when i'm idling, my rpms drop roughly 200 rpms when rolling up 1 window or even turning the headlights on. if i roll all 4 of them up at once it sometimes goes down almost of the lines on the rpms. is this normal? i'm aware that this is drawing current, but i don't understand why the it would affect the rpms. also when driving and rolling up all 4 windows at once rpms don't change at all.

Have your alternator tested at Auto Zone for free. My bet is it's on it's way out.

normal.

if you turn your steering wheel while sitting at a light - rpms drop....
....etc, ....etc....

anything that draws more current will place an extra load on the engine - if the engine is locked within it's ability to adjust - the load will show as rpm drop...

normal.

if you turn your steering wheel while sitting at a light - rpms drop....
....etc, ....etc....

anything that draws more current will place an extra load on the engine - if the engine is locked within it's ability to adjust - the load will show as rpm drop...

how about this..
i have 1 Kicker L7 Solobaric (rms 1000 watt, max 2000 watt) with a 2400 watt amp. when the sub is knockin the lights dim heavily and the rpms drop significantly. what do i need to make that stop? capacitor, and if so what size? yellow top?

how about this..
i have 1 Kicker L7 Solobaric (rms 1000 watt, max 2000 watt) with a 2400 watt amp. when the sub is knockin the lights dim heavily and the rpms drop significantly. what do i need to make that stop? capacitor, and if so what size? yellow top?

Ohm's law dictates: Watts / Volts = Amps

1000W / 13.5v = 74.07A

An automotive electrician would tell you get a 150amp alt. and a 2 farad cap.

You can also do what's called the "Big Three Upgrade"

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=73496&PN=1

Go to that link and it has a step by step. This helps quite a bit with dimming without having to spend money on more audio equipment such as caps or even a new higher powered alternator.

You can also do what's called the "Big Three Upgrade"

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?TID=73496&PN=1

Go to that link and it has a step by step. This helps quite a bit with dimming without having to spend money on more audio equipment such as caps or even a new higher powered alternator.


I would have to dispute that. Although higher quality cables / grounds will without a doubt make your electrical system more efficient, it does not produce additional amps. At 1000 watts, his stereo is drawing better than 65% of the ampere’s his alt. produces. This is a problem which will only be resolved by an increase in available amps. And we aren’t even talking about the 2000w max surge which is in and of itself drawing more than the alt. produces.

Anyway, I'd almost say it's just as important to upgrade the ground cables and positive wires. Think of this as a water faucet: if you have a faucet with a diameter of 1" and you hook up a hose with an internal diameter of 1/2", then your limiting factor is your hose. Same thing goes with electricity; you can only pull so much through a given gauge of wire regardless of how big your supply is.

Generally, you want your electrical system to be able to support the RMS watts on its own. Then you use caps to provide the fast discharge power for when the output of the amp goes above the RMS level.

Good luck!

thanks for the replies
i'm pretty sure i'm running 4 gauge power and ground, and the speaker wire from the amp to the sub is ''gold plated'' and said was good up to the watts i expected. its a rockford fosgate wiring kit. also, not sure if this makes a difference, but its wired up to the factory head unit which i'm pretty sure means its high input

thanks for the replies
i'm pretty sure i'm running 4 gauge power and ground, and the speaker wire from the amp to the sub is ''gold plated'' and said was good up to the watts i expected. its a rockford fosgate wiring kit. also, not sure if this makes a difference, but its wired up to the factory head unit which i'm pretty sure means its high input

just make sure ur load isnt more than 80 percent of the max load on the equipment (alt wire ...) ur using

I would have to dispute that. Although higher quality cables / grounds will without a doubt make your electrical system more efficient, it does not produce additional amps. At 1000 watts, his stereo is drawing better than 65% of the ampere’s his alt. produces. This is a problem which will only be resolved by an increase in available amps. And we aren’t even talking about the 2000w max surge which is in and of itself drawing more than the alt. produces.

It doesn't hurt though ;) Just depends on how hard everything is hitting and how bad the lights are dimming. I had a '92 Cadillac Brougham and the lights barely dimmed and after doing the big 3 it made it not, however they were BARELY dimming.

they don't dim bad enough to impair driving at night, but my friend said he could tell they were dimming when he was in oncoming traffic one. i think i may just get a cap