new amp

[pong]

i installed a new amp...

blaupunkt gta 4100

the prob now is:

can the car handle this new load without adding any relays?
im not sure if my battery is dying (due to age)
or it is dying because of the new amp...

i can hear the famous whining sound!

pls help...

thanks!

[SRR2]

Don't you think it would have been helpful to include:

1) Information about the amp, including links to its data sheet. Do you expect people to search out this information on their own just to answer your question?

2) Information on how you have the thing connected. How is anyone supposed to help when you don't tell them anything about what you're doing? Where mounted? Connected to what? With what? How the wires are routed?

3) WHAT whining sound? Are we mind-readers?

[Turbo Ready]

i installed a new amp...

blaupunkt gta 4100

the prob now is:

can the car handle this new load without adding any relays?
im not sure if my battery is dying (due to age)
or it is dying because of the new amp...

i can hear the famous whining sound!

pls help...

thanks!

The amp is rated at 650 watts, don't know if thats RMS or not. The amp should be connected directly to the car,s main positive source and ground, being switched on and off with a remote wire. There is a positively switched wire on most newer CD players used to power up the amp.

You do not need any relays for the amp. The amp should not have anything to do with your battery except if you are using it with the engine off. While the engine is running the alternator will supply enough current for the amp, but if your regulator on the alternator is bad, the battery will not be fully charged as the alternator will not be able to supply both battery and amp with current.

The whining sound could be coming form the noise from the car's, electrical circuit being amplified buy the amp and heard on the car speakers ( hardly likely) or from your alternator because it's under excessive load and needs to be looked at.

If the whining sound happens only when the amp is on, it will isolate the problem.

[Incantation]

in response to your 3) response you must be an audio newb because that's obviously alternator whine

[Incantation]

whining from an alternator DOES NOT mean it's under excessive load.. it simply means the speaker wires are too close to power wires

[Incantation]

i'm running about 1500 watts RMS right now and even without a capacitor (i think this is what you meant when you said relay i barely get any dimming, if at all. this is mainly due to improper grounding.. if you get it mount a second FAT ground wire (0 gauge) off your battery terminal to some grounding point on the car.

i'm more curious as to why you added an amp without changing everything else.. the stock deck puts out peanuts for signal power and even if you wanted to cross everything over properly to the stock speakers they wouldn't handle the load anyway

so.. are you using a stock sound system? or have you got other aftermarket in there?


the whining comes from having speaker wires too close to your power wires. this can also be attributed to a defective channel but that's very unlikely. so re-do your wires so that you do not cross them. ultimately you may need to route the wires from the deck to the amp through the center console.. i managed to run mine under the driver's side carpet and i get no noise. of course i am using some $$$$ rcas

[Erwin8r]

i'm running about 1500 watts RMS right now and even without a capacitor (i think this is what you meant when you said relay i barely get any dimming, if at all. this is mainly due to improper grounding.. if you get it mount a second FAT ground wire (0 gauge) off your battery terminal to some grounding point on the car.

i'm more curious as to why you added an amp without changing everything else.. the stock deck puts out peanuts for signal power and even if you wanted to cross everything over properly to the stock speakers they wouldn't handle the load anyway

so.. are you using a stock sound system? or have you got other aftermarket in there?


the whining comes from having speaker wires too close to your power wires. this can also be attributed to a defective channel but that's very unlikely. so re-do your wires so that you do not cross them. ultimately you may need to route the wires from the deck to the amp through the center console.. i managed to run mine under the driver's side carpet and i get no noise. of course i am using some $$$$ rcasGreat suggestions. Run the power from the positive side of the battery, using at least 10 gauge (but preferably 8 gauge or larger) wire, making sure to include a good fuse inline, and make sure you run a good ground--I used the seat belt anchor. The remote (assuming an aftermarket headunit) is usally a blue wire coming from your headunit (you can use the one marked "power antenna)--this needs to be connected to your amp. Run quality signal wires (RCAs, etc.) from the headunit to the rear. On my 535, I ran them down the center console with good success (okay, I cheated on my 540 and had a shop do it.. :D ). Like was stated, I wouldn't run the stock speakers off this amp--I would use it strictly for a sub. The best way to go would be top get a second amp and upgrade the interior speakers...

[Turbo Ready]

whining from an alternator DOES NOT mean it's under excessive load.. it simply means the speaker wires are too close to power wires

Solid state regulators employing a pulse width modulated field control system
CAN create alternator whine with added electrical loads.

In most cases however, it's normally a bad or floating ground. Having inductance
generated noise is also a posibility having poorly sheilded RCA's running close to the positive feed.

[genphreak]

i'm running about 1500 watts RMS right nowI think you mean peak. 1500W rms would mean you'd need 2 80A alternators just to keep up with the amp on full blast. I don't know of a 1500W amp that can run much under 10A current draw over 240V, let alone 12V.

P=VI, so 1500W=125A at 100% efficiency and AC amps are a lot more efficient than 12VDC ones. :) Nick

[632 Regal]

you needs cap's, run the speaker leads away from power to fix the whine, dont run the amp full tilt at idle.

the other guys said all this crap but I summed it all up.

[pong]

the reason why i purchased this amp is because when i bought the car, the previous owner removed the amp and i couldnt find an oem one. since im planning to change the internal speakers on this one, i decided that it is a better option to get the amp while i start saving up for the speakers (much better than having no sounds at all)

[Incantation]

ok well.. my sub is getting 1000wRMS @ 1ohm and the components are getting about 150rms@4ohm each

i never run it full blast.. it's already too loud at halfway.. not sure what that will mean with the alternator etc

[genphreak]

ok well.. my sub is getting 1000wRMS @ 1ohm and the components are getting about 150rms@4ohm each. i never run it full blast.. it's already too loud at halfway.. not sure what that will mean with the alternator etcWow that's a lot of grunt. What kind of speakers have you got on the 150W channels? What kind of sub have is it? Beware 1000W at 1 ohm is an immensely inefficient load to drive. It's draw 84A at 100% efficiency so you might be well advised to monitor your alternator output; for if you take the amp as being 50% efficient it'd draw 168A... so even with caps the sub alone would be close to maxing the alternator at half volume. Most subs are 4 ohms. Some are 2, but they increase inefficiency so without they are rarely worth the trouble. 1 ohm usually means 4 woofers (or 2 pairs of dual voice coil ones), but the load on the amp is then so low that a far larger amount of the 1000W disappears in the amplification process.

[Incantation]

eclipse sw9122 sub
focal polyglass 6.5 components front
jl audio comp vr (or tr? i forget) 6.5 components in rear.. maybe at %20 volume for rear fill

[genphreak]

eclipse sw9122 sub focal polyglass 6.5 components front jl audio comp vr (or tr? i forget) 6.5 components in rear.. maybe at %20 volume for rear fillI see. The impedence of the 9122 will either be 8 ohms or 2 ohms, depending on how it is wired. If 2 ohms, your amp will be running max at 500W rms -if- it can draw power at sufficient voltage. This is where without a cap one gets in trouble, and over extended periods the cap may not be enough. If your alternator is unable to keep up with the amp/s (and whatever else is on at the time, like the rear demister, blower headlights etc.) the voltage will drop from 13.8V to below 12V as the battery drains, reducing voltage to the amp. In these conditions clipping is an awful risk; as a square wave to the sub and other speakers fries the voice coils just like McDonald's would, except it barely takes a second. Are you going to get another alternator? Its no easy job I guess. How big are the fuses on your amps in total? Really, you need to add that kind of capacity as a capacitor is just postpoing time to entering the danger zone. Of course you may not need to add additional generation if you never use your amps at high outputs. If I am wrong please do educate me, I just don't know anyone that runs a stable 1 ohm load, I always thought it was damn near impossible... with mains power supplies let alone 12V. I'm sure you may know a lot of this, I say it out of interest and as there is much confusion around on amps and subs and what can be done with them reliably. BTW; with the whining noise, some equalizers and cross-overs have separated power feeds to isolate the power-on circuit from the head unit from the circuit on the amps. Having one of these babies beside the amp might be a good way to tweak the sound and isolate whine.

[Incantation]

hmm.. well you definitely know the technical end of it. interesting what you said about the voltage dropping below 12v because i've blown two subs so far.. that's probably why. (fried the voice coils was what the shop told me each time).

but anyway.. that's how the shop set it up. i haven't given thought to adding a second alternator.. and don't intend to.. that's too much work and in a couple months this car will be in my sister's possession and everything is moving into the e31 which doesn't need nearly as much power. it's interesting to read everything you're saying because it sounds like the system should not be working.. but it is.. lol. although now i will be concerned about blowing a third sub (also why i never go past half volume).

the bass sure fills the cabin though!