My system making my car slow??????

redrider07 · 08-03-2008, 07:05 PM

Ok, I have noticed that ever since I put in my mtx 12 sub and amp in my car.......it runs like a dog...WAY LESS POWER AND RESPONSIVNESS. When I dont have my sub on....it is WAY more peppy. So, this is not a weight issue....I think my alternator is slowing down my car....Because it makes a world of difference when my sub and amp are not on? I think it is drawing to much juice...and my alt is working harder to compensate

So should I get a capacitor....a bigger battery...or different alternator????

Any help would be rad guys

I have a 02 3400 with cold air intake and 180 t-stat

CactusWill · 08-03-2008, 07:39 PM

A bigger alternator would be more of a drag not less... I can't speak for the capacitor part, but a bigger marine battery or optima should definately help even out the draw on electricity.

JOEY GLADSTONE · 08-03-2008, 08:40 PM

just turn down the radio if you have to merge onto the parkway and you will not be losing any power

jeenysrider07 · 08-03-2008, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrider07

Ok, I have noticed that ever since I put in my mtx 12 sub and amp in my car.......it runs like a dog...WAY LESS POWER AND RESPONSIVNESS. When I dont have my sub on....it is WAY more peppy. So, this is not a weight issue....I think my alternator is slowing down my car....Because it makes a world of difference when my sub and amp are not on? I think it is drawing to much juice...and my alt is working harder to compensate

So should I get a capacitor....a bigger battery...or different alternator????

Any help would be rad guys

I have a 02 3400 with cold air intake and 180 t-stat

i noticed that to, my h*********lights used to dim when the bass hit,i got a cap and now its all good

Ryan from Ohio · 08-04-2008, 12:49 AM

Hey heres food for thought...

How is your alternator attached to the motor?

by that belt, right... So how is it working harder? Its going to spin whatever your foot tells it to spin. Its not going to magically make your RPMs go up because you need more juice...

sound_xtreme · 08-04-2008, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan from Ohio

Hey heres food for thought...

How is your alternator attached to the motor?

by that belt, right... So how is it working harder? Its going to spin whatever your foot tells it to spin. Its not going to magically make your RPMs go up because you need more juice...

It can affect many things actually, it's not about how much strain it puts from the belt, it's the electronic things that don't get enough power to do their jobs. but, if it's actually "making the car slower" i would suspect a bad alternator altogether. I've had some BIG systems in the day, and never noticed anything like that. When my alternator died however....different story(but the car shut off completely lol).

CactusWill · 08-04-2008, 01:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan from Ohio

Hey heres food for thought...

How is your alternator attached to the motor?

by that belt, right... So how is it working harder? Its going to spin whatever your foot tells it to spin. Its not going to magically make your RPMs go up because you need more juice...

The alternator may always be spinning but its not always drawing the same amount of drag. Much like your A/C compressor but on a smaller scale.

clutch1 · 08-04-2008, 02:06 AM

Si, to make more power the alternator has to increase the pull on the belt or whatever.

Long story short, the more power you're drawing, the more HP the alternator is using to run.

Still, it's not THAT big of a difference, not enough to notice anyways.

I can be driving at night, BOTH compressors running for air ride, listening to my 2 12" Type R's, headlights on, and interior lights on, and I still don't notice a big drain on my electrical (stock alt w/ 1 yellowtop battery)

Something sounds goofy. Maybe get the alt checked?

jayson_waltz · 08-04-2008, 09:25 AM

if u had a 4 cyl it would be normal to notice it. but with the 3400 you really shouldn't

Ryan from Ohio · 08-04-2008, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CactusWill

The alternator may always be spinning but its not always drawing the same amount of drag. Much like your A/C compressor but on a smaller scale.

lol...

So your telling my there is some sort of "actuator" inside an alternator that engages when more power is needed?

I would go look at an alternator if I was you

That alternator is going to spin a given RPM relative to the throttle position at all times, period.

The only thing that does happen is sometimes the idle RPMs will increase a bit as output at idle is less than at speed. Which isnt this guys problem.

CactusWill · 08-04-2008, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan from Ohio

lol...

So your telling my there is some sort of "actuator" inside an alternator that engages when more power is needed?

I would go look at an alternator if I was you

That alternator is going to spin a given RPM relative to the throttle position at all times, period.

The only thing that does happen is sometimes the idle RPMs will increase a bit as output at idle is less than at speed. Which isnt this guys problem.

Ok. Let me put it in laymans terms. An alternator works much the same as an electric motor does, except the flow of energy is the opposite, so that it creates electricity from energy rather than consuming electricity to create energy. Much like an electric motor will use more electricity when under heavy load, your alternator will create more drag when it is under a heavy load to create more electricity.

Make sense? Its simple physics.