Whats going on guys? Heres, my dilemma: I've had my radar detector for about 4 months now and have had my Infinity Basslink installed for about a month. Well, last night my radar starts blinking "Low Voltage" and then my headunit started to randomly cut on and off, so I unplugged the radar and my HU was still going crazy. The same thing happened this morning and I am wondering if I need a new battery (about 2-3 years old) or a capacitor for my sub? The thing is my Basslink is only pulling 200 watts RMS and I didn't think I would need one...

So if anyone can shed some light on my problem that would be awesome. Thanks for the help fellas.

Ben

 

a capacitor would only help you stabilise power. for example... if you're pumpin your stereo real loud so it takes a lot of power, your headlights could start to follow the bass, sort of sagging... if you'd had a capacitor that wouldn't happen since it evens out the load.

I'd guess your battery is failing. or if you're unlucky your alternator even. try charging your battery first and see if that helps. if not check your alternator, measure if you can. at last replace your battery.

 

yeah, I would say batt or alt.

If batt is new, then I'd say check the alt belt tension. Check your charging voltage when idling, it should be at least 14V (if its low 13's then your alt is bad). You can also check the batt voltage when turning over the engine (requires two people), if it drops below 11V then the batt isn't holding a full charge.

 

alternator.

 

What the man said there...........

 

Now that you guys mentioned it, when my bass kicks in really hard, my headlights seem to be fine, but my rpm's and my speedometer, start wiggling back and forth, especially the rpm's. Different problem, same solution? Do I need a capacitor also? :attention

 

bass vibrations shaking the needles?

 

hmmmm. possibly. but how come the temp. and gas gauge don't move? They are porbably less sensitive gauges than the rpm's and speedo. though. It's weird , i've never seen bass shake gauges like that.


2x10" JL audio W3

 

when the car is off...tap the top of the dash...see if the speedo and the tach move.

 

He probably meant the gauge lights are sagging / wiggling. That's what I used to get before I installed capacitors.

I'd guess you've been driving short ranges with your volume real high. That means you've drained your battery to almost empty. It happens with a very power demanding stereo... I've done it like a hundred times

First off try to just go for a longer spin without turning on your stereo, and let the alternator power the battery up, if you're lucky that's all you need. Also if that's the case, consider getting a better battery that will last longer... don't know if they're called in the US but over here it's Platinum. It's almost a must if you've got a powerful stereo system...

 

you know what? I think you're right. That might be the problem. My battery is at least 5 years old. I'm gonna try to consider getting another one.

 

sounds like alternator like others have said...also do yourself a favor and make sure both battery cables are tight

 

Thanks for the replies guys. As it turns out, both the battery and the alternator were fried. I guess it had to go sometime with 130,XXX miles on the speedo.

Ben

 

You can easily increase the longevity of your battery and alternator if you're drawing additional power for a speaker amp. You should invest in a capacitor (Google for it - you'll get tables and charts to help you find what you need for the power you're trying to drive).

Lead-acid batteries do not like to be discharged and then charged and then discharged then charged... you get what I'm saying. Additionally, alternators do not like to be stressed out charging a dead battery.

If you have a large drain on the vehicle's power system (high-wattage amp), the voltage regulator senses a dip in overall amperage and then tells the alternator to kick up the juice (strain). Your battery supplies the power as necessary (but at a restrained rate) thus the alternator compensates.

The capacitor charges up at a restrained rate and hold the energy while energized. Unlike a battery, capacitors can discharge very quickly. A battery can discharge quickly but will overheat (causing damage to its internals) and possibly explode. That's why your car has quite a few things to prevent a dead-short (super fast discharge).

When the capacitor gives out the juice, is charges back up at a restrained rate so that it doesn't put too much strain on the alternator. You'll alleviate the dance the voltage regulator is having to do to make sure all the electrical sub-systems of your car have power. It makes for a very healthy charging system.