my battery has run at 17 since before I even got a system its aways at 17 so that doesnt bother me, considering its never messed anything up before.. just the dropping bothers me.. i think i need to get a bigger amp battery my battery is at 675 cca i think i need to get a bigger one, me and my dad looked at it and we think if we put a battery in with a bigger cca that it should work, the alternator is doing fine though.

ive got a diehard gold and regularly forget to turn off my radar detector (hard wired) and ill leave it for a week and come out and the car is at 11 volts still. but its low voltage and no amps. before you dump $125 on 200 ish extra cca'* id get a volt meter from autozone that goes in the lighter.

what your car is doing sounds like either the regulator or the alt just isnt big enough. (im guessing regulator) ideally you want your car to be able to sustain itself on just the alt while its running. when its relying on the battery the alt is running alot more, meaning less horsepower and premature wear on the alt. personally, id go to autozone and get everything load tested before you dump money into the car, to make sure the charging system is up to par. just my opinion though.

good luck!

Use a multimeter if you don't trust your gauge on the dash, seems you have similar problems, maybe these models are prone to this fault?.

i didnt have any issues with it until i set that new amp up, which is why im thinking since this amp draws more power my battery isn't suitable for the load I have. My buddy keeps insisting I get a capacitor he says that fixed his dimming issues. Either that or get a battery suited for car audio. I could have autozone or someone test it though just to see whats up.

Two reccomendations only two ill use.....Interstate battery or optima red/yellow top but thats if u have that kind of cash for a battery....

interstates are definitely good, had one for about 10 yrs in my bonny, and two in my work F550 and that starts in the winter after sitting all weekend without being plugged in.

i think 675 is small for that car anyway, plus your extra demands you really need to upgrade

We've been concentrating on caps and batteries, but what wire are you using? The reason I ask is I seriously overspent on the wiring kit etc that I used. Yet on a 4gauge I'm running the 5 channel amp pushing all 4 speakers and subwoofer to volumes that make my ears bleed without a bit of dimming or flickering with the bass.

I know I spent a ton, but got some pretty super chunk skippy wire. Your issue may be the total draw due to the wire based on resistance etc and not necessarily that your battery doesn't have enough power for your amp.

The battery doesn't need to be bigger than the requirements of the starter, the alternator need to keep up with electrical demands.
If you want to park up and listen to your sounds for a long while it may be worth installing a leisure battery properly wired in to save the main battery.

The amp has nothing to do with it. I have two of the older versions of those amps and I have absolutely no power draw under idle. There'* something else wrong.

Also, tell your buddy to stop giving you advice about caps. As I described in very full detail in your previous thread, caps are a waste of time and money and are useless in mobile audio. If you need more power and/or more stability, add a second battery, even if its a small gokart battery.

This is the truth. Your battery is there to do one thing: crank your engine over. After the car is started, your electricity comes from the alternator. If your alternator or regulator is having issues, you will experience voltage drops or peaks that are unnatural. In addition, corroded engine bay power wiring will also lead to a similar problem. My suggestion is that you replace all of the "Big 3" (or 4 or 5) in your engine bay as soon as possible. Factory wiring is pitiful to say the least even for a factory system, but especially if it is getting corroded and not making a good contact.