many amps is your stereo drawing. If you still have the factory 60 some amp alt, don't expect to be driving for long. Also, every car or truck that I have seen that has a big stereo like that in it, the lights are gonna dim, no matter what you do if the vehicle isn't running. Amplifiers require a lot of amps in a short ammount of time ,thats why the lights dim, your amp is drawing power away from your lights. If you're going to have a big stereo like that in your RC I would reccommend that you upgrade to a big battery and a HO alternator. I'm in the process of adding a second battery and a HO alt on my RC for my stereo and offroad lights. Stock stuff won't last, but neither will HD/HO stuff, but it will last longer.

 

[pdxshorty]

if you have a 1 farad capacitor for every 1000 watts of power it shouls smooth out yourpeaks in power drain. I had a 3 farad in my pickup. worked great. wire it as close to the amp as possible, and fuse, fuse,fuse!

 

[Dodge 85 RC]

if you have a 1 farad capacitor for every 1000 watts of power it shouls smooth out yourpeaks in power drain. I had a 3 farad in my pickup. worked great. wire it as close to the amp as possible, and fuse, fuse,fuse!

I had 2 of those 1 farad crapacitators and all they did is make it worse. The idea behind them is good but they don't actually work because they are constantly causing an extra drain on your electrical system because they are always having to be recharged. For what you pay for a cap, you might as well take that money and stick it into a H.O alternator. Then you would truely have the power to power your toys. Esentially all a cap is, is a small reserve battery. you'll have more power to draw amps from, but if your alt can't keep up with the extra draw to keep it charged, it does more harm than good.

 

[TaZMaNiaK]

Your lights dim when the bass hits because those are what take the most power from the battery to make. I don't know what your stereo's drawing, but I had a 900W system that could draw 60 amps on a hard bass hit. You shouldn't run your system when the engine is off, because it will kill a standard battery real quick. Even an Optima Red can't run for more than an hour or so with that kind of drain on it. A 1 or 2 farad will help if you notice your lights dimming while the engine is idleing, because as was said earlier, it is just a small power reserve which will smooth out the draw from the battery and alternator. The voltage regulator can't regulate to the beat of the music, so the capacitor doles out the extra jolt when needed, but the electrical system will see a constant, steady draw.

Matt {peace}

 

[chrysler300le]

if you have a 1 farad capacitor for every 1000 watts of power it shouls smooth out yourpeaks in power drain. I had a 3 farad in my pickup. worked great. wire it as close to the amp as possible, and fuse, fuse,fuse!

I had 2 of those 1 farad crapacitators and all they did is make it worse. The idea behind them is good but they don't actually work because they are constantly causing an extra drain on your electrical system because they are always having to be recharged. For what you pay for a cap, you might as well take that money and stick it into a H.O alternator. Then you would truely have the power to power your toys. Esentially all a cap is, is a small reserve battery. you'll have more power to draw amps from, but if your alt can't keep up with the extra draw to keep it charged, it does more harm than good.

Something was wrong with how you wired them up or the caps themselves. I've seen myself that they work good.

 

[Dodge 85 RC]

No they weren't wired incorrectly. I have this friend that used to compete for PPI audio and he hooked them up for me. he never used them when he would compete and neither did any of his friends. Thats why I don't like them.

 

[chargerup92]

thanks for all the info. my friend let me borrow a good known battery he had and it seems to be doing fine. the electolytes in the one i had are very low. going to purchase an optima yellow top this weekend.
is this a good choice?
autozone had one for $115.00, good or bad.
thanks, greg

 

[pdxshorty]

plus a cap will usualy put out a higher voltage than your 12 volt system. my audiobahn cap put out 24 volts. a lot of times an amps rating is made at 18 volts if you read the small print...

 

[TaZMaNiaK]

Could be a Good deal. I'm assuming it's the regular (cells lined up 2x3) yellow and not the Group 31 (Staggered cells). The regular Yellow has lower CCA's than a Red or a Group 31, which being in MN could be an issue. A Group 31 has 900 CCA, which is 150 more than the Red, and 400 more than the Yellow. If you want to go for the gold, put up the extra $75 and get the Group 31 from http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com They have free shipping (a definite plus - this sucker weighs like 60 lbs) The standard price sructure goes: Red - $125 Yellow - $139 Blue - $139 Yellow Group 31 - $197 Blue Group 31 - $197.

Matt {peace}

 

[TaZMaNiaK]

plus a cap will usualy put out a higher voltage than your 12 volt system. my audiobahn cap put out 24 volts. a lot of times an amps rating is made at 18 volts if you read the small print...

I disagree.. A cap won't boost voltage, it only stores high amounts of current at the voltage that's put into it (around 15 volts) You probably got that from a voltmeter across the terminals, right?

Matt {peace}

 

[pdxshorty]

I got that from audiobahn literature. says 24 volts nominal with peaks to 30 volts. I was scared to hook up my amps to it, but it worked great.