Well, I finally finished my system! Time to start with the performance mods (prolly shoulda done that first but oh well)

Unfortunately, I replaced the head unit last, and now that I actually have a capable one that runs my amps nicely, I'm running the gains a lot lower. When I crank it now, my light dimming is god-awful. I actually saw the headlights dimming on the outside of the car tonight, and not just the lights behind the gauges. I've got a 200amp fuse on my setup, and although I'm probably only drawing a fraction of that (a big fraction mind you, 2/3rds - 3/4s), I need a bigger alternator =) ..

Has anyone found a place to buy bigger ones? or a suitable substitute to get 200-250amps @ 2000rpm (or lower?).. If not, what is the highest you can have the factory alternator rewound to (It's what ... 105 amps?)

Thanks

 

if you replace your battery with a optima red top battery and add a 1.5 cap to your amp your lights should not dim any more. also try to inst. a autometer volt meter, while the car is running it should read between 13 & 14 volts. when car is off it should read 12 volts.

 

Do what dude said, if you haven't alrealy. Install a fatty cap, at least 1.5 farrad. Put if really close to the amp. I think you have to install one per amp, however just doing the sub amp should do it since this one uses the most power. Also, are you using a sub amp that runs class d? This means that it is for nothing but base. Makes a huge diff in the mount of current it has to pull to drive your subs and i wont get as hot. If you really need a better alt, check nopi.com. Search maxima/alternator. If memory serves theirs is rated at 170? I have never seen one for 200 and really doubt you need it. The battery isn't a bad idea if you play your system alot when the car is off, but when running the alt powers the system. If you do play it off alot, get a deep cycle battery. These are designed to be run all the way down alot without alot of probs. I think the optima one is the yellow, not the red, but not sure. Check their web site too.

 

the 1.5 cap works best with the optima red top battery, no matter what amp your running if your lights are blinking you are sucking all the pwr. from the altenator that it can give, by putting the red top( it's filled with gel not acid you can put it upside-down ) you will have more pwr. to keep the cap full, instead of getting pwr. from alt. just because u get a bigger alt. doest't mean your light won't flash. u still need some place to store the power.

 

Class D does not mean it is for nothing but bass,rather it means the amp is atleast 85% power affeciant or better,what that means is no more then 15% of the power goes into heat exaust.Also Optima yellow top battery should be a better choice then the optima red top battery due to it having a better power reserve.And one other thing a 1 farad capacitor is good for up to a 1000 watt surge.I used to have 14 speakers 2 amps = 2000 watts in my max and for piaa fog lights {you new when I was coming}I supported this setup with a optima yellow top battery,class D amp and a 1 farad capacitor and I had no need for a new altenator simply because I had no light dimming issues.

 

That's not exactly right. The alternator takes time to turn on and start producing power. So the lights will dim if you don't have a cap to power the base surges. But if your current draw is too large your battery will drain while the car is running and you will be S.O.L. where ever it dies. The stock alternator is 110 amps at an alternator speed of 9000 rpm. Nissan doesn't supply us with the ratio for engine speed to alternator speed. If your battery tends to drain when on longer trips, ie trouble starting after a brief stop after an extended run time with stereo blairing, then you probably need a bigger alternator.



jmax
stereo mods: multiple 5 1/4's in kicks, dual 6's in doors, and soon, very soon, 3 macdaddys 12's in the rear deck in custom sealed carbon/kevlar enclosure. Pushing close to 3kwatts RMS. All Diamond Audio HEX series at this time, probably upgrading to 8 inch alt drivers in doors in spring.

 

Just get the cap first. 1 or 1.5, price isn't that much different. Try http://www.carreview.com/market/caraudio/ used stuff, good deals. Make sure to wire the cap very close to the amp, and ground it seperately.

 

red top is 800cc the yellow top is a deep cyc.and is better for your stereo but is not better for your car because it's only 748cc and needs more power from your alt.( or longer running time ) to charge the yellow top. i sell them but to much money, ppl always try just to put the caps. if you have the money get the battery and cap 1.5 your lights should not dim any-more

 

would the cap also help with this problem too?
I am not sure if this is normal in most of the max, but in my GLE, when I usually raise all the windows before leaving the car at night, I see that the lights dim a bit as I am doing that--is that normal? or is there a problem with the battery?

 

A capacitor is definately not going to help my situation at all. A capacitor is nothing more than a storage bank for more watts. When the amplifier drains the capacitor, the cap says "Hey I need more power to refuel" and begins sucking at the alternator to get more power. The effect of this?

More strain on the alternator.

I have a 1 farad cap, it didn't help the situation any, and it possibly made it worse. Caps are only effective if your alternator is strong enough to power both the amps, AND the cap, which mine isn't. The battery will help slightly, and I can pickup an optima yellow top (better than the reds hehe) anytime, but right now my main concern is music while driving, which is what the alternators for. So anyone know what it can be rebuilt to or upgraded by?

Thanks for the point to nopi.com, I'll look there in a minute =)

-- The cap only produces watts for sound systems =) It's not gonna stop your lights from dimming with your windows. That for sure is a battery/alternator upgrade situation. But frankly I don't see how the windows would make it dim unless you've got superpowered ones that're draining 100 amps off the power supply hehe.

 

samething happens in my car when i roll up the windows and when i hold the pwr. lock button down. don't know if it wil help with this problem.

 

I didn't notice any light dimming but something freezes up if I use all 4 power windows at once. They like, 'jam' up.

 

With the rolling up of the windows and the power door locks...I noticed this not only in the Max, but also my gf's 2000 altima. I am not sure if when we roll all 4 windows up at the same time, that puts a power crunch on the system, and thus there is that momentay dimming of the lights. whatever it is, I havne't seen this in other brands of cars--and not even in my 1983 nissan sentra did that happen--but then again, I never had power windows nor doors

wonder if a higher voltage alternator can help...

=)

 

Here's a piece from Stinger on <a href=http://www.stinger-aamp.com/1999/Info/Pwr-Mgmt-Health.htm>power management</a>. It's a little biased towards selling you their alternators and batteries, but it sounds like you were going in that direction anyway.

 

try visiting http://www.mechman.com They can do alternators for any vehicles and come with necessary hardware to adapt to any vehicle.

 

Ereet,
Even if you get a 500 amp alt your lights will dim with base surges if you don't have a cap or caps properly installed and located close to the amps. I seriously doubt that you drive with the system cranked all the time. If you do you won't be able to hear it next month anyway no mater how far you turn it up. The caps, as I said already, if properly installed and located will supply the power for the base surges and give the alternator time to turn on to recharge the battery. You need to tell us which RF amps you have and the fuse rating on each of those to give us an accurate expectation of additional electrical load. You may also have to face the fact that you can't run all the other electrical accessories while you are cranking the system. Teh only time my lights dimmed even before adding the Ohio Generator 185 amp alt was when I turned the stereo on and the CAP was charging. If you really have 200-300 amps of current draw you will need at least 2-3 farads of capacitance.