Hi, I wired my stereo so it has a separate distribution block for the negative wires, and one for the power wires. I have three oldschool amplifiers ,I have 2 alpine 3544 amplifiers 300 rms watts each, one for each of my component sets ,and one hifonics zeus VIII amp,rated at 600 rms watts.
The hifonics zeus amp stays fairly cool,and is only running two 10 inch subwoofers that are only 150 rms watts each. I have the hifonics zeus amp turned only to about 1/4 volume on the amp,and turned only 1/4 on the deck and eq,and am not playing heavy rap music. The alpine 3544 amps,are only each turned to 1/2 on the gains.The alpine amps are the ones that heat up pretty quickly, after a couple of songs turned up to 1/2 or 3/4 volume.The volt will start to jump heavily when you get into the 1/2 to 3/4 volume range.
My gauge of wire I am using measured out to 2 gauge with a wire gauge measurer. I have one ground that is connected to the distribution block ,and is grounded tightly to the seat belt bolt behind the back seat.,with all the paint removed,and metal ground till shiny,and rust free.I figured that might be the problem ,so I ran another dedicated ground wire directly to the negative on the battery.
Why does my volt meter needle on my dash jump to the beat of the music when it gets into the 1/2 to 3/4 volume range. My subwooofers are puny weak 10 inch subwoofers just made more for sound quality listening. All my wire is copper ,and the dedicated ground is a silver wire. I also have a big aftermarket alternator as well. What am I doing wrong. Thanks
The hifonics zeus amp stays fairly cool,and is only running two 10 inch subwoofers that are only 150 rms watts each. I have the hifonics zeus amp turned only to about 1/4 volume on the amp,and turned only 1/4 on the deck and eq,and am not playing heavy rap music. The alpine 3544 amps,are only each turned to 1/2 on the gains.The alpine amps are the ones that heat up pretty quickly, after a couple of songs turned up to 1/2 or 3/4 volume.The volt will start to jump heavily when you get into the 1/2 to 3/4 volume range.
My gauge of wire I am using measured out to 2 gauge with a wire gauge measurer. I have one ground that is connected to the distribution block ,and is grounded tightly to the seat belt bolt behind the back seat.,with all the paint removed,and metal ground till shiny,and rust free.I figured that might be the problem ,so I ran another dedicated ground wire directly to the negative on the battery.
Why does my volt meter needle on my dash jump to the beat of the music when it gets into the 1/2 to 3/4 volume range. My subwooofers are puny weak 10 inch subwoofers just made more for sound quality listening. All my wire is copper ,and the dedicated ground is a silver wire. I also have a big aftermarket alternator as well. What am I doing wrong. Thanks
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No wires or connections are perfect, all have some resistance.
The important item is the voltage directly across the battery: If that is fluctuating, the battery has too much internal resistance and is not man enough for the job.
You say your dash meter fluctuates? Where is it connected? If not directly across the battery with its own wires, it is suffering drop through shared wiring.
The important item is the voltage directly across the battery: If that is fluctuating, the battery has too much internal resistance and is not man enough for the job.
You say your dash meter fluctuates? Where is it connected? If not directly across the battery with its own wires, it is suffering drop through shared wiring.
Hi, My dash volt meter is just the original 1993 ford thunderbird volt meter that came with the car from the factory,and is wired the way they wired it in the factory.
As for being wired up wrong. How else should it be wired. I have one positive wire running from the positive battery terminal, to one positive distribution block,and have all my three amplifiers positive wires hooked to it. I have another negative dedicated ground wire running, that's connected to the negative post on the battery running to a separate distribution block for the 3 negative wires of the three amplifiers. and then one short ground that's also connected to the negative distribution block, in the same hole, with everything very tight, with a short 3 foot wire that runs to the back center seat belt bolt which has been ground down, to clean, rust free metal.
If this is wrong ,please state how it is wrong,or if you think I have a different problem.Thanks
As for being wired up wrong. How else should it be wired. I have one positive wire running from the positive battery terminal, to one positive distribution block,and have all my three amplifiers positive wires hooked to it. I have another negative dedicated ground wire running, that's connected to the negative post on the battery running to a separate distribution block for the 3 negative wires of the three amplifiers. and then one short ground that's also connected to the negative distribution block, in the same hole, with everything very tight, with a short 3 foot wire that runs to the back center seat belt bolt which has been ground down, to clean, rust free metal.
If this is wrong ,please state how it is wrong,or if you think I have a different problem.Thanks
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Put an analog volt meter directly across the battery terminals, as Cliff recommends. Also check voltage where your wires connect to the amps. If you can't find an analog meter, find a digital one that has a real-time bar graph. Many do, on the same screen as the numeric readout.
Since we don't know exactly how the stock Ford voltmeter is wired, it's best to check with another meter. If the voltage drops on the beats, then your battery is not up to the task. Some of the big caps for car audio may help.
Since we don't know exactly how the stock Ford voltmeter is wired, it's best to check with another meter. If the voltage drops on the beats, then your battery is not up to the task. Some of the big caps for car audio may help.
1. Can you more precisely 'jumping' for the voltmeter? Is it dropping, going up or wildly vibrating (possibly from bass)?
2. Class AB amps get hot. That's normal. How do you define 'hot'? Semiconductor can function safely at temperatures well above those that are comfortable to your hand.
3. Are the fans in the Alpine amps running?
4. The battery does nothing until the current capacity of the alternator has been reached (for most vehicles). The current capacity is greater at higher engine speeds. With the engine idled up to about 2k RPMs, does the voltage still drop (if it's dropping)?
5. Most good quality wire has the gauge imprinted on the insulator, why did you have to use a wire gauge tool?
6. Some alternator regulators have a bit of a lag and don't react quickly enough to prevent voltage from dropping. If your headlights dim (at higher than idle) when the amps draw more current, do they dim and remain dim on long periods of high current draw or do they dim only for an instant and then recover before the amps stop drawing high current?
2. Class AB amps get hot. That's normal. How do you define 'hot'? Semiconductor can function safely at temperatures well above those that are comfortable to your hand.
3. Are the fans in the Alpine amps running?
4. The battery does nothing until the current capacity of the alternator has been reached (for most vehicles). The current capacity is greater at higher engine speeds. With the engine idled up to about 2k RPMs, does the voltage still drop (if it's dropping)?
5. Most good quality wire has the gauge imprinted on the insulator, why did you have to use a wire gauge tool?
6. Some alternator regulators have a bit of a lag and don't react quickly enough to prevent voltage from dropping. If your headlights dim (at higher than idle) when the amps draw more current, do they dim and remain dim on long periods of high current draw or do they dim only for an instant and then recover before the amps stop drawing high current?
Hi, I should have been more accurate in my description of what the volt meter is exactly doing. Every time the bass hits when I get the volume up to 1/2 to 3/4 volume I see the meter take a dip in perfect timing with the bass note hit. It is never going up,Just dipping consistently to the beat of the music at those volume levels. The higher the volume goes the heavier the dip. There is no dipping I can see until about 1/2 volume and up.The hifonics zeus amp VIII is staying acceptably cool,But the alpine 3544 amps are burning hot only after one or 2 songs played at 3/4 volume and up. It also blew the main power wire fuse in that short of period of time ,so I never ran it at that level again.There are no fans on any of the amplifiers.The volt meter is still dropping heavily at highway speed.As for having to use a wire tester gauge, I am using copper welding cables for my runs this time ,and wanted to know exactly what gauge. I am still using one original silver wire for my dedicated ground,and though it says 4 gauge on the wire itself. When I measure the wire itself it comes up measuring 2 gauge.I do not see any major dimming of the headlights.,and they recover quickly.
Sorry. Read 3545 instead of 3544.
Do the alpine amps heat up if left at idle?
Are all speakers on the component sets working (no blown speakers and no open connections on the passive crossovers)?
What impedance is each voice coil on the woofers?
How many coils per woofer?
How are the woofers connected to the hifonics (stereo, mono)?
The wire gauge tool is likely for solid wire and can't compensate for the air space between the conductors.
Silver wire? Do you mean tinned copper wire?
Do the alpine amps run hot if the hifonics amps is not in operation?
Do the alpine amps heat up if left at idle?
Are all speakers on the component sets working (no blown speakers and no open connections on the passive crossovers)?
What impedance is each voice coil on the woofers?
How many coils per woofer?
How are the woofers connected to the hifonics (stereo, mono)?
The wire gauge tool is likely for solid wire and can't compensate for the air space between the conductors.
Silver wire? Do you mean tinned copper wire?
Do the alpine amps run hot if the hifonics amps is not in operation?
Hi, The alpine amps don't heat up too badly ,unless I am consistantly at the 1/2 volume mark and higher. At 1/4 volume I could run them for hours. The alpine amps are 300 rms watts and when I total up my rms speaker wattage total for my front components,it comes to 320 rms watts that I need to run the tweeters,midranges,and midbass speakers. For the back 2 way components it eats up about the same rms wattage. So I think the alpine amps are heating up so quickly because I am asking my amps to work to the max all the time to just produce the desired rms watts for the speakers,Since the zeus is working easy,and never gets very hot,The volt dropping though I know is not normal.The speakers are all sounding very good,even at high volumes,Each speaker has one coil,and they are all 4 ohm,and test out at 3.8 ohm,3.9 ohms.There are two 10 inch ,300 rms watts max subwoofers,and they are easily powered by the hifonics zeus VIII amp. The gain is only at 1/4. They are hooked up in stereo mode,with one subwoofer wires going to the positive and negative,and the other subwoofer wire going to the other positive and negative on the amp.The silver wire ,when I look through the plastic looks silver in color for the whole wire.The alpine amps still run hot,even without the hifonics amp running. Thanks
The wattage rating for the speakers is the amount of power they can handle without failing (assuming that they're rated accurately by the manufacturer). You could connect 1 watt speakers, 100 watt speakers or 1000 watt speakers to the amp and if you drive the amp to the same level (on the volume control) and the speakers all have the same impedance, the amp will operate at the same temperature.
At idle, the amps should not heat up noticeably. If they're heating up at idle, they may be biased too high.
At idle, the amps should not heat up noticeably. If they're heating up at idle, they may be biased too high.
Are you watching the meter while the engine is running? If it is then keep in mind that the alternator will output around 14V but if you draw more current then the alternator can provide (typically not much at idle - 10-30A) then the entire electrical system will fall to whatever the battery can provide, probably around 12V. This is normal. Installing a larger alternator or simply spinning the current one faster by changing the pulley size or revving the engine will raise the point at which you 'fall off' the alternator. That is why you see people with huge systems revving their engines at SPL competitions. Installing a bigger battery, or additional batteries will prevent the voltage dipping as much when you do fall off the alternator.
The alpine 3544 is probably an inefficient class AB design which is why they get warm.
The alpine 3544 is probably an inefficient class AB design which is why they get warm.
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Yes I am watching the meter drop when driving at 60 miles per hour. I have a large alternator the size a semi truck would use. Also would there be a problem with me running a dedicated ground ,and a short ground. Some people say the seat belt bolt,though looking good ,was a terrible place to ground it,and to take it off from there ,and to bolt it to the floor pan,Though I thought even if the seat belt bolt was a bad ground that,the dedicated ground would still deliver a good ground. Am I asking too much to run the 2 alpine 3544 amps which each have 2 fuses that say 30 amp,60 amp total for each alpine amp. ,and what ever the hifonics zeus VIII puts out for amps,or does this have nothing to do with the problem.
The seat bolts are often a bad ground for high current applications because the seat bolts are covered with heavy tar and the plate that they're screwed into may have only 3 spot welds connecting the plate to the floorpan. You can determine if there is a problem by driving the amps hard while monitoring the voltage from the terminal under the seat bolt to a point on the floorpan where you'd otherwise ground it. If the voltage is just a few millivolts at high current draw, the seat bolt is good enough.
At this point, I'm not too concerned about the voltmeter in the dash. If the headlights aren't dimming significantly, there probably isn't actually a significant drop in voltage. I'm assuming that you have incandescent headlamps and nothing more exotic.
If you power the alpine amps up form a cold start (same as ambient temp) and let them idle for 10 minutes (no audio at all). Do they heat up more than a few degrees?
At this point, I'm not too concerned about the voltmeter in the dash. If the headlights aren't dimming significantly, there probably isn't actually a significant drop in voltage. I'm assuming that you have incandescent headlamps and nothing more exotic.
If you power the alpine amps up form a cold start (same as ambient temp) and let them idle for 10 minutes (no audio at all). Do they heat up more than a few degrees?
How did you set your gains? You must set your gains by maxing out your head unit until it clips with a 0dbfs signal, then back off until it doesn't clip (max undistorted signal). Then set gains on your amps with the head units max clean output with 0dbfs signal until the amp distorts, then back off gains anywhere below that threshold.
This makes sure the amps will never clip aslong as you stay below your head units maximum clean power limit.
If this, and grounding is done properly and you are still having problems, then you have a power supply issue. This can be your alternator not supplying enough amps, OR your power supplies wire gauge isn't big enough. The ground off the alternator is usually cheap any tiny from the factory. Lookup 'Big 3' upgrade.
If you still have problems after big 3, proper gains, proper ground, and proper amp wiring to speakers, it has to be your alternator.
This makes sure the amps will never clip aslong as you stay below your head units maximum clean power limit.
If this, and grounding is done properly and you are still having problems, then you have a power supply issue. This can be your alternator not supplying enough amps, OR your power supplies wire gauge isn't big enough. The ground off the alternator is usually cheap any tiny from the factory. Lookup 'Big 3' upgrade.
If you still have problems after big 3, proper gains, proper ground, and proper amp wiring to speakers, it has to be your alternator.
I just have regular headlights,It Sounds like I may be been tricked into believing that I had a major problem with a voltage drop,By being concerned with what the volt meter in the dash was doing,and not paying attention to the headlights. I can watch the volt meter in the dash take a huge quick dip,every time I open and close the power window. Is this normal.As for the alpine amps. If I don't have any audio at all they stay where you can barely feel any heat. Even if the seat belt bolt was a bad ground,Wouldn't the dedicated ground wire over ride the bad seat belt ground,and still give me a good ground. Or does it try to use the short ground wire connected to the seat belt bolt first,picking up that there is a bad ground.
It could be that the damping in the meter movement is not as it should be allowing larger movement than there should be.
As was previously suggested, you should check the voltage with a multimeter. Check it well above engine idle and on a segment of the music where the current draw is significant and sustained.
As was previously suggested, you should check the voltage with a multimeter. Check it well above engine idle and on a segment of the music where the current draw is significant and sustained.
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