jarrid_gross(at)earthlink.net writes:
>Chris,
>A 1 farad cap will make a pretty good filter for the alternator ripple,
>and will hold the charge voltage up, during hard power transients like
>a good base thump. It will not however unload the alternator, but
>rather
>spread the spike load across a longer period of time, with a smaller
>effective instaneous load.
>If the current need is continuous, the cap wont really help, save to
>make your sound system have less alternator hum.
There really isn't any alternator hum. There's just an incredible
amount of load whenever I turn on the stereo. Even without the
subwoofer the alternator slips into discharge at idle.
>If just connecting the woofer, at low sound levels cuases a substancial
>power draw, consider that perhaps the amp is defective, or improperly
>wired. Is the woofers amp a bridge amp by any chance? If so,
>you must never use the chassis as a return for the speaker wires,
>as was typical for stereos in older cars.
I believe it's hooked up correctly. Since my stereo only has two
preamp outputs (front & rear) the sub runs off a mono sum from the reap
output.
>The alternato should not read 35 amps continously, but should only
>do so for a brief period after starting, and then it should decay down
>toward 0 amperes.
I messed with the adjustment pot on the back of the voltage reg last
night and the output now is in the charge range, though too much, as
before. Unless a substantial load is placed on the electrical system,
the amp meter pegs at 35 amps anywhere above 2500 rpm (eng speed).
However, at idle the needle drops to 35 amps of discharge.
Christopher
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 10:52:47 CDT