Tony Fernandes

I checked the owner's manual, FAQs, even tried looking on the alternator itself (can't really see it very well), and apparently I can't use search.

Thanks in advance,

Tony

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

105A @ 5500rpm. and from what i have been told, alternator rpm is 3x's that of engine rpm. so 5500rpm is roughly 1800 engine rpm.

maximamaybe

I think I might be having alternator problems. I am only putting out 67A @ 2000RPM. Gonna have the dealer check it out.

Tony Fernandes

Thanks. I'm evaluating my need for a higher output one and/or a better battery because my stereo system is putting quite a drain on everything.

Tony

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

remember me bro, we talked about puttin 8's in the doors. i haven't done it yet, but i'm working on it.
as far as the drain, waht are you basing it on....do you have an active voltmeter testing your system? if so, what are your average numbers. i'm pushing an average of 12.2-12.6 at idle with the system semi-pumping. when driving, i can push it to it's strongest and read constant 13.2's. 14.1 if i'm lucky =)

i've hit as low as 11.1's, but that's cause i'll be at idle, and get the deepest bass tone, but that's a rarity, so it's not a frequent thing.

what numbers are you gettin?

Tony Fernandes

Yes, I do remember. I finished my aperiodic enclosure and I was actually thinking I might start the 8" insall this week on my days off. But I want to go skiing too! We'll see.

I'm terribly ignorant with a voltmeter. I assume these numbers are at the battery terminals? I may have to try this. All I know is that my headlights and dashlights dim horribly when the bass notes hit...both at idle and while driving. I've never had a vehicle that's done this this bad. Of course, my new sub box hits very clean down to 20Hz...which draws tons of power.

Tony

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

in my case, i bought a digital voltage gauge...i recommend you get one as well, if your'e as serious as you sound about audio. it's just one of those good to know values you should know while driving. this is mine....

Dakota Digital Voltage Gauge in second din under radio (mirrored plexiglass covering)


pretty much wired like normal (power ground, active wire turns it on) and it constantly reads my voltage 24/7. at times, my bass is too much so it really does go down....i lower hte bass at that moment. you can't have max bass and avoid battery drain...we're not all that lucky.

as far as the interior dimming, there is really no way to avoid that....it's never gonna be clean...my dash dims a lot, my map lights dim a lot, and my door lights ALWAYS dim. no avoidance.

before you go into full uprade mode. can i suggest do a voltage test. set up a volt gauge and drive around. see hwat values you hit at idle and when driving. if it's not below 12, you're fine and not much is gonna fix your dimming other than cheap nissan lights.

i know this may sound like a newbie question, but i only assume you've already done this...upgraded the ground wiring from the alternator to the battery?upgrade the battery itself? i have 4awg positive power running DIRECTLY from the alt. to the battery and then 0awg to the trunk where i have a 5farad cap, which then goes to each amp.

let me know.

woosh

5 farads .... whoa! Now you're playing with power.

If you're getting voltage dips with 5 Farads, it's time to look at bigger alternators, it also means you're pulling somewhere around 90 - 120Amperes (dayum).

Voltage line dips in the power supply is very bad for your music and equipment. It creates a domino effect on the bias point and causes clipping, which translates to blown speakers.

There is no fate, other than what we make for ourselves.
SHIFT_woosh

MetaOrbit

iTrader: (19)

Maximas have 105A alternators? I could have sworn my alternator said 120A on it last time I looked. I figured something like that would be the same across the board for the A33 chassis. Wonder why the difference?

thomasd cook

iTrader: (7)

How much would a higher output alternator run? Also I just put a cap right before my JL 500/1 and my lights still dim a little. If I swap my battery to a Optima yellow or blue top would that make a difference at all. One other question I am about to install a UDP, is a higher amperage alt. needed or will the Optima be enough to power it all.

Tony Fernandes

No...I haven't done anything yet. I've never had dimming lights problems before. I'm just now looking into what it is I'll have to do. The first thing I want to do is see how much voltage I'm putting out, as you suggested. I'm also wondering if my battery has taken a turn for the worse, as that would be the easiest solution. I have been considering upgrading the wiring from my battery to alternator...which is something I will probably do regardless down the road.

You see, I've always considered myself an SQ person and I've never needed to evaluate my voltage like a lot of SPL people do. I've pretty much had the same voltage draw on my system as always...I mostly just change the configuration. However, the new sub box has apparently changed things...unless my battery is going bad. We shall see...

Tony

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

in my case, i also consider myself an SQ person more than SPL. about 90% of the time, i have my bass remote set at 50%. RARELY am i at full blast. just gets a little annoying after a while. my highs i'm very proud of. they really peak inside the car with no distortion what so ever.

what i'm trying to say is this...dont' base the dimming on poor power and therefore thinking that you're in the fast lane to a dead car. on my previous maxima i had dimming yet the car powered perfectly, and the voltage on that was also perfect. what i'm saying is that nissan uses cheap wires, cheap bulbs, cheap etc. in there setups and a small jolt of energy will cause anything to dim.

try not to say that just cause your lights dim that you're battery or alt. is goig to the sh*ts. i had my lights dimming on a bass hit and i was reading 13.2 on my battery, in my voltage gauge, and on my cap in the trunk. what's up with that?!?!? beats me, but i knew i was getting a clean and strong voltage, yet it was still dimming.

this was the reason for my gettin the voltage gauge. i can't rely on "are your lights dimming" when even with the radio off, i turn on the a/c and the lights dim. it's just a natural feature of maxima's (i feel) and something in their design.

also, to add to the wire upgrade. our stock alt.-to-batt. wire is 8awg. if i have 0awg (or 4awg) going from the battery to the trunk, then what use is that if the maximum power flow will be from the thinnest wire, in your case, the 8awg wire from the alt. to the batt. what's happening is that the current isn't flowing fast enough from the alt. to the battery and your bass notes are draining the battery fast. i upgraded my alt.-to-battery wire to 4awg and ran it directly to a second post on my battery. because it was only 3feet, 4awg satisfied me enough w/out dropping in resistance. the 0awg i used because it went from the battery ALL the way to the trunk, and from there, i have 0awg and 4awg grounds.

i also upgraded to the optima yellow top deep cycle. in essence, i covered my tracks before i even did the system, but i knew how my previous 3rd gen reacted so i knew how to fix it with this car.

these are all just opinions, but there are valid reasons for everything i did. out of all of them, i suggest that at MINIMUM, you upgrade alt-to-batt. power wire and also the ground wire on the alt. (better power flow = upgrade grounding as well)

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

i have a high-current multimeter....one day i put one of my bass cd's and put it on full blast. the meter peaked at 135A......i'll be nice and say that was at 13v (although gauge read 13.6)....that means i produced somewhere around 1755W. i always believed diamond audio underrated their amps.
last time i read a review of their 600.2 (150x2) amp, they tested it at 14.4v and it read 248x2 and at 13v it read 220x2.
if that's the case, i'm scared to know what values my 1200.1 is really pushing (rated at 1200w x 1ch. @ 1ohm)

panda_1

iTrader: (4)

but would you happen to have a cap, because he might not.

woosh

1755w is some nice numbers, but that is actually the power the amp consumed not the amount delivered as music. Todays amplifiers are about 80% efficient so that means about 1400W was music, which is a rather impressive number.

It is very hard to eliminate dimming because any fluctuation in line voltage can easily be seen in lights for example. The transient effect when u turn on and off heavy current device would have to be overdesigned for. We would basically need a regulated power supply that can deliver the current required for steady state operation plus the energy needs of transient devices like A/C and hard hitting amps in your case.

The easier things we can control is:
- good deep cycle battery
- higher rated ampere alternator
- more capacitance to minimize line voltage variance
- make sure the power & return/ground line to all heavy current device is sufficient

resistance is futile
SHIFT_woosh

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

correct. i was typing too fast and forgot to consider deficiency. and yes those are good numbers. 2 tdx 12's giving about 600 into each, paralleled down to 1ohm.

and that was the word i was looking for...fluxuation. any slight fluxuation will cause dimming, which is why i hate basing it on that. if/when my lights dim, i always look at my guage to see what numbers i'm reading...usually in the mid-high 12's,which is good enough for me. 13's when i start driving.

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

According to what I've read:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=263825

95-99 are 125amp
2K-2K1 are 110amp

However, they are interchangeable if that extra 15amps would make a difference.

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

we already had a discussion on the audio forum about this. i posted an image from the 2k2 FSM....it's 105A. i'll post again tonite when i get home. i deleted it (freeing up space on the server)

IceY2K1

iTrader: (3)

My 2K1 ESM confirms "Nominal rating" is 110A.

JCW915

Where can I buy a device that measures the amp that the alternator is producing? If it's going bad, do you think the dealer would replace it?

Tony Fernandes

Hmmmm...VERY interesting. Good information to know.

Tony

woosh

Do a search on ebay for clamp meters, then sift thru that and get one that measures DC current. I personally like the fluke 336 if you can find one. They are not cheap though.

Note: no fluke 330 series below the 336 reads DC current which is what you'll be measuring.


hope that helps
SHIFT_woosh

Tony Fernandes

You know, I've never noticed this before, but when the car's at idle, the headlights/dashlights dim considerably regardless of anything else. As soon as I rev it up, however slightly, they brighten up. I'm not sure if its always done this or if I just never paid attention until recently. Anyone else?

BTW...this is the first car I've owned that's did this.

Tony

PoLo

iTrader: (7)

YEP, mine has always done that, even before the system. at idle they'll be slightly dimmer and when i rev, they brighten up. also with the system pumping, i'll see the lights not dim as much when i start revving.

like i said, dont' base it on that. get a meter and measure your voltage. it would be better to have a gauge so you can see your readings 24/7.

Adrian

iTrader: (11)

where can u buy a higher output alt with a wiring harnest upgrade