dankel47 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I want to start off by saying that I really know absolutely nothing about cars. I recently had a amplifier and a subwoofer installed in my 1998 Honda Civic LX. When I go to turn my car on it takes around three seconds to start, but it sounds really bad as though it isnt going to start at all. Then when I disconnect the amp it is still a little slow to start but no where near as bad as when the amplifier is hooked up. I had the battery replaced about a month ago so I am pretty sure that isnt the problem. Could it be that the alternator is not powerful enough for the amplifier and subwoofer? The amplifier and subwoofer are both 750 watts rms. Again I really don't know anything about cars so any help would be appreciated. Thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex37211 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I want to start off by saying that I really know absolutely nothing about cars. I recently had a amplifier and a subwoofer installed in my 1998 Honda Civic LX. When I go to turn my car on it takes around three seconds to start, but it sounds really bad as though it isnt going to start at all. Then when I disconnect the amp it is still a little slow to start but no where near as bad as when the amplifier is hooked up. I had the battery replaced about a month ago so I am pretty sure that isnt the problem. Could it be that the alternator is not powerful enough for the amplifier and subwoofer? The amplifier and subwoofer are both 750 watts rms. Again I really don't know anything about cars so any help would be appreciated. Thank you very much. perhaps a 1 farad capacitor would help That or your starter may be on it's way out. Or bad ground. Also, where is the remote wire for the amp hooked to? It's obviously coming on as soon as the key is turned over. Maybe you could put it on a toggle switch. Or hook it to the radio properly and turn the radio off before you turn your car off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staninator Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I believe that you should check your starter first over anything else. Your system isn't pushing out enough power to really hinder the ignition. The only way your alternator is affected is when it is trying to charge the battery when driving and you see your lights dimming. That means that it can't put out enough power for your electrical system. The stock alt's on civic I believe put out 40 or 80 amps... That's not a lot. You do not need to get a high output alternator though because you aren't trying to power a massive sound system. What I would personally recommend is getting an Optima yellow top deep cycle battery. They are very good batteries for car audio and they replace your main battery. They put out much more power and don't put stress on your alternator. It's a good investment even though you just bought a new battery. A capacitor doesn't do much. They aren't very reliable in my opinion. They only put out so much power and don't really help most of the time. Also, doing the big 3 is extremely helpful when having a sound system. The big 3 is where you replace all your positive and negative wires from your battery and alternator with 0 gauge so that the electrical current can flow at full capacity. That is one of the best modifications you can do to your cars electrical system. Here is how to do that: http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152355 Any more questions, feel free to post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kastigir Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Stock Honda alternators should be pushing 60 amps. A capacitor will not help as it's only a bandaid for an existing electrical problem. Hooking the remote wire up properly to the remote out on the head unit is a good start. Having your starting and charging system tested will also rule out any specific problems there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dankel47 Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Thanks a lot everybody for the help, I will try to get my starter tested as soon as I have a chance. I am also looking into doing the big 3 but as easy as it may seem I don't think I am even capable of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarthos Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Capacitors are crap, get a second battery. Kinetik HC600 or HC800 on ebay is better and probably cheaper. Like WAY better, beyond comparison lol. Big three is extremely easy. And if you can't do it, just buy the wire use knukonceptz.com and buy 0 gauge power wire or ebay has cheap 1/0 gauge wire. Don't buy from a car audio shop, you get raped on the price. A volt meter would help diagnose the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dankel47 Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 I was just wondering would it be pointless to have a better battery put in without doing the big 3 upgrade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamEj6 Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 its probably just draining your battery while the car is off and sitting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphries Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 install a switch to disconnect the amp connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slosol Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 just wire your remote wire to the red 12v ignition wire in your radio harness. that way when the key is off, the amp is off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staninator Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 just wire your remote wire to the red 12v ignition wire in your radio harness. that way when the key is off, the amp is off The remote wire on the amp should be connected to the remote wire in the HU(Head Unit) harness. It is usually a blue wire. All you do is strip the wire on the harness, solder the remote wire onto the harness wire and use electrical tape or heat shrink tubing to seal it up. This will turn the amplifier on and off via the HU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OTiS Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 isnt it usually labled as the p.cont wire? so you run the wire from the amp labled remote to the p.cont wire and it is turned on and off when the hu is correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staninator Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 isnt it usually labled as the p.cont wire? so you run the wire from the amp labled remote to the p.cont wire and it is turned on and off when the hu is correct? Yes that is the purpose of the remote wire. The amplifier will not turn on unless the HU is on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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