Ok, so I'm running extremely low power compared to most of the people around here. (lol)
2004 Civic LX, stock alternator is 70 amps. Nothing too large installed: Eclipse 5444 head running 8363 6.5" all around, with an Eclipse PA4212 running in mono powering a single 12" (6123.4) at 4 ohms.
Normal operation, I'm fine...but there's a little headlight dimming going on at idle with the bass hits if I push it up a bit. Seems fine at anything above idle.
I don't mind spending the $$$ on an upgraded alternator, but obviously only if I need to. I'm going to throw a voltmeter on it Monday morning to check for sure, but I'm trying to get an early warning (or reassurance).
this is a case where a capacitor may help you out. a 1 farad, 20V cap would help on the sub amp by adding a bit more juice at the brief occasional moments it's needed. If your problem were any worse, I'd say upgrade the alternator. make sure your amp is properly fed with good power cable as well, and that the ground is to bare metal chassis ground. that will help.
I metered the voltage this morning...the lowest dip I saw on my Fluke was 12.9v, and that was with the lights on, the A/C on, and the system cranking louder than I could stand it.
Picked up a Stinger HPM cap today plus distro block and wiring, built a custom mount for it, and will be installing it tomorrow.
I've found the biggest problem with car audio: it's more addicting than drugs, and probably costs more! (lol)
Quick question before finishing the install (hopefully GlassWolf is still floating around...):
I entirely understand the wiring scheme for the cap and how to wire through the distro block.
That said, when disconnecting power to complete the cap wiring can I just disconnect the power feed to my amp at the battery terminal (that's the line I'm cutting into to feed the distro block)? Should I also be disconnecting the negative from the battery as I'd do on a full install, or isn't that necessary?
Also, just to double-check...since the Stinger caps come with a bulb rather than a card, the instructions tell you to connect the bulb across the ground rather than the positive when charging. Seems odd, but perhaps it's just because it's late and I'm getting tired?
I think my 15,000kW concert system was easier to hook up than my car system (I do live audio for a living)...(lol)
you can pull the positive terminal at the battery, sure. on the capacitor, it really doesn't matter if the resistance is at the pos or neg side. remember, it's a circuit, or a loop anyway so the electricity has to pass through both the bulb and the capacitor to complete the circuit either way.
It's not being pushed all that hard..if I want loud, I'll go to work (concert audio isn't exactly the quietest working environment). (lol)
The main part of it is that since I spend my days around 4-way and 5-way systems with massive amounts of power (our smaller systems are 12kW - 15kW), I'm picky as hell.