I've been having a problem rescently with my audio and video electronics cutting off whenever I roll the windows up or turn the heater/ac off and on. I think it has to do with a drop in the voltage. The lights in the car and the headlights dim when I do these things too. I was just wondering what would possibly fix these things. Do I need to invest in an optima battery, voltage stabilizer, grouding kit, ect... I've heard that all of these things help a little, but I want to stop this power fade. Any prices or websites would be nice too.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

I've got a 1800 watt RF amp using a line in/out converter, a bazooka sub, and 2 8'' tvs and a xbox, along with all the lights and neons I have in and on this car. It's not so much my sub that goes out as much as it is the xbox and tvs cutting out and that means I have to restart everything. Any ideas? Would a capacitor help this?

 

For that much power, your going to need to upgrade to a larger, more powerful alternator.

Something +200Amps and a grounding kit should do it.

Caps only eliminate spikes in an electrical system, they don't replace batteries/alternators.

 

Everything runs fine with the car off and as long as I dont consume power through the windows or cooling system while they are all playing at the same time. How many amps is the stock alternator?

thanks,
Jamie

 

not to steal your thread or anything but i've noticed that i'm running almost 15 volts with the car at idle....isn't a tad high. i've also gone through 3 interior/side marker (194) bulbs in the last 3 months. could it be a bad voltage regualtor?

 

Stock alternator is 100A. With all that juice being sucked, I would be hesitant to run it with the car off for any period of time.

Grounding Kit:
http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/p...roducts_id=402

If It was just the headlights dimming suddenly when the audio hit a low note, you could just add a cap and fix the spike issues, but if they are staying dim that means they are sucking more power than the system can handle. You might be able to get away with just upgrading the grounding, but you would probably need another alternator if this didnt fix the problem.

 

Well it's not really the speakers that have the power loss problem. It's the xbox. The xbox is running through a power inverter and is cutting off when there are power spikes in the system caused by the windows, a/c, or headlights being turned on or off. I might just need a higher wattage power inverter. The one I have now is a 175 watt. I thought that would be more than enough for just an xbox.

Jamie

 

Sounds hi .... I have not had a chance to check my car, but the shop manual range is 13-15volts, so you're okay.

And if I'm reading the factory manual correctly, there is no seperate voltage regulator, we have a generator (not alternator) and the voltage is regulated by the PCM. But wait, the Owner's Manual calls it an alternator . I love consistency :D.

 

ok guys a little prob I just ran into. I purchased and installed a capacitor, ground loop isolator, new power inverter, and a grounding kit from Ground Fusion and I'm still having the same problems with voltage stability. I have reason to suspect that the problem is at the power outlets in the car. It's the power inverter that keeps kicking off. I have this little no smoking light up thing my girlfriend got me and it blinks off and on every now and then. Is there any way to hard wire a power inverter? Has anyone else experienced these types of poblems? Any tips or suggestions would be great.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

Oh and my capacitor and my new power inverter both read real close to 15 (14.6ish) until i start turning things on (headlights, dome lights, underbody and neons, xbox, tv, radio, ect...). The headlights and speakers really knock it down it around 13ish. With everything else on I'm running right above 12.

 

First off....with all that you are running, you are crazy if you are running the stock battery. Mazda has already admitted they are crap for even a stock vehicle, and thus is replacing them. So I suggest number one for you get a Yellow Top D35 Optima.
As for hard wiring an inverter...just run connections straight off the battery. Use appropriately thick wires....Most inverters prefer to have direct wiring to the battery as the stock wiring harnesses of a vehicle are not meant to handle the power draw of an inverter.

 

1800 watts to a Bazooka sub?I don't think Bazookas can handle that much power. Well, 1st what gauge wiring are you running? Try adding a big capacitor to stablelize your voltage for your amps & probably upgrade your wiring if you're not using 2 gauge or bigger.When your amp can get enough juice, it'll drain from you headlights & etc..

 

The optima was my next step in stopping these problems. I just havent been able to let $150 go towards a battery. But of the 1800 watts that I have from my amp only about 400 are being used at RMS level. I'm only running one channel and I have that channel turned down alittle. I'm running 4 gauge from the battery and then it splits to 8 gauge to go into the amp. The capacitor I installed is a 1.5 farad Capacitor and it works great for the sub's power issues. It didnt fix the other power fades though.

Jamie

 

What's the Rf model so I'll look into the specs.

 

Upgrade your alternator...you won't regret it. However, it may stall your car if you actually demand the power at idle.

I had a Zapco C2K9.0 (2000 watt) amp in my Camaro and before I changed the stock alternator I could cause the headlights to damn near shut off by cranking the bass, and that was while doing 70 MPH. Upgraded the alternator and I had a rock solid 13.6 volts all the time, however it did increase the load on the engine and pulled the idle a little lower if I demanded power at a stop light (which in the 8 could stall it because it may not be able to tolerate the load).