1tyme

iTrader: (38)

I recently put some sounds in. It came outta da wifes car cause it set her alternator on fire. Deck, a small amp(diamond400w) 4 mids n highs n a sub amp(Westcoastcustoms800w). Changed to a yellow top battery n added a 2farad capacitor. After a month or two my headlights would start to dim n all my gauges would do the closing ceremony while driving, so i just swapped my alternator out a week ago. It is the first time i've changed it since purchasing the car in 02'.

Today ALL MY GAUGES turned off on the way home. Defis would clip off n on the whole time until it just stayed off, then my instrument panel started to act like an sti sweeping cluster, WHILE DRIVING, then that turned off. Boost controller turned off n looked like it was trying to turn back on. Windshield wipers look like they were old style ****** jeep type wipers. VERY SLOW. And car idles "funny" too.

iNfEk

iTrader: (33)

Whoa! that's definitely not good... How did you install the Capacitor? It's meant to store voltage/current so if it's installed incorrectly that could be causing the additional draw on your system.

Once your car starts it runs off the alternator. Did you check the voltage of the battery before you started your car? You can also check the voltage of the alternator when your car is running to see if the alternator is bad or not.

Where did you tap into for your power/ground connections?

Are any of your wires damage or burnt? check the main block connector on the drivers side under the dash. Does that area smell burnt?

Jon

- if you remove what you've just installed does the problem go away?

bjielsl

iTrader: (7)

As JON said, that is all very important... I am assuming that you tapped the power and dim for the Defi's off the clock lines.. I am thinking that the CAP is wired wrong.. Have you removed the power line to the amp/cap so see if the problem corrects itself?

caterpill

iTrader: (11)

I forget how much the stock alternator puts out, but I think your system may be too much for the alternator. IIRC OEM subaru alternators don't put out anything higher than ~100A?

When all your electronics are acting funny, I think a good simple check is to make sure your alternator is not emitting AC.. You can use a simple multimeter, but I reccomend a fluke or any fast multimeter.. Check for any AC voltage across your battery terminals when your car is running.

Anything above 0.5v AC means your alternator's no good.

Like infeK said, also check to see the voltage at your battery when your car is running. Should be something like 12.8-14.8v DC or something at idle.

If you want, blast your sounds at idle and watch the multimeter. If it drops lower than 12.8v or so (if your headlights dim, it's probably sucking way too much power), you will need to buy an aftermarket, high output alternator. I don't know of any alternators off the top of my head but I think it's kinda tough to find some for subarus. Some guy off of Nabisco used to re-wind alternators...

Good Luck. And if this is all bogus, believe me, I tried to help.

juniorsti

iTrader: (19)

i would unplug the sounds and check if your symptoms go away. then i would have the alternator tested.

-optimas are not all like people say they are.. kinetic batteries are the way to go, but pretty pricey at about 200 bux. also, upgrade the grounding cables on your car. most manufacturers only install wires large enough to to run the car. no additional electrical equipment was probably put in mind during the design, other than what comes with the car.

-Caps do almost nothing to help. A second battery would be a better option than caps. Caps lose their charge very fast, where a battery will out last it. The next step would be to upgrade to a higher amp alternator which is big bux as well. Caps have always been debated, and this is my opinion on them.

-What gauge wire are you using to power the amps?? For two amps, 4ga maybe the bare minimum to make it work. I would recomend 2ga for a two amp set up regardless of the total amount of watts the two amps put out together. Reason being that all amps are different, some may have more efficient power supplies than others. When an amp causes dimming of lights, its a sign of an amp with a power hungry power supply or an inefficient power supply.

For example; I had a very low end brand X amp that caused my lights to dim, this amp was rated at a mere 400w.

I upgraded to a better brand amp with more power, rated at 800w. One would think that this will cause more dimming BUT, the new amp did not cause any dimming at all.

This is why you shouldnt buy ebay amps rated at so and so watts.. the amp design could cause you to run into problems later down the line.

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

If all this doesn't work you may have to go searching for loose connections...mainly the solders that Subaru uses for the stock wiring.

I think that it's very possible that you may have pulled something off by accident and now it is kind of dangling and connecting/disconnecting as it moves.

That was the phantom problem I was having in my old bugeye...turned out to be a bad solder leading to the ignition switch.

1tyme

iTrader: (38)

1)Cap runs power straight from bat. then grounded to back seat anchor 4ga, then 2 power lines, 1 to each amp. 4ga to sub amp n 8ga to small amp.

2)The alternator is about a week n a half old. I didn't think id need to.

3)When i put everything in a few months ago, i jus pulled out the deck that came with the car when i bought it n reused the same wires for power/ground/remote.

4)No burnt smell.



I borrowed a volt meter n while the car is off, both bat. n alt give a reading of 9.7 volts. If the alt is brand new but the bat. was beginning to go out, will i need to change both or just the bat?

desmundo

iTrader: (3)

your battery is dead.

you're supposed to have at least 12VDC at your battery when the car is off.

if you change your battery and still get low voltage at the battery your alternator is bad too.

xurusaibobx

your running a yellow top as the main battery? theres your problem...

Tiare

iTrader: (18)

Please, elaborate?

iNfEk

iTrader: (33)

ok if you have your car off with the battery installed you should read about 12V or somewhere close to 12V. If you measure across the alternator with the car off then you should read about the same since you're measuring the battery in series. If you turn the car on then measure your battery you should have somewhere between 12V~14V. If you measure from the alternator connector (red cap) to the chassis ground (anywhere on the chassis that isn't painted or a screw/bolt that goes into the chassis as an anchor) you should measure the same as the voltage across the battery.

The red top battery is NOT a deep cycle battery. a yellow top IS a deep cycle battery. I believe the yellow top does NOT have as much cold cranking amps or reserve power as the red top (not sure which one).

If you have upgraded sounds you should have a cap and an upgrade battery. If you don't read the same amount of voltage across your alternator or it's less than the voltage across the battery then the alternator is bad.

the main problem is that your electrical system runs off your BATTERY not the alternator when your car is running (started) since the battery is ONLY for starting the car not keeping the car running. I'd assume that since your car idles and continues to run that the alternator maybe good since you just changed it. Since the electrical items in your car is going weird while your driving or while the engine is running most likely the battery is no good OR it is NOT supplying enough CURRENT (amperage) not voltage to the electrical system.

I'd change the battery... I'm having trouble with my car as well. This is the second Optima battery that I've had and I just purchased it less than 3~6 months ago and I'm having starting issues. This is the same symptoms that I've had with my previous red top even though I've had the previous battery for years.

Jon

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

I had a yellow top in the bugeye...never had any problems.

Actually it helped keep the volts constant and I stopped having dimming issues.

iNfEk

iTrader: (33)

It's more likely that the battery he has (though voltage is up) doesn't have enough amperage stored in it or is defective. I'm beginning to think my battery is defective too at this point.

bpang1

iTrader: (25)

It's cuz I pee'd on it.

xurusaibobx

i might have something draining the electrical system. hows your grounds?

that or u might have a defective battery try get the battery tested on a VAT see if its still good