Amp dropout problem

[RoboticCherry-Coke]

Hey guys,

I am running two amps and a Gamecube in my car. (Eventually I wanna get another amp for the front). But I am running 4awg cable from the battery into a distribution block then 4awg from the distribution block to the amps.

I have recently replaced the battery in my car as it was stuffed. I had this problem with the old battery and its not as frequent now I have a new one. But my problem is at night when I have my headlights on and am driving slow (ie. reversing out of the shed etc.) my 2 channel amp will drop out for a few seconds (until the car gets moving). It doesn't do it all the time but if the amp doesn't drop the inverter for the Gamecube will drop out.

One amp is a 900 watt mono block and the other is a 300 watt 2 channel.

I was thinking a capacitor might solve my problem but don't know a lot about them. Would that be the correct way of dealing with this or what else can I do?


Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[shiftySLE]

Are you sure you dont have a short or bad earth somewhere. Dont know if it will help. but in my last system I used a 0/1 gauge battery to amps. Its fat and a prick to hide under the carpets but never had any wiring probs running orion amps and subs and front splits 6, 4 and tweeter and rear splits 6 and tweeter, so it was a decent power system. I also always ran a yellow top optima and 2 x 1 farad caps. (which have varying opinions on if they are worth it, I think they are). Also good wiring everywhere else helps from triggers to RCA's. If thats all the go then at least when you have a prob or crap sound, you can only blame the parts or the install.

 

[D-Man]

yeah a capacitor would definately fix it. the capacitor will need to be connected to the battery however as it will need to recharge when driving.

have all systems running from the capacitor and your problem should be fixed. if it isnt then you have a roblem with wires or you just dont have enough watts in the amps to cover everything.

 

[RoboticCherry-Coke]

Ah sweet.. yeah I am pretty sure its not a wiring problem as I got a new distribution block when I got the new battery so re-did all the boot wiring at the same time. And it only seems to be a problem when my car is drawing alot from the battery that it happens.

So what size capacitor would I need. Anyone care to explain farads to me?

 

[D-Man]

best to go to a car shop like Autobarn (not sure what you guys call em in sa) but a car care store that sells electronics car care stuff etc etc.. or do some research on google. find out what other peeps reccomend.

i'd want something around medium size to be able to play system constant for around 4 hours min. i know there are some capacitors out there that can play 1500+watt systems for loooong times. so the choice is up to you and what you want to spend.

this is what i found..

http://www.ryda.com.au/Car-Audio-Batteries-Capacitors-s/171.htm

i also found this -
" When amplifiers are subject to transient peaks and spikes, they often need to draw significant amount of current to cope. When this happens, the supply voltage can drop by a few volts. This voltage drop can cause distortion and cause the output to clip which can damage your valuable speakers. It can also ‘dim’ your vehicle lights, and decrease the amount of electrical power going to your engine which in turn can diminish your fuel economy.

have a chat to Andrew from http://www.performanceshop.com.au 209 Richmond Road, Richmond, South Australia 5033 he's so fairly close to you, he'll be better to help you make the informed decision.

the above in italics sounds like what is happening to you at the moment, the amps are spiking and drawing too much power and it effects the lights in the form of Dimming.

 

[RoboticCherry-Coke]

Yeah we have autobarns here in SA as well :thumbsup:

Yeah I will look into it a bit, probably isnt something I will get straight away as I still need new front speakers and another amp but at least I know what I am going to need.. Thanks a lot for your help.

As for the farad thing I am rather curious now so can someone fill me in?

 

[D-Man]

As for the farad thing I am rather curious now so can someone fill me in?

Farad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

that will do the trick

 

[RoboticCherry-Coke]

Ah should have thought to check Wikipedia... thanks mate.

 

[juzzteq]

ye im having the same problem this post helped,
i just went past jb hi - fi i got a mte who works there he fixed it um, it had somethign to do with the fuses on the amp

 

[bezz]

yeah a capacitor would definately fix it. the capacitor will need to be connected to the battery however as it will need to recharge when driving.

have all systems running from the capacitor and your problem should be fixed. if it isnt then you have a roblem with wires or you just dont have enough watts in the amps to cover everything.

where's my facepalm picture gone? bah! There's so many things wrong with this quote I don't know where to start.

Anyway, a capacitor will not solve your problems. They are not a magical source of power and won't let you play your stereo for extended periods of time. In simple terms, all a stiffening capacitor does is reduce the voltage drop when the amp draws a high amount of current, such as when a deep bass note is played. Even then, in a real world situation you most probably won't even notice the difference when adding a capacitor to a system. I think they main selling point for a car audio capacitor is to add a blingy looking voltmeter to your boot.

If you want to stop your dimming/drop out problems there's a few things you can try:
1. Make sure you have a good grounding point. The child seat bolt in the parcel shelf is not a very good ground, try the back seat seat belt bolt and sand away the paint first so that you can achieve a good connection to the chassis.
2. Upgrade the factory ground wires.. battery to chassis, battery to engine etc
3. Upgrade the stereo power wiring, however looking at the specs of the amps you are running you shouldnt need to (I don't really know the current draw of a gamecube however).