Sound system trouble

[patmckinneyracing]

Well I finally resolved my issue with the capacitor I bought. The system definately kicks a lot harder now but I'm still having a problem. When I have my headlights on, the system works for maybe 30 seconds at most before it begins to turns on and off. My thought is that the headlights are taking away vital voltage to the system. My question is how do I solve it? I've seen plenty of ricers and low riders who have systems that still run really well with their headlights on.

 

[84GP455]

Did you install the cap like i said how to? If so then your headlights should not take away from your system at all, that's what the capacitor is supposed to do is take the voltage draw away from your alternator. What amp alt. do you have? you should have at least 80 amps or more. What kind of amp do you have? and is it bridged or not? It sounds like your amp is "clipping" which means that it turns off and on. It maybe overheating as that will cause this problem. Feel your amp when it is on,,it should not be too hot to the touch. Check your grounds also going to your amp.

 

[patmckinneyracing]

I bought a factory replacement alternator which is probably producing right around 75 amps. I spoke to a friend of mine who has the same capacitor and he drew me up a rough sketch that follows the same design you explained to me. The amp does not feel hot at all, I had it on for 5 minutes at most, left the car off for about ten min., then took it for a quick drive to test it. Then about two min. into the drive, I realized there was no major bass being produced.

As far as the amp, it's a Rockford Fosgate 2400w Punch amp. The whole system utilizes 4 gauge wire.

I may have a ground wire missing from the set up. I took the ground wire coming from the capacitor and put it into the amp. There are two ground ports on the amp. One of the ports is used by the ground wire going from the amp to the body of the car. So my thinking was if I run the ground wire from the capacitor to the second ground port, the capacitor should be able to utilize the amps ground going to the body. This could be where the problem lies.

 

[blizack]

Did you install the cap like i said how to? If so then your headlights should not take away from your system at all, that's what the capacitor is supposed to do is take the voltage draw away from your alternator. What amp alt. do you have? you should have at least 80 amps or more. What kind of amp do you have? and is it bridged or not? It sounds like your amp is "clipping" which means that it turns off and on. It maybe overheating as that will cause this problem. Feel your amp when it is on,,it should not be too hot to the touch. Check your grounds also going to your amp.

I'm not sure but I don't think that the heat would be a problem if the amp doesn't turn off and on with the headlights off. You've probably done this, but I would check if the pos. and neg. wires are crossed anywhere even though they play properly sometimes.

But the problem does seem to be focused closer to the power source.

Does the head unit turn on and off with the speakers when the headlights are on? Do any other accessories cause problems with the stereo?

 

[patmckinneyracing]

There is no other problems with the system besides the subs turning off when the headlights are on. The head unit and all other speakers work perfectly fine and the amp remains on with the headlights as well. No other accessories in the car are having problems at all. That's why I've come up with the basic idea that the amp is just not getting enough voltage. But even this morning without the headlights on, the system was still having trouble producing base whatsoever. I think I need to run that second ground going from the capacitor to the body and that might fix it.

 

[pontiacgp]

You need to take care with the ground so you don't cause a loop and end up with an engine whine....

 

[Phoenyx]

Yup, fix that ground first and go from there. Most stereo problems are because of bad grounds.

Think of it this way. Your ground is as important to your sound system ans your exhaust is to your engine.

 

[84GP455]

you are correct,,, you can't take the ground wire coming from the cap and ground it to the amp,,,that's a big no-no! make separate grounds for the amp and the capacitor that is your problem. The punch is a good amp!

 

[Phoenyx]

Every piece in your system needs to have it's own good ground. And make them as short as possible. Stay away from using power blocks to combine your grounds together.

 

[pontiacgp]

Phoenyx....isolating the grounds from each other can easily cause a loop

"A ground loop occurs when any piece of equipment or any incoming wire is connected to a different ground or grounds. If your in-dash receiver and amplifier are grounded to different locations, for example, a ground loop may occur. In this situation, the multiple ground paths can, in effect, act as an antenna for interference. The interference is turned into noise, and you hear it in your system."