is it just me or did u forget to post a message? thats my setup and lovin it! I didnt have any of the problems you mentioned about the headlights and stuff. Good luck tho.

 

weird, i thought i posted a msg, but here was my msg:

I'm currently running jl 500/1 and a jl 300/4 in my car with a 10w7 and a set of components up front...

I'm experiencing jerkiness in my cars shifting under heavy loads of bass when i have my system on. My gains are all set accordingly and properly, about 1/4 way up on all amps...

However I plan on upgrading to a jl 1000/1, jl 450/4... but i don't even think my car electrical system will be able to handle it, since it cant even handle what i have now...

I'm trying to figure out whats the cause of my car's jerky response when it shifts, not sure if its my battery. I ran a test on it with a digital multimeter to see how many volts it runs at with the car on and system off... it shows about 13.8 - 13.9.

I know a few of you here are running jl 1000/1 + jl 450/4 combos or something similar. My question is, how are you guys running these monster amps in your car and not experiencing the same problems as me? Perhaps a 5AT uses more power than a 6MT since there's more electronical stuff involved? Even so, I wouldn't think it would make that much of a difference.

I'd appreciate any advice on what to do... I posted another thread earlier about possibly getting my stock alternator replaced with a more powerful one, or finding someone who can rebuild it, but out of luck for either one. That was my only and last resort. I really don't know what to do now. It really is dissappointing when you can't even enjoy your music loud while you're driving due to this... I had a similar setup in my old integra, which was using more powerful amps, and I never ran into this car jerking problem. This has been bugging me for a long time now. I just never took the time to really find out what was wrong with my car.

would the way that the audio shop ground my amps be the likely cause of this jerkiness in shifting under heavy amounts of bass?

 

did you ground it properly, meaning literallyt scraping some of the instide paint to get to bear metal. Also are you using stock battery?

 

yes the battery im using is a stock battery, and i believe the audio shop that installed my system grounded my amps on this part between my back seat and the trunk, its metal, its like a dark blackish color, put the part that its touching is kinda scraped down to the bare metal, but not completely if my mind serves correctly... would it fix my shifting problem if this was the case though?

what would be an ideal place to ground the amps? is it true that its better to ground all your amps to one grounding location? I have this grounding screw that came with my jl audio amp kit, but i don't know how to install that thing.

 

I don't know if it will fix your problem. Yes all the ground should be at one spot. I suggest you get a deep cycle battery, yellow top optima as well. Take the alternator to a shop they can tell you if it is bad or not if not then there is no need to change it. Battery a must, check all connections and if that fails I am not sure.

 

godzilla do you have a 5AT or 6MT? and you never experienced the same problems i'm having under heavy, loud bass notes while driving?

 

I went another route, dedicated battery & capacitor. I don't get any electrical problems because it isn't connected the rest of the electrical system. I wanted this because I play the bass LOUD and didn't want a lights flickereing or fluctuation in idle revs. See sip for stereo info.

 

Oh my bad i have a manual, but I had an auto maxima that i did up and never experienced the problem. You might have a bad alternator but I get the battery first since you are going to up the amps. I never trust stock battery.

 

What is the voltage reading while your system is on?
Maybe a capacitor is in need?
Your battery seems to be ok while your system is not on. Just like God/Zilla168 said, get your alternator checked out.

Are your lights dimming at all( outside and on the dash while your sysem is running)?

Good Luck,

B.

 

my lights do dim under heavy bass notes... not my HID thoughs, but like my parking lights and such, doesnt dim that much though, just a tad...

i really don't think its my alternator but i will get it checked out, in the meantime will getting a 2nd dedicated battery like an optima yellowtop and putting it in my trunk to run all my amps fix this problem i'm having? if so, can someone please explain how to wire it up so that my amps are running of my battery in the trunk and not off my main one? maybe post a pic of your trunk of the battery and the wires so that i may get a better look at how to do this...

thanks so much for all your input guys. I really wanna get this problem fixed... so that i can actually enjoy my music LOUD while driving my car.

 

If the lights dim get yourself a cap. with that much amp voltage you will need one. not sure about the running second battery, having a second battery is only good if you are running the system with your car turned off no advantage if you are running while is on. If you are planning to run a second battery just get the yellow top and replace it with the stock first and add the cap see if that works if not you can then use it as a second one.

So my suggeston is get a capacitor and yellow top battery to see if that fix the problem. Then go have your alternator checked out. Then rewire for second if the 3 options fails.

 

It's hard to see the wiring in my trunk. Panels and racks have to be removed to see everything. I'll try to post a quick schematic this weekend. A capacitor will help but it doesn't solve all power demand issues. All the cap does is store energy to be avaiable for you amps. If it drops, it will borrow power from your electrical system and may still experience dimming (more noticeable in the cadin). This is why I have the dedicated battery. It isn't just for running the stereo when the car is off (I don't run it with the motor off for very long). I have an Armada with a 1000/1 pushing (2) JL12w6s & a 300/4 for the others. I added a cap and it helps but the lights still dim. It needs a dedicated battery too.

 

Do the "Big 3" wires using at least 4 guage, and see if that solves your problem.
-Neg Battery to Chassis
-Alt to Positive Terminal
-Engine Block to Chassis
http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/...TID=73496&PN=1

 

redlude, have you done the big 3 on your car? if so, is it basically replacing those 3 power wires to 4guage? Does anyone have a diagram on how to do this and to show where those 3 exact wires are. I would like to attempt this to see if this will fix my problem. If not I will replace my stock battery with an optima yellowtop d35, and if that still doesnt work, then i will get a grounding kit.... I'll keep going until this damn problem goes away, sigh.

 

I don't think this will eliminate the dimming but good luck anyways. You might as well do a full grounding kit while your at it.