HELP car audio people

[G_2500]

Ok i have recently had a system installed

I have a Alpine CDA-9833R head unit
3000w Wiring Kit 4AWG
And Alpine MRP-M650 Amp & SWR-1242D Sub

i have noticed the car isnt as nippy at times and the head unit turns off and comes back on when sertain bass tones are hit. What could be the reason?

Was thinking about it could this be the reason:
I play a bassy tune on the head unit, the sub produces the bass and when really bassy notes are hit draws more power from the amp, the amp in turn draws power from the battery or is it the altenator when the car is running not sure, anyway this is producing pressure on the batters/altenator which sparks the spark plugs and this is causing both the performance of the car to be less at times and the head unit cutting out and comming back on. something like that. please correct me

Think i have 3 options:
Power Cap, that alot op people say dont work
larger battery
upgrade altenator, not sure if i would also have to get a better barrery

Also If i start the car, leave it running and dissconnect the negative terminal on the battery should the alternator keep the engin running along with the amp n head unit. would this test to see if the alternator is fine and producing enough power to power the system...? mu bro said it would F**k up my car.

As far as i know a power cap is only realy to keep a steady power flow. is what im getting a kind of spike in battery power??? the guy at bass junkies said try a power cap, but he cant garenty it will sort it... so what dose he want me to do buy a cap, find that it donw work, then buy an alternator , than a battery. i dont wanna waste money, my logic or thinking is why not go straignt to the end and get a better battery. at least then when i wind wown the electric windows the dash lights wont dim like they do on most clios.!!!

 

[G_2500]

come on need help

 

[wallop]

Sounds to me like you have a charge circuit issue.....

As the bass hits, the amp draws current from the battery/alt, if either one can't maintain or support the demand poor running will result.....

Likely causes & remedies;

1, battery depleted/knackered----recharge/replace battery
2, Weak alt----free batt/alt check at kwik fit or similar to pin point fault
3, Slow alt regulator----replace regulator, (if not possible new alt)
4, Point of high resistance----poor battery to chassis earth, When adding power cables for amps you should always ADD a new battery to chassis earth to match new power cable
5, Poor engine earth----as above, earthing will affect alt output as well as battery output
6, Point of high resistance in power supply to boot----check all conections, replace main fuse if its an AGU, (glass cylinder), type....

My money in this case would be on a flat/knackered battery in conjunction with stock battery earthing, or poor engine earth.....

HTH

 

[G_2500]

ok so il get the battery n alt checked at kwik fit. the earth from the amp is screwed in directly under the back seats after it was grinded down using a drill n wire brush thing on the end. engine earth how do i check this???

 

[wallop]

ok so il get the battery n alt checked at kwik fit. the earth from the amp is screwed in directly under the back seats after it was grinded down using a drill n wire brush thing on the end. engine earth how do i check this???

Logical steps to follow;

1, Have batt & alt checked
2, If both OK, charge battery off the car
3, If not fitted yet ADD new batt to chassis earth to match new power cable
4, Check main engine to chassis earth strap, (Check connections are clean & tight)....

Doing the above should rectify your problem.....

As stated earlier, my money is on a charge circuit issue, the amplifier you have is drawing almost everything the circuit has, this is causing the alt to place extra strain on your engine power wise, and its also affecting the ignition system voltage wise.....

Don't skip step 3 above, you can't draw from a battery what you can't put back in, an electrical circuit is just that, a full circuit.....the return path is just as important as the feed.....

 

[G_2500]

4# where is the main engine to chassis earth strap bolted to...???

 

[wallop]

4# where is the main engine to chassis earth strap bolted to...???

Normally runs from the gearbox to chassis mate....

 

[G_2500]

so how do i get the the earth strap that runs from the gear box to chassis...??? do i need to take off the cover or something to the gearbox???

 

[agithegreat]

so how do i get the the earth strap that runs from the gear box to chassis...??? do i need to take off the cover or something to the gearbox???

No mate it's right bown the bottom right towards the front of the engine (obviously on gearbox.) It's about 8" long and about 1" wide. Like a ribbon cable.
It shouldnt need uprating. It's thick as 0 guage me thinks!
Earth to chassis??? You uprated that? And double check you have all connections to the battery positive up tight.

 

[wallop]

What were the results of the free 'batt & alt' test ???

Have you charged the battery ???

Have you 'ADDED' an extra batt to chassis earth to match your new, (well, now old), amp power feed ???

 

[G_2500]

never got round to it but im going to kwikfit 2day

 

[G_2500]

ok i just got back from Kwikfit and they said the battery and alternator is fine... I also had a look to were the negative terminal attaches to... there are 2 cables one that connects to some mettal around the battery bay and another which connects to im assuming the gearbox... gonna clean both up n see what happens....

 

[G_2500]

I just added a new 4 AWG battery to chassis earth but dont seemed to have worked... I grinded the metal down were i connected it to the chassis

 

[wallop]

Ok, now you need to check the voltage across your battery whilst the car is running with your music playing at low volume, then again at high volume.....Once you have these figures, (it should be around 14.4v dipping down to ????v on bass hits), you can compare with figures obtained from the amplifiers terminals, (these should vary by no more that 0.5v), in the same manner.....

If voltage levels are low then check amplifier earth connection/location, and check all main power cable connections, (if using an AGU type fuse replace it with a new one).......

 

[G_2500]

Voltage across battery with car running and music playing at low volume 14.40V

 

[G_2500]

Voltage across battery with car running and music playing at High volume 12.72V

 

[G_2500]

Voltage across amp with car running and music playing at low volume 14.34v

 

[G_2500]

Voltage across amp with car running and music playing at High volume 12.58v

 

[G_2500]

did notice that the earth connetcion on the amp was loose so tightened before testing

 

[G_2500]

The head unit was still cutting out so i hooked up a red 8AWG power cable direct from the battery to the yellow permanent live from the alpine head unit. The head unit hasnt cut out since. Thank you everyone for your help, much appreciated.