Yellow Top Battery

alldaz · Post by **alldaz** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 12:05 pm

I have 1 pioneer 8600mp
(2) 15'' power acoustik fubrs
(1) power acoustik class D 2400 series amp
factory speakers

All this is in a 2004 Impala LS, and I of course my lights are blinking when the subs hit. I kept my stock battery for the car, and hooked my amplifier to my yellow top(its in my trunk). I still get a small flickering of the lights when I turn my subs up(they run at like 900 RMS) should I get a cap and if I do will that stop the flickering? Should I get like a 1 farad cap or a 2 farad cap, whats the best place to get it whats a good maker

Jszar · Post by **Jszar** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 12:31 pm

read the FAQ section on caps first. there is no point in explaining it in this thread, unless you still have questions after you read it.

imsolost7886 · Post by **imsolost7886** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 12:56 pm

no need for a cap.....get a yellow top or a larger alternator....both would be best...but expensive

6three6mafia6 · Post by **6three6mafia6** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:27 pm

yeah man my electrical system has been dying lately after about 2 years of the stress of amplifers, so i got a new high output alternator, batterys and caps would be like putting a band aid on a gun shot wound.

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:35 pm

You need a High Output Alternator- end of story!

Dustin from Huntsville · Mon Dec 20, 2004 2:44 pm

It's funny how I ran 350 watts from a Class A tube amp, and nearly 650 watts from a Class A/B solid state amp, and had no problems on my 80 amp stock alternator.

I think instead of looking at caps / batteries / alternators, you need to look at your gains / bass boosts / volume. Im willing to bet you are clipping your amp regularly which is causing your dimming issues. When you clip your amp, you place a continuous load on your alternator to feed your amp, where as during normal, unclipped music play you never have a solid, continueous draw from your amp. Also when you fully clip a signal, your amp will try to draw twice its rated output.

So I first suggest you evaluate how you have your system tuned. If everything seems okay, then maybe you should have your battery and alternator checked for proper operation.

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 4:31 pm

Dustin from Huntsville wrote:It's funny how I ran 350 watts from a Class A tube amp, and nearly 650 watts from a Class A/B solid state amp, and had no problems on my 80 amp stock alternator.

As you stated when you clip it draws a continuous current. But when it doesnt clip it never draws full output or its extremely brief.

Im not really sure how you did it either. Only explanation I can think of is that you may not have played it loud for long or often. Or your battery took a beating.

By the rules and laws it shouldnt have worked out so well...But for some odd reason it did...

lotas · Post by **lotas** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 11:51 pm

Dustin from Huntsville wrote:It's funny how I ran 350 watts from a Class A tube amp, and nearly 650 watts from a Class A/B solid state amp, and had no problems on my 80 amp stock alternator.

thats weird cause i was just thinking that same thing. Im running 1500watts off a 90amp alternator and i havent seen my lights dim yet. All my gains are properly set and im not using my bass boost on the amp (which i dont need honestly) but im having no troubles. When i turn the car off and bump my system my lights dont dim either, nor does my car have trouble starting.

on my old system which was like 300watts my lights would dim, but my gain was up all the way (little less) ... i dunno hard to understand for me, i guess i was clipping my amp.

Still, I am going to get a battery with higher cranking amps, but not a deep cycle, because the 1000cca batteries are 60$ and have 6year warranties...deep cycle only have 1 or 3, i dont remember.

Dustin from Huntsville · Tue Dec 21, 2004 6:34 am

My statement saying how "It's funny how I ran..... blah blah blah" was being sarcastic, I know why I didn't have dimming issues. :) By the rules and laws a stock electrical system should support any reasonable daily driver setup. The only situations that truly demand a high output alternator are for SPL oriented people... primarily the people who are solely competing. And for true SPL people, the alternators are used solely for recharging their bank of 50 batteries.

Car audio amplifiers are definately capable of drawings lots of power, but they do not require anywhere near as much as one might think for reproducing the dynamic range of music.

And yea Lotas, go for the higher cranking amp battery. You really only want a Deep cycle if you plan to listen to your system with the car off.

P.S. Im not implying that people's investments into higher output alternators are a waste of money, I'm just implying that they aren't as necessary as everyone makes them out to be.

Post by **GlassWolf** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 9:16 am

http://www.wickedcases.com/caraudio/capacitors.html
http://www.wickedcases.com/caraudio/charging.html
http://www.wickedcases.com/HT/batteries.html

that should answer all of your charging system questions