In my car i installed a an amplifier and a 10" subwoofer. Well recently now that its winter and my lights, and my heater are constantly in use my car has been acting up. I unplugged my amplifier and the problems went away. What can i do to fix this? I have heard running 4 gauge wire or even 8 from the alternator to the battery is good, havent done that. And im assuming a capacitor would fix this, but i just want to make sure....

Thanks for any input

EDIT:!!!! MY PROBLEM IS NOT GONE...

[This message has been edited by JZeFF (edited 11-21-2007).]

A power cap will draw the same power but it remains a constant draw instead of power spikes. the same draw on your power system will be there so you may need to still concider upgrading the alternator. also whats the RMS and the max power of your amp? that will determin what power cap you will need.


EDIT: also what size cable are you running?

[This message has been edited by Tiny (edited 11-17-2007).]

the power wires for the amp are 8 gauge.... 12 gauge to the sub

The rms of the amp is 350, and the max is 800.

And what gauge is the stock wire from the battery to the alternator?, w/e it is thats what i have, still stock.

Maybe your battery is old and on it's way out.You might try cleaning the battery grounds and see if that helps.

Battery is about 6 months old, but i will make sure i clean the ground.

My ideas so far are:
Change wire from battery to alternator to 4 or eight gauge.
Buy a larger alt (recommendations please)
Get a capacitor
Clean the ground connection on the battery.

Drive without heater or headlights, lol

What kind of battery are you running? You should step up to a deep-cycle or other battery that has a large reserve capacity/amp-hour rating. Something like an Optima or something similar. Upgrading your wiring is also a good idea. Make sure all your grounds are clean and tight, and that there aren't too many grounds in one area. Using a current probe, make sure your alternator is actually putting out the power it's rated to. A capacitor will help, but it will also draw power itself. Make sure your starter isn't drawing too much amperage as well. Hopefully, someone will chime in with ideas on an alternator upgrade, as I haven't done much research on what the factory engines have as far as alternator options. Personally, I'd make sure you have a bulletproof battery, since it's the heart of the starting/charging system.

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1986 Fiero GT
1997 Camaro SS #2703
2005 Honda 600RR
2001 GMC 2500HD
2004 Cavalier

Why am i the only person who seems to have this problem?

Ugh, all i know is that i bought the battery at walmart about 6 months ago and it was 80 bucks, the cheapest one they had. So many problems on this damn car that i CANNOT figure out, and im ready to get rid of the stupid thing lately.

Still have a problem where when i go at a constant speed it feels like theres a rope on the back of the car and someone is tugging on it. My gas mileage is still poor, and now my sound system is killing the car. AND an optima battery is 160 bucks, and an alt is probably pretty close to that.

The Fiero charging lead is 5 mm² which is slightly smaller than 10 AWG. This lead is very short so the voltage drop should not be much of a factor, even at maximum possible alternator output.

The estimated voltage drop of the wire is 0.336 Volts with a 105 Amp load as shown in the chart below. (The chart is from an online calculator found here.). You can see from the chart that increasing the wire size to the next increment would reduce the loss by only 0.126 Volts.



Try checking the belt tension first. If that’s O.K., get a free electrical system test at one of the auto parts chain stores.

Well if your alternator is on the weak side, the car may be fine without the Stereo and just a bit short on power with the stereo. If I were you I would first off check all the grounds in the car, make sure you have good grounds between the motor and the chassie, the battery and the motor and just to be double positive, a ground from the battery to the chassie.

If that helps, I would (and some people disagree with this. A direct line from the alternator output to the battery and a 2nd direct line from the battery to the power junction studs located below the main wire harness block in the engine bay.

This does bypass some of the factory inline fuses, so you HAVE TO MAKE SURE NOTHING CHAFES. It has worked well for me in the past using 8g wire in most of the harness I have built.


Next up is alternator replacement. The stock NON AC alternator is only something like 66amps. The AC is 94amps and is a direct plug in. There is also the option of moving up to a CS alternator with an adapter harness and finding the correct alternator bracket. Usually just taken from an 88 Fiero. All 88 V6 Fiero's used the CS alternator. It produces more current at idle than the older Si versions.

Hopefully some of this info helps you.

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85GT 5spd ,93 Eldorado 4.9 Dual O2 Custom Chip, Archie Clutch. Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything 245/50/16's Not Your Average 4.9 Capt Fiero Com --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Stock.

quote Originally posted by JZeFF: Why am i the only person who seems to have this problem? Ugh, all i know is that i bought the battery at walmart about 6 months ago and it was 80 bucks, the cheapest one they had. So many problems on this damn car that i CANNOT figure out, and im ready to get rid of the stupid thing lately. Still have a problem where when i go at a constant speed it feels like theres a rope on the back of the car and someone is tugging on it. My gas mileage is still poor, and now my sound system is killing the car. AND an optima battery is 160 bucks, and an alt is probably pretty close to that.

You can get Optima's on Ebay for a lot less.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...dZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

As for your problem,
Have you checked the ground straps?
Does the negative battery cable mount to the cylinder head or a bracket?
Is the alt bracket or the engine block recently been painted?

If you know how to use an Ohm meter, measure resistance from the negative battery cable at the battery to a bolt on the intake, the chassis like the strut tower bolts, and then on the alternator case.
You should have less than 2 ohm's (less than 1 ohm is preferred). If you do not, then you have a a problem with the ground connections. I had this issue before and found out the grounding of everything needed to be corrected.

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.
ZZ4 Powered !!

You may have an alternate source thats draining the battery over night.
1.Bad door pin switchs causeing the interior lights to stay on (you'de probubley se that at night).
2.A bad brake pedal switch causeing the brake lights to stay on (allso check at night).
3.A stuck fan relay,but you'de probubley hear the fan constantley running.
4.Worn healight parts,causes a major power drain
5. A bad alternater,but you can usualley tell if it's bad by looking at the battery gage,it should read about half way (slight fluctuations are o.k.)If the gage is reading way low or way high or even if the gage reves with the motor,then the alternater is bad.
6.Trunk light switch left on.
7.I can't remember if theirs a hood light (up front,small light?)but if the pin switch is bad,then the light would stay on.
How did you install your AMP?Some APM's use the power source the turns on and off with the key.If you hooked it up to a constant 12V you may be draining the battery over night,because it never turns off (read the instructions again).
If you have a battery charger,charge the battery because it's new it may have a very low charge from sitting on the shelf.
As for what alternater to choose,read Ogers Cave,at the very top of the web page.A good upgrade would be the CS Alternater.

clean your grounds, maybe add another gorund or 2 & re-do & clean your fuseable links at the (+) junction.
if power still a problem, get a alternator & connector from a '88 Fiero (with 5 groove pulley, if ya can)

88 Fiero's use the new style CS alternator vs the old SI alteranot used in the earlier models. the CS puts out much more power at idle.

well heres some info from the battery
Everstart
720 cranking amps
600 cold cranking amps

Another thing that might help a little is this piece of info.

If i hit a really bad bump (only have hit bad bumps on passenger side) my radio turns off.... just seems kind of wierd.
And i checked and the amplifier is not hooked up to a constant power source, it only turns on when the car is turned on. And nothing else in my car is draining power all the time. Oh, and my alternator belt is nice and tight. Thats all i got to do so far

EDIT: with the cheaper batteries on E-Bay, when you add shipping its about the same, but thanks for looking into that.

[This message has been edited by JZeFF (edited 11-19-2007).]

Not sure which battery you purchased but the EverStart Maxx Group 75N is claimed to be a 1,000 CCA unit and lists for $68.48. It's rated as a "Top Pick" in the November, 2007 Consumer Reports magazine. This is a "maintenance free" sealed lead acid (SLA) battery with a 3 year free replacement and a 9 year prorated warranty.

This whole thing to be honest has me upset.... (stressed, aggrivated, etc)

With the battery i described before, and the stock alternator from a 4 cylinder fiero should i be having this problem?

The only amp i have is this one http://www.pioneerelectroni...44_152869076,00.html
And my lights and heater may be on.

When thats plugged in the car backfires (at the carb) My grandpa says this is because my plugs arent sparking.
Even when the amp isnt plugged in i still have this problem where when im stopped at a stoplight it wants to stall on me. And alot of the times acceleration from zero is really slow, the car putts up to the speed. Its like it doesnt get gas full time, like only half time.... Im at a total loss of words when it comes to explaining it

I know its not my battery, its been fine the whole 6 months ive had it. This problem literally just started a week ago.

[This message has been edited by JZeFF (edited 11-21-2007).]