Amp people

[Samiamthemustangman]

How many watts have you hooked up to the car without doing the big three?
I have a 800 watt amp and the starter isclicking and taking a minute to start. If the stero is turned down there is no problems. It's 4 gage to battery. There has been some confusion on my Facebook stero group. Some say wire it to the alternator while others say that is a bad idea. Wire it to the battery or alternator ?
I did some research l. The alternator puts out 175 amps and the draw on the mustang averages 75. Also the battery is 590 CCA, 735 CA, and 95 reserve amps.

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[NTXChris]

Positive power to the amplifier should always be wired to the positive battery terminal (not the fuse box lug or alternator) with a fuse no more than 18 inches from the terminal. The negative lead should be grounded to the body near the amplifier.

An 800 watt amp on a modern car's electrical system really isn't that much of a draw. At max output (which you're realistically never going to use due to numerous factors) it would be drawing 40 amps, I think.

It sounds more like your battery is bad - even if it reads over 12.5 volts with the car off, you could have a bad cell. I suggest getting the battery tested at your local parts store and going from there.

 

[TonyT930]

How many watts have you hooked up to the car without doing the big three?
I have a 800 watt amp and the starter isclicking and taking a minute to start. If the stero is turned down there is no problems. It's 4 gage to battery. There has been some confusion on my Facebook stero group. Some say wire it to the alternator while others say that is a bad idea. Wire it to the battery or alternator ?
I did some research l. The alternator puts out 175 amps and the draw on the mustang averages 75. Also the battery is 590 CCA, 735 CA, and 95 reserve amps.

I have 2 amps. A 500/1 for the sub and 300/4 for the cabin speakers. I think it draws a total of about 55 amps at full tilt. I also have a 1 1/2 farat cap. No problems at all. Maybe you just need a new battery. Also, check your battery terminals and grounds to make sure they are tight

 

[Samiamthemustangman]

Positive power to the amplifier should always be wired to the positive battery terminal (not the fuse box lug or alternator) with a fuse no more than 18 inches from the terminal. The negative lead should be grounded to the body near the amplifier.

An 800 watt amp on a modern car's electrical system really isn't that much of a draw. At max output (which you're realistically never going to use due to numerous factors) it would be drawing 40 amps, I think.

It sounds more like your battery is bad - even if it reads over 12.5 volts with the car off, you could have a bad cell. I suggest getting the battery tested at your local parts store and going from there.

what is confusing is some people do the big 3 to their electrical. I have never heard of someone running directly from the alternator who haven't done the big 3.
Thanks you are right. You knew more than 20 people who replied to my post on a Facebook stero group. It cranks everytime and looks new but has a dead cell. It hot tested today at autozone.

 

[NTXChris]

Thanks you are right. You knew more than 20 people who replied to my post. It cranks everytime and looks new but has a dead cell. It hot tested today at autozone.

These cars eat batteries, with or without aftermarket electronics. I have a 2019 that is on its third battery now.

 

[Jaymar]

For starters, you are not drawing the full capacity of the amp at most times as it will draw power proportional to your listening volume. Unless you run at hearing damage levels constantly, that's another story. With that, no thing you add, wires, capacitors, or other gimmicks are going to change the amount of current at voltage available from the alternator. Only one thing in the system makes power, the rest "store" it or transfer it. If you were drawing too much, you'd be running the battery dead while running the car, you'd have voltage sag while running and you'd probably have a nice little high pitched noise in your ear accompanying you every time it got quiet.

 

[3pdl]

i thought this was an atlanta motorsports park thread.
amp rocks, btw

 

[S550HPP]

Try a BMS reset first. Check ground as well. Then new battery.

 

[MiamiGT350]

This is likely your battery going bad. What is the exact make and model amp you are running?

 

[Samiamthemustangman]

This is likely your battery going bad. What is the exact make and model amp you are running?

I'll go into overkill mode L○L.
2015 v6 base model so its most likely the 175 amp alternator
Turbo touch touch screen amp kit
Kenwood dvd player
Jl audio 61/2
I had a jl audio 12 but the amp sucks at 4 ohms. Now it's a skar srv 12"
800.1 skar amp. It's 400 watts rms at 1 ohm so that is not over kill on the battery
Most stock systems can handle 1,000 watts with factory electrical.

 

[Jaymar]

So your load on the electrical system is a 400W amp? Unless you drive that way up into distortion and break down the power supply voltage you'll be fine. And that's a switching rail amp too so it's even safer.

 

[MiamiGT350]

I'll go into overkill mode L○L.
2015 v6 base model so its most likely the 175 amp alternator
Turbo touch touch screen amp kit
Kenwood dvd player
Jl audio 61/2
I had a jl audio 12 but the amp sucks at 4 ohms. Now it's a skar srv 12"
800.1 skar amp. It's 400 watts rms at 1 ohm so that is not over kill on the battery
Most stock systems can handle 1,000 watts with factory electrical.

Pretty sure that amp is a class D, which would use less power than the old style A/B classes. I still think your battery is on its way out.

 

[Samiamthemustangman]

Pretty sure that amp is a class D, which would use less power than the old style A/B classes. I still think your battery is on its way out.

It's definitely a class D and more efficient at 1 ohm. I agree with you. It's slowly going out. I get an extra 2k next month so unless it becomes an emergency I will replace it then. I just won't turn the stero up real loud or play any rebassed music till then. I'll get them to do a charge and test out of the car just to double check. It gives the amp time to reset to factory settings.
I greatly appreciate yours and value everyone's help.

 

[Pistol_91]

Doing the big 3 never hurts anything and is easy/cheap to do. I always did it if I were running an amp. Get yourself a good AGM battery and you should be fine. Never run the wire to the alternator. Sounds like a dumb idea.
If you have money to spend, Northstar makes great AGM batteries. Just have to find the right one that will fit under the hood. If they even make one.
If your battery is dying. Replace it before it ruins your alternator too. Always run an AGM battery.

 

[Samiamthemustangman]

Doing the big 3 never hurts anything and is easy/cheap to do. I always did it if I were running an amp. Get yourself a good AGM battery and you should be fine. Never run the wire to the alternator. Sounds like a dumb idea.
If you have money to spend, Northstar makes great AGM batteries. Just have to find the right one that will fit under the hood. If they even make one.
If your battery is dying. Replace it before it ruins your alternator too. Always run an AGM battery.

I use to have the big 3 on my last f150. The new thing is to run lithium or lithium banks. They are the new super good electronics.
It's OK to run a Power wire from the alternator to the rear power supply if the big three has been done. Now hear me out. The average upgraded alternator is 280 or 320 amps. The reason the power wire is ran from the alternator to the rear is because the factory wire ran from the alternator to the front battery is around 6 gage. The problem six gage can only pass around 70 amps through it.
I have been to a local show called scraping the coast that has many lowriders, jacked up trucks, and competition steros. The max I have seen is 4 alternators ran off one truck. Most have 2 zero gage wires ran from the alternator to the rear lithium banks or lithium batteries.
I'll check out north star and see what they have. I hope we wave helped each other.

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