The big 3.. Using jumper cables.

[l1ck3r]

no there was nothing wrong with the idle solenoid at all as everything has been checked with a fine tooth comb, i'd say that the vs alt wasnt putting enough power out (hence when the lights were switched on it would drain from 'PCM', engine and any other electrical load, eg idle drop as if there was no power the motor would stall) and now i have replaced it and reset the 'PCM' there is no fluctuation in idle speed at all when any electrics are switched on or off and i know my idle solinoid is sweet coz its a new one and when i start it it idles up and then down like normal and when i switch the aircon on its all sweet etc etc.........

 

[torch]

no there was nothing wrong with the idle solenoid at all as everything has been checked with a fine tooth comb, i'd say that the vs alt wasnt putting enough power out (hence when the lights were switched on it would drain from 'PCM', engine and any other electrical load, eg idle drop as if there was no power the motor would stall) and now i have replaced it and reset the 'PCM' there is no fluctuation in idle speed at all when any electrics are switched on or off and i know my idle solinoid is sweet coz its a new one and when i start it it idles up and then down like normal and when i switch the aircon on its all sweet etc etc.........

its a possiblity that this was doing as you described, that the vs alternator wasnt putting out anything and the pcm then wasnt operating properly because the supply voltage had dropped too low, though from my understanding, the pcm should function properly with as little as 9-10V(this is all you may have when the starter is cranking) and should keep control over all the functions that it controls.

 

[l1ck3r]

yea tru as, thats what i was thinking.. thnx for your help anyhow, jus thought i would post this problem when evryone was talking altenators is all, thought there might have been an unknown difference between the two of them.. anyway all is good
you wouldnt happen to have any suggestions about painting the side strip on a vr/vs commy on the guard under the side indicators?, as i want to paint my strips white like the car and these ones under the indicator are steel and have the 'commodore' badge on them... how do i paint these strips and still have the 'commodore' part silver??
i cant remove the strips as i have already attempted this and the car was resprayed with the strips left on which means there is a paint line around it, i tried to wet and dry the area and its been primed and resprayed over original white so that when i wet an dryed it i hit primer........ strips straight back on!!

 

[acarmody]

I have to remember?, did I forget? Im well aware of the power demands of all types of music, and there are some types that put a high constant drain through the subby.

As for your sound system drawing a constant 100A for hours at a time, how do you manage that without flattening the battery if all your alternator output is only matching what the sound system is using, what's powering the rest of the electrics?

As I said before there is little chance that my sound system is drawing 100A continuous, probably a lot closer to 50 amps. Maybe a little more when you consider the efficiency of the amps.

 

[torch]

As I said before there is little chance that my sound system is drawing 100A continuous, probably a lot closer to 50 amps. Maybe a little more when you consider the efficiency of the amps.

Acarmody: I do read things carefully and respond to what is said: not wishing to be pedantic, but you didnt say that before:

Well generally when I got my sound system going I am driving, usually down the highway, so full 100 amps being produced. I'm not one of those car-park warriors.

you did say this:

What you have to remember is that the subs which are generally the majority of the power draws are only about 'on' about 20% of the time.

which was a general description of how most music uses power, not how you use your system.

 

[torch]

you wouldnt happen to have any suggestions about painting the side strip on a vr/vs commy on the guard under the side indicators?, as i want to paint my strips white like the car and these ones under the indicator are steel and have the 'commodore' badge on them... how do i paint these strips and still have the 'commodore' part silver??
i cant remove the strips as i have already attempted this and the car was resprayed with the strips left on which means there is a paint line around it, i tried to wet and dry the area and its been primed and resprayed over original white so that when i wet an dryed it i hit primer........ strips straight back on!!

sorry cant help you there, dont you hate it when things aren't done properly or was that agreed to?(removing the strips to paint), though they'd probably tell you its impossible to refit the strips without them falling off buckling and they were doing you a favour by not having to charge you for it, provide new strips etc.

 

[acarmody]

Acarmody: I do read things carefully and respond to what is said: not wishing to be pedantic, but you didnt say that before:


you did say this:


which was a general description of how most music uses power, not how you use your system.

Well generally when I got my sound system going I am driving, usually down the highway, so full 100 amps being produced. I'm not one of those car-park warriors.

What you have to remember is that the subs which are generally the majority of the power draws are only about 'on' about 20% of the time. Unless you have a song that is just massive amounts of rolling bass, it will only be playing a lot of short bursts. So in reality a 2000wrms system might only be pulling ~50 amps continuous.

. .

 

[Drewie]

Are you sure it is not a problem with the starter motor, our VC 202 had a similiar problem about 12 months back, it would start fine, you would drive to the shops or where ever, come out to go and it was dead, it was like you had the car in Drive, turn the key absolutely nothing, sit there for 10 minutes or so till it all cooled down and all was fine again good solid crank and it started first pop. I checked all the obvious like connections, the safety lock out on the T bar, ignition switch etc, finally bit the bullet and pulled the starter motor out, prick of a job as I have extractors on the VC so they had to come off as there was no room to get the starter out. I took the starter to an auto elect and as I thought it was stuffed, put in a new Bosch and never had a problem since. So when it won't start might pay to see what current is at the starter and solenoid, whilst some one turns the key. Yours may be a different issue but the starter motor was the problem on our 202.

 

[torch]

Are you sure it is not a problem with the starter motor, our VC 202 had a similiar problem about 12 months back, it would start fine, you would drive to the shops or where ever, come out to go and it was dead, it was like you had the car in Drive, turn the key absolutely nothing, sit there for 10 minutes or so till it all cooled down and all was fine again good solid crank and it started first pop. I checked all the obvious like connections, the safety lock out on the T bar, ignition switch etc, finally bit the bullet and pulled the starter motor out, prick of a job as I have extractors on the VC so they had to come off as there was no room to get the starter out. I took the starter to an auto elect and as I thought it was stuffed, put in a new Bosch and never had a problem since. So when it won't start might pay to see what current is at the starter and solenoid, whilst some one turns the key. Yours may be a different issue but the starter motor was the problem on our 202.

yes, good point, heat can affect many starters

 

[seq4x4]

I hope its not the starter motor, it was replaced with a new bosh one only a few months ago.

Im also thinking it may be the switch too, as sometimes i go to crank, nothing, still holding it there for another second or so, then it would crank.

But the subs still doing it, after i rewired the whole sound system, except the headunit ignition and earth wires.
So when braking sub gets louder, accelerate it will quieten down. Its starting to piss me off.
Im starting to think its the amp, protection mode comes on sometimes. Its a Alpine V12 345mp i think it was.