[Halfy]

Alright so here's the deal.

I drive a 1998 Ford Escort ZX2. In this car I have a 45 watt x 4 channel head unit, as well as an 1800 watt amp(although the way it is wired it should only be pushing around 1300 watts max).

This is close to the same setup I had in my first vehicle (a 1988 Ford Bronco XLT). The only difference is that the Bronco had another 280 watt amplifier and didn't use the head unit power.

So anyways, recently I was at a friends house and was getting ready to head home. I turn the key to my car and *click*. Turn it again - *click*. So I get a jump, and drive down towards my house. The entire way my speakers are all going as usual and I don't notice a problem. I get to a gas station near my house(after this I had been driving for about 20 minutes), get some gas, go to leave, and again - *click*. I get a jump, and head home.

So I wasn't sure if the issue was a bad alternator or the battery just wouldn't hold a charge anymore. We ripped the battery out of my truck(a bit larger but it fit) and put it in place, and at the same time replaced the alternator with another stock one off of a different 98 Escort. My question is this: could my head unit + amp be drawing too much power and causing too much strain on my alternator, and therefore be the reason I had this problem? I noticed the lights dim when the bass hits, but that always happened in my truck too. I've read though that large vehicles generally have alternators that put out more power then normal sedan alternators.

TL;DR: Can having an audio system that is too powerful for my car cause damage to the alternator and/or battery?

[becky7234]

Originally Posted by Halfy

Alright so here's the deal.

I drive a 1998 Ford Escort ZX2. In this car I have a 45 watt x 4 channel head unit, as well as an 1800 watt amp(although the way it is wired it should only be pushing around 1300 watts max).

This is close to the same setup I had in my first vehicle (a 1988 Ford Bronco XLT). The only difference is that the Bronco had another 280 watt amplifier and didn't use the head unit power.

So anyways, recently I was at a friends house and was getting ready to head home. I turn the key to my car and *click*. Turn it again - *click*. So I get a jump, and drive down towards my house. The entire way my speakers are all going as usual and I don't notice a problem. I get to a gas station near my house(after this I had been driving for about 20 minutes), get some gas, go to leave, and again - *click*. I get a jump, and head home.

So I wasn't sure if the issue was a bad alternator or the battery just wouldn't hold a charge anymore. We ripped the battery out of my truck(a bit larger but it fit) and put it in place, and at the same time replaced the alternator with another stock one off of a different 98 Escort. My question is this: could my head unit + amp be drawing too much power and causing too much strain on my alternator, and therefore be the reason I had this problem? I noticed the lights dim when the bass hits, but that always happened in my truck too. I've read though that large vehicles generally have alternators that put out more power then normal sedan alternators.

TL;DR: Can having an audio system that is too powerful for my car cause damage to the alternator and/or battery?

BIGGER ALTERNATOR Dad says.

[djmattcsc]

lol i had the very same problem once when i wired the remote wire on the amp i accidentally connected it to a constant wire on the car which meant the amp was on all the time so it killed the battery check that to see if the amp is still on when you turn the car on if the amp stays on then thats ur problem if not then its probably your alternator hope this helped!

[Halfy]

Originally Posted by becky7234

BIGGER ALTERNATOR Dad says.

I was afraid you'd say that. I'm a poor college student

I'll look into it though. Replacing mine today wasn't too bad and now that I've done it once it should be even easier. I spent most of my time just trying to get the belt off