Need advice

[KansasZj09]

I have two Pioneer 12s, they are champion series, yes pioneer, lol. They are pretty damn loud, i have a 1400 watt peak pos Kole amp hooked up, and the 12s are rated at 1200 watt peak max a piece cant remember the rms though, i know it has to be decent due to how they destroy my Jeep Grand Cherokee. they are louder then the L7 15 that i had. So im used to loud, but the problem is my dimming. My lights dim like a mofo, its like a light show when i bump at night, and its rather annoying, and i know Caps are junk for this situation, so I know they are out of my solution to this problem. But my batt/alt gauge dances when i beat, and i have a rebuilt alt that i got at autozone. Least i think its rebuilt, i know the amps on it aint much. I have people keep telling me to get a dry cell battery and throw it in the cargo area for the subs and amp, but im not really feeling it. I know about the big three upgrade, so ive been considering that. But im looking at getting a h.o alt. They are sheet expensive i know but itd be worth it, i think, so im wanting some opinions, i got led lights in my Jeep that are blue so i mean its pointless having them if they just dim every time the beat hits. Also those subs flex all my doors and stuff, and rattles the sheet outta my license plate and door hatch. so any advice on that too would be helpful. Whats the best solution for stopping the annoyance of the endgate rattling? Dyno matting or ???

[KansasZj09]

Oh and btw what size amp for the alt should i get? Here is a list of what im running right now:

LED lights near pass and drive feet area-2 of them
Pulsing Light bar-2
Cb Radio with Pa horn
Drive lights on top of my Jeep
Drive lights will soon be in the back on top also
Soon to be dvd indash
stereo system loud

[PaulD]

a second battery is just another load on the alt when the car is on, it's only real value is when the car is off (or for a 3-4 sec "burp" in SPL contests). The only downfall of a HO alty is that it's power sux at idle, and a good one can be mad expensive. The real problem you are having is you just have too much power draw at night with all the lights on. I would do the big 3, but I don't think it's going to help you out right now - you just need more power.

The dynamat type material will help with rattling but you need to actually find out just what is rattling, it can get expensive (and heavy) to dynamat the whole vehicle. Only consider stuff with Butyl adhesive, do NOT get stuff like fatmat.

your choices are dynamat extreme (buy from amazon), damplifier pro from second skin (has his own website) or SPL tiles from sound deadener showdown (has his own website too). The last 2 have descriptions on their website on how to use the stuff correctly.

[KansasZj09]

Whats the downfall of not having much power at idle? Is that basically gonna do the same thing with the lights dimming as a stock one? and thanks for the advice

[AWP9521]

Yes. Alternators need to spin at a pretty high RPM to make enough current to recharge the battery plus power all loads in the electrical system. At low engine speeds (idling mostly) the the majority of the load is transferred to the battery because the alternater is not spinning fast enough to produce enough current to keep up with the demand.

[KansasZj09]

So then would a better battery like a yellow top help alot more in that case when it idles? Or would just getting a yellowtop or good battery be best instead of the alternator? Sorry for the dumb questions, i dont know much about electrical systems. Thanks again for your guys' help.

[PaulD]

a stout battery like that will only put a bigger load on the alty. Voltage (so power) flows froms high to low just like water, alty = 14V or so and battery = 12.5V or so. The baterry only helps when the voltage sags to the batteries float voltage of about 12.8 volts. When you have very little alty power at idle, it means you're lights are gonna dance like crazy when you are stopped at a stop light.

[KansasZj09]

Alright makes sense now. Thanks, so what would you recommend that would be best?

[PaulD]

you need to find out just how many amps you are drawing with all the accessories before you can even begin to know what size alty you need

[KansasZj09]

Ok one last question would a big alternator be okay even if i dont use most the amps on it?

[PaulD]

yes, an alternator has a regulator ... it only provides the current your vehicle needs (+ a little extra). A 200 amp alty does NOT put out 200 amps all the time if the voltage requlator is set right

[KansasZj09]

Ok thanks, and lastly, i keep thinking of questions, but i have two subs each are 2 ohm stable, if i wire each sub parallel would i get the sub at a 2 ohm load, say i i just wired one sub parallel i mean, would parallel give me the 2 ohm load? or wiring them in a series give me the 2 ohm load? And my amp is 2 ohm stable.

[PaulD]

are the subs dual voice coil (DVC) or single voice coil (SVC) and how many ohms is each voice coil ?