Alternator, Battery, Big 3, Dimming, Help!!!

[furcioelbravead]

Hello everybody,

I have done many research about this and I really could not find enough information about my elantra. I have had my system setup for about one month and I am tired of the light dimming and my amplifier turning off every minute.

My setup is:

- Kenwood kac-9152d (1800 max) (900 rms at 2 or 1 ohms)
- 2 kicker l7's
- eclipse 3460 4 channel amplifier
- 4 eclipse speakers (2 6X9's)(2 6.5's)
- eclipse cd3000
- power distribution block
- 4 gauge rockford fosgate 1860 strand wire (power and ground) from battery
- battery (at first stock battery but wouldn't work so I bought a yellow top duralast 1000amp amps and 870 cold, thought it was good enough, but i was wrong)
- I was using a 1 farad capacitor but it seemed not to help at all so I sold it for 45 to buy an optima battery because many people says it won't solve any of my problems

I just bought an optima yellow top battery on Ebay, paid 160 shipped. I will arrive during the next week or so. I have not done the big three yet but I will do so eventually with knukoncept wire. They sell on ebay for 3.25 per foot and is supposed to be 5280 strand or something like that. I will rewire all three things, but I am not sure if that, along with the new battery will solve my problem . Some people suggest a new alternator but I will have to wait some time until I can get one. I was wondering if any of you knows where to get a better alternator for my Elantra 2001.

My system setup is not the best but I wanna be able to listen to loud music without having any problems because I drive about one hour and a half daily to school, and music is my passion.

I live in Ontario, California by the way. Anybody lives around here?

Is the optima battery and the big three with the knukonceptz wire going to solve the problem with the stock alternator? I am guessing that I will need enough current to keep 1100 or 1200 rms in my elantra.

[KeWLKaT]

bah i was kicking around 1800 rms at 2 ohms.... back a few months ago


yellow top optima
1.5 f cap

and i had ZERO problems.

though i had relocated the bat in the back with 2 ga. wire and grounded it with that aswell, maybe it helped in a way and did some kind of a big 3 rofl

[CDBryso]

I have a 1 Farad cap w/ 2000 watt max amp and a single 12" sub, and stock everything else.. inside dims a little but not that bad until i turn it up to near max... Regardless of what you do your interior lights will most likely still dim... I don't like my interior lights bright and with them turned down i don't really notice the dimming...

[2loud2k2xd]

im running 3000+watts RMS. optima red under hood (series 24), optima yellow (class 31d) in trunk (system only battery), BIG 3, 3 farad cap. NO power drains/dimming. i say go to auto zone and get an amp draw check to see if the alt is bad, as well as getting the battery checked out. the big 3 along with a good ground wire kit might help.

oh, and ive got 86,000 miles and the same origional alternator. :)

but i do not bump my **** full blast when not driving. i only "max-out" when competing.

[kizzo]

that kenwood amp shouldnt draw that much current. why is turning off? is it going into protect mode when you bump hard? i would ground an amp that does 900rms with at least 2ga, you actually have a better chance finding 1/0 at a battery store by you. Your alt will be fine unless there is already something wrong with it.

I have a dual battery setup with an yellow top running a modded mtx1501d that does about 2000w rms @ 1ohm and the amp totally hogs power because it doesnt have the protection circuit that restricts the voltage so it takes a crapload out of my battery.

I have the optima yt grounded in the back with 2/0, have 1/0 feeding it power and everything else with 1/0 and my engine block grounded with 4awg. i have minimal dimming when i bump hard. I guess my situation is different though because my amp isnt really regulated but it gives you an idea, if you use good big grounds with big power youre going to have less/no dimming.

[Ugzz]

instead of just looking at your watts also look at your amp draw for all amps combined.

Im pushin 1844rms that comes out to be about 150a at max draw. I am using wire rated at 150a, have a optima yellow top and a 5f cap. i get the slightest dimming ever if i have everything MAXXED out, but its so slight its almost un-noticeable. Have had the same system in the car for near 6 mos with no problems. (other then the amp fan dying, but that has nothing to do with the draw lol)

[furcioelbravead]

well, it seems like its only me. I am using four-gauge for the ground, and I am using the seat bolt. does anybody use something else?

[kizzo]

Im using 1/0 for my sub amp ground to bare trunk metal and its about a foot long, 4awg for my comp amp grounded to the trunk pan as well about 1.5ft long, and 2/0 for my optima d34, i drilled a hole in the rear right section of my trunk and slipped the 2/0 through and its grounded to the bare chasis by the axle, the run is about 3ft in total length.

[Ugzz]

i have both the sub amp (1400rms) and interior amp (444rms) to the seat bolt in the back. I have ground all the paint off of the face of the bolt holder and the bolt.. but have not removed the seat to rip the paint off of the back. (its on my todo list)

oh yeah, and its stinger 4g rated at 150a

[kizzo]

well, it seems like its only me. I am using four-gauge for the ground, and I am using the seat bolt. does anybody use something else?

Different amps draw different amounts of current. That kenwood amp you have should be pretty easy on your electrical system. When you get the optima you might be in luck because chances are its something your charging system (hint hint battery) that isnt working up to par.

and if its not your battery up front you can always pop that optima in the back :)

[furcioelbravead]

sounds preety nice, i will receive the battery on saturday, i'll let everybody know how it goes, hopefully my problems will go away because I am planning to upgrade to a memphis 1500d to power those l7's in about one month

[Ugzz]

if you upgrade to that kind of wattage i would invest in bigger power cable. im PUSHING the limits of my cable with 1800 watts and 150a.. i by all standards should make the move to 2g or 0g.. but for the moment im happy. if i change as much as 1 speaker line in my car though, im prolly gonna make the effort to switch to a bigger power line.

[kizzo]

sounds preety nice, i will receive the battery on saturday, i'll let everybody know how it goes, hopefully my problems will go away because I am planning to upgrade to a memphis 1500d to power those l7's in about one month

You wont regret that move. Thats like night and day between that kenwood amp youre gonna need 1/0 for that one for sure.

[Ugzz]

let us know how the install of that batt goes and if it fixed yer probs!

[pat]

Hey dude run a multi meter in series with with the power wire and play something that hits hard and watch the current draw. The stock alt. produces 86 amps continuous, also i recommend getting a small cap like 1 farad or so and upgrading all the grounds of the car. Ii would also upgrade the power wire to 0/1 gauge. Usually a 1000W RMS should get some 0/1 gauge wire. Did you also check to ensure that its not stopping on a thermal cut out???

[furcioelbravead]

after using the amp for one hour i noticed that it was not even close to warm so i don't think a thermal cut out could have been the problem. I am selling the amplifier on ebay right now to get another one. JUST A QUICK QUESTION TO FUTURE READERS, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS SYSTEM? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=010&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=200075015342&rd=1&rd=1 . Is it worth the price? I will upgrade all wires to a lower gauge for more stability, let's see what happens. thanks

[2loud2k2xd]

hey man, ill sell you my system. everything but the deck and component speakers. all the 0ga wire, optima yellow (2yr warranty left), sub+box, sub amp, ect.

[furcioelbravead]

how much are we talking about man? to be honest i am only interested in the amplifier and the sub

[2loud2k2xd]

well i paid about 1100.00 for the amp and another 1000.00 for the sub. make me an offer i can refuse. shipping on a 70lb sub might be a bit high. but i might be able to get a discount if i send it thru my dealership.

[Ugzz]

dont want to deter yer sale, but you should prob let him know about the space issue also. i saw some of yer pics and you had 0 room. lol and i thought 2 12s was bad.. course you could always stuff that bad boy in a smaller box i guess..

[2loud2k2xd]

the box fits PERFECTLY in the hatch. i mean perfect. its custom made (by me). it also leaves enough room for my component amp on one side, and my big class 34d optima yellow on the other side and my sub amp + 3farad bank bolted on the back seat. and yes, the rear seat full closes. :)

oh, the box is 5.25cu' and its a daily tuned box. NOT SPL ONLY!!!!! if it were an spl only box, id be hiotting huge numbers. but i like to listen to the different bass lines. with an spl box, you WILL NOT want to listen to it as a daily driver.

here are a couple pics with the box inside and wit-out the box inside. to give you an idea of the space i have (or dont have). lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/2loud2k2xd/cotmpics028.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/2loud2k2xd/Apr1909.jpg

[DJ Hellfire]

About the dimming, something that severely help dimming in my car was the switch to HID headlights. Since they only consume 35 watts per side once they warm up, that free's up a nice amount of juice for the alternator. Also, HID ballasts have capacitors built into them, so while the interior lights may slightly dim, the headlights NEVER dim. So not only did they get rid of headlight dimming, but it reduced the interior light dimming. The only other truely effective alternative is to upgrade the alternator.

[Ugzz]

the box fits PERFECTLY in the hatch. i mean perfect. its custom made (by me). it also leaves enough room for my component amp on one side, and my big class 34d optima yellow on the other side and my sub amp + 3farad bank bolted on the back seat. and yes, the rear seat full closes. :)

oh, the box is 5.25cu' and its a daily tuned box. NOT SPL ONLY!!!!! if it were an spl only box, id be hiotting huge numbers. but i like to listen to the different bass lines. with an spl box, you WILL NOT want to listen to it as a daily driver.

here are a couple pics with the box inside and wit-out the box inside. to give you an idea of the space i have (or dont have). lol
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/2loud2k2xd/cotmpics028.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v287/2loud2k2xd/Apr1909.jpg


i know ive seen it before.. but that is one sick box :D and it looks awesome quality. i still never got around to carpeting mine.. :P oh well, maybe once i get my own place and it warms up..

[2loud2k2xd]

thanks man. its 3/4" mdf with 4 tubes of liquid nailz and about 200-2" wood screws set 2" apart from each other. fully sealed and will never blow apart. even with the highest spl numbers. :) i like to do things 1x and 1x only...unless shes HOT as hell, then i make exceptions. there ya go felix, another quote for your sig :D

carpeting the box was the hardest part. getting a near seamless fit with the carpet was the most time taking. but i did learn a new trick to seamless carpeting. its difficult to explain trying to type it out on here, but when you get the idea of how to do it, its rather simple. if you want to know, pm me your phone number and ill try and explain it then. otherwise ill just confuse you by typing it here. altho, i did try and explaint in in a post somewhere.. where, i dont remember.