i was checking out my fiances carAnd the alternator was making a bunch of clicking noises at first i thought it was the motor but it was the alternator and i went and looked at the idle and when a song was hitting teh idle moved from 13 volts to like twelve volts every time a song hits. and when i turn on the lights the idle moved even lower to 11.5 volts id say. The lights do dim a lil. all this is with the car on. The speakers are two RF P1's 12's in a ported box and a dhd 1500 wattmax amp its running 185 rms to each 12 id say its running 350 watts total Does that mean that her alternator is going out. i berly put this system in like 2 weks ago. please help me
Rev the engine a bit and repeat your tests. A lot of alternators produce very little if any output at idle. Its normal to get a bit of voltage drop/light dimming on bass hits. As long as the voltage quickly recovers the alternator's probably fine.
Clicking noise from alternator is not a good sign. Just what is loud to you? Is it with the volume set to the max or close to there? As you know, most HUs will distort near max setting. One more thing, 11.5v is a sure sign that the battery will be dying shortly. Don't plan on driving anywhere far. The bad thing with starter battery is that, once it falls below that voltage, it can't be recharged.
I rev my engine and it's still making them clicking noises one after another the noises are loud i could hear it if i stand behind the car.that's why i thought it was the motor, i thought she forgot to put oil or sumthing lol. the volume where she normally listen to is 28 i told her not to go past that and the head unit goes up to 40. the alternator does the clicking noises even with the system off. And the battery is leaking acid or sumthing from the top. Isaac you might remember one of my post where i asked where to set the amp settings that was like two weeks ago could the alternator or battery get messed up that fast. Oh and when i pt the turn signal on the idle moves too WTF?. Thanks for your help
Sounds like your alternator is just about dead. Get it checked/replaced asap. If the alternator is not supplying adequate power, the battery won't get charged. If the voltage drops below 12v, it will need replacement. So before you lose both, get it checked/replaced. It doesn't take much to kill a starter battery. Just let it discharge below 12v, and it's as good as dead. Just so you know, when the engine is on, alternator is suppose to supply all the power the car needs. So if a turn signal is enough to affect the idle, then get it checked out before the car dies.