I have 2 kenwood 12's and an 1800w amp that my boyfriend installed in my car.It was making my lights dim so my boyfriend added a battery made for sounds and it worked fine but then I ran into another issue my car was having a hard time starting or wouldn't start.So I took it to the dealership and they said that my sounds was the cause of it and that it was making my alternator go out.They said it was having a hard time keeping 2 batteries charged and that I need to get a bigger amp alternator if I wanted to keep them in.So I had my b/f disconnect everything and I took it back in and they couldn't find any problem they said.But to make a long story short the cause of the problem was a bad connection with the ground on the body and the car hasn't had a problem since.I want my b/f to connect my sounds back up but I don't want to go through the same problems again.If anyone could help tell me do I need a bigger amp alternator for sounds or was the dealer telling a bunch of bs.

 

The dealer is right. A higher amperage alt is the way to go. Another thing you should definitely do is upgrade the Big 3 (http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/...TID~73496~PN~1). You should do that before getting a bigger alt.

 

I read the link and in other words my b/f would have to use bigger cables for these 3 things.what do you suggest I get amp wire or maybe the dealer may do it.

 

The dealer probably wouldn't do something like that. Just go get some 4 gauge amp power wire and some 4 gauge crimp ring terminals and make the wire yourself. or i guess have your boyfriend do it himself.

And i second that a bigger amp alternator will help out a lot. A factory alternator is only designed to handle the normal running of the factory electronics. If you start putting in amplifiers it can easily double the number of amps drawn from the alternator, which will eventually cause it to go out. So by getting a higher amp alternator that can handle that amount of power you don't have to worry about it staining to supply the needed amount of power.

 

With the bigger alternator and larger wiring you may be able to do away with the extra battery, unless you need the loudest possible sound for sound contests or something.

 

your alternator should be able to handle that... i have a 2000W amp with a cadence mallet 12" and a cadence 15" and a capacitor solved my problem with dimming headlights. Upgrade your big three and try a capacitor, cheaper solution. I would assume a HO alternator would be expensive.

And yeah that second battery isnt worth it, but im not sure if it would kill the alternator. a bad ground could have drained your battery and left you with no power to start, definite. And if your alternator is really going out they smell weird when they burn, a very distinct smell. ive burnt a few on my old chevy.

 

When properly installed you should need an upgraded alternator and battery and 1/0awg and the big 3 upgrade. btw capacitors are useless

 

For 99.8% of people, yes they are. I'll bet money that d16soda, you are one of the 99.8%. I know i am.

 

I have a 2000 civic coupe. I had 2 15" MTX 8000 and a MTX 8100D amp in it. I had a 150amp breaker hooked to 4 gage power wire. My lights would also dim when the speakers hit hard. I put HIDS in it to get away from that problem. The dash lights would still dim but i didnt care about that. I ran them for prob 2 years. Then i changed to 3 memphis 12"s and a 1400watt amp. I have never had a problem with my alternator. What kind of amp are you running. It might be a power hungry amp. If you were to go to a JL 1000/1 it will pull alot less power. I think it can pull as little as 12 to 13 volts and still be running at 100% (Like i said i think) I know its not a power hungry amp. But you are looking to spend a nice chunk of money on one. But IMO it is well worth it. It is a great amp.

 

^hey dude its not how many volts it runs at, its how many amps it draws