Dimming, battery, fuse, etc.. questions

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Mon May 19, 2008 6:39 pm

Well here goes, I have a 110 amp stock alternator. Brand new Interstate battery under the hood. (biggest they make for the truck) A grounding kit installed using 4 gauge. My alt+ to bat+ is 4 gauge. I just have a Titanium 600.2 on one 10in sub and a 500.4 to the fronts and my lights are dimming. The amps have good grounds using 4 gauge. So, what is the next step?? I was looking into a Kinetik HC600 battery to put before the sub amp. Would this be my best bet? If so do I need to put a fuse before and after the battery?

Post by **AVICJR** » Mon May 19, 2008 7:09 pm

First off, how far is your battery run to amps? I would think the first thing you need to do is upgrade to 0 gauge with all that power you're running.

http://phoenixphorum.com/wire-gauges-an ... t5816.html

In the "How To's" forum is a Proper Power Guide post. Have you gone through that checklist written by a very knowledgeable source?

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Tue May 20, 2008 4:18 am

My main power run is 4 gauge with a 100amp fuse, around 13 feet long. I have the amps under my seat. Just an extended cab truck so I planned on putting the battery in the center console. Do I really need 1/0 gauge for this??
Should the battery not be needed?

The 600.2 is running 4ohms bridged and the 500.4 is running my tweeters off the front channels (8ohms stereo) and my mids off the rear channels (3ohms stereo).

I doesen't even take full volume for the lights to dim and they did even when I just had the 600 running the sub with the factory front speakers.
I don't understand it.. I checked the amp with a DMM and it shows 3.1ohms so everything is ok there.

This is the bat http://www.kinetikaudio.com/hc600.asp

gkitching · Post by **gkitching** » Tue May 20, 2008 6:11 am

Adding a secondary battery is gonna be more draw on the charging system. It will make things worse. The 600 from kinetik is dubbed 'cap killer' but it is basically a small battery. And yes you would want to fuse it.

Was this a problem from the time of installation or did this develop over time? You may want to have the alternator checked. Pep Boys, Auto zone, etc. will do a load check for like $15 or even free depending on who you go to.

But the first thing I would check is the amp grounds. The size of the wire doesn't mean you're making good contact with the ground plane. Are you using seat/seatbelt bolts? They typically are not good ground spots. The system you describe should be no problem for the charging system. There seems to be something wrong from the currant flow aspect of your setup.

HoseHead · Post by **HoseHead** » Tue May 20, 2008 6:24 am

Quick question:

You have 4ga from alt to bat+, but do you have 4 ga (minimum) from alt gnd (engine block) to vehicle chassis as well? What about between bat- and chassis ground?

If you are grounding your amps from vehicle chassis (near the amps), then your factory chassis to electrical system may be your weak point. I rarely see these with more than a 10ga.

Run a 4ga or better ground strap from either your bat- or alt gnd (engine block will do here) directly to vehicle chassis.

The rest of your system is more than adequate. Advise on results.

The BIG3 grounds: Engine, chassis and bat- need to be well grounded to each other. This will ensure all grounds throughout the vehicle are single point. A single point ground will eliminate any potential voltage differences which cause audio noise & light dimming among other issues when modified with hi perf audio gear. Remember, current actually flows from ground UP to positive battery. A properly engineered grounding system is as important as a properly engineered B+ system.

HH

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue May 20, 2008 7:42 am

so are you running a single 4awg for both amps?

dwnrodeo · Post by **dwnrodeo** » Tue May 20, 2008 8:15 am

Another thing, check bass boost and gains. If the boost is high, you're going to be pulling
a lot more current.

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Tue May 20, 2008 9:54 am

Thanks for all the input guys.
Yes I have just one 4 gauge main power wire to a distribution block then 4 gague to each amp. The battery - to chassis and block is 4 gauge as well. I also made a grounding kit which has a few 4 gauge wires under the hood including one from the block to the firewall (cab) of the truck. Adding the grounding kit did help matters.

Yes the dimming has been there since I put the 600 in. I just had that for alittle while untill I got my boston's and added the 500.4. I have the gain set around 65% and the bass on 50% controlled by the LPL44. The amp is grounded under my center console to an un used bolt with the paint sanded to bare metal. I guess I will try to replace that ground with a new wire and terminal and see if that helps.

This is the chart I used to figure what size power to use. You even put in if the amps are class A/B or D.
http://www.bcae1.com/images/swfs/system ... istant.swf

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue May 20, 2008 10:09 am

so if that 500.4 is bridged...that single 4awg isnt enough.

if your grounds are solid, i would start there. you could probibly get away with just running an additional 8awg to the d-block to assist with additional curant.

better still would be stepping up to 2awg cable

Thumper88 · Post by **Thumper88** » Tue May 20, 2008 11:14 am

better yet, just run 0 gauge and you'll be set for any future upgrades...

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Tue May 20, 2008 3:00 pm

The 600.2 is running 4ohms bridged and the 500.4 is running my tweeters off the front channels (8ohms stereo) and my mids off the rear channels (3ohms stereo).

What if I ran a 4 gauge for each amp? I already have an extra fuse and terminal. That would be cheap.

Post by **Bfowler** » Tue May 20, 2008 3:22 pm

so thats still about 900 watts....if you have extra 4awg i would deffinetly try it.

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Tue May 20, 2008 5:36 pm

Ok guys, did alittle wire upgrade when I got home from work today. Put a new ground on the Ti600. New wire, terminal and bolt. Cleaned up the grounding point alittle more also. The wire is KnuKonceptz and its awesome!! 2058 OFC strand 4 gauge. I will see if this makes a difference. I think i'm going to order some of the same wire to run just the 600 and use the other 4 gauge I already have on the 500.4 so each amp will have its own 4 gauge wire from the battery. I took some pics also so if you guys see anything wrong be sure to tell me.

I really appreciate the help from this forum. Great place, no smart ass people. Just all good things. Thanks guys.

Pics...
Ground under center console... One for each amp side by side.

wash with gasoline · Post by **wash with gasoline** » Tue May 20, 2008 8:41 pm

when i was running my 600.2 an 2 ti 12s in my rabbit off 4 gauge i had the same problem until i added a 1 farad cap, then i had no more problems, i was running a 2 ohm load bridged sucking down the power though... im not an expert by any means, but i usually run my big 3 directly off of the batt. terminal, it looks like in the pic that your ground goes to some kind of dist. block before it splits off, i dont know if that would make a diff. or not? the install looks nice to me

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Wed May 21, 2008 4:27 am

The ground from the battery just goes to the chassis then to the block but it goes threw that sensor and everything i've read about the truck says not to connect any wire's the the battery - bypassing the sensor. So I just looked at pics of a grounding kit they sale for the truck and made my own.
As for a cap, I don't really have room for one but everything i've researched about them says they are just a band aid for the real problem.
I know one thing for sure, after adding the 1000CA battery and the grounding kit my truck starts very, very easy. Just barely touch the key.

ELmx479 · Post by **ELmx479** » Mon May 26, 2008 9:23 am

Well I added the other 4 gauge along with a battery terminal to clean things up and make sure there is a good connection. So now each amp has its own 4 gauge from the battery. There is less dimming now but its still there when i'm at idle and pretty much goes away at 1500-2000rpm's. Is this normal? I know the alt puts out less at idle so is some slight dimming ok or not?

Also, is there any chance that its just the amp? Should I upgrade to something new like a class D sub amp?