1994 z28 electrical system help (stereo)

[taylor2527]

hey guys, i am having problems with my car stereo. i have a jbl 1200.1 powering 4 subs and a rockford 400a4 powering speakers, and my alternaotr can not keep everythign charged up. it has a 140 amp alternator in there which makes me wonder whats using up that much power in my car? i dont think that my stereo is that mazssive by any means just good, but i want it to work alot better, i cant even turn it up all the way before the 1200 watt amp cuts out because it cannot get enough power. im planning on buiying a 200+ amp alternator because i think that should solve my problem, but does anyone else have any other suggetsions? thanks

[Chevyracincamaro]

capacitor, think capacitor. go get yourself a 2 farad capacitor, 1.5 at the least. if you want to go all out get one for each amp. you definitely need a cap for the jbl.

[RABarrett]

WRONG!!! Think wire size, wire size. The smaller the wire, the more voltage lost in the wire, and the more of your power will become heat. Check this... Using a digital voltmeter, check the voltage at the battery and then check the voltage at the amp, with the power turned up. If the difference exceeds more than .6 volts, the connections are the problem. Same with the ground connections. If the voltage on the negative side exceeds .6 volts to ground, these connections also need addressing. Capacitors work well as bandaids in most cases. They have their place, but not as a bandaid. Ray

[taylor2527]

hey thanks for the input, im gonna try the connections with a volt meter and then see how that works. i was also wondering about my car in general though, i dont think there would be alot of stuff in there that would take a lot of power from the alternator, because you can see my volt guage going down and not rechraging fast enough, and i dont think my stereo is draining it that badly, but who knows. more replies welcome
thanks

[Genopsyde]

friend of mine was running a 1500watt alpine and a 600watt mtx, he had a 2 battery setup and the higher output alternator.

[89IROC&RS]

the standard drain on your battery would be around 5millivolts with everything turned off. with everythin on and the engine running, you should be putting out around 14volts. but yeah, make sure you are using heavy guage wire, i think 4 guage for that much power is reccomended, but i would call crutchfields tech help on that one. they are really helpful. i have used them before for my wiring problems, and i work on wiring problems at a dealership lol.

[taylor2527]

thanks guys, im lready using 4 guage wire but im gonna try somehtign this afternoon, tanks for the help