Battery ?'s and problem/Aftermarket head unit problem

[UrMyStlkAl]

Okay well I have the stereo and subs and crap out of my old car and they have been laying around so I wanna put them in. When I tried putting the HU in, if i turn the volume up about halfway the power to the radio gets cut out, then it comes back on in a couple seconds.

Now I believe that my battery is less than the stock standard is, someone told me that before but I don't see anywhere on the battery the rating it has, nor do I know the stock. I believe they said it was 500 something and this one is only 450 or something like that.

So that leads me to believe that if I got a stronger battery that I won't have this problem and I can put my stereo and subs and everything in and it be okay. Is that correct? Or do we not think it is a battery issue. If we do believe it is a battery, what kind would you guys suggest. Is a yellow top battery good or is that only good for leaving your radio on while your car is off. I want something that has good power. What do you guys think?

 

[1gTURD]

Does the head unit still have memory after it shuts off? If not your ground could be bad on the head unit itself. Also speaker wires could be crossing when you hit bumps. If you have aftermarket 6 x 9's in the back, take them out and make sure the terminals arent touching the body and grounding out. They can come really close to touching the body if they are any bigger than stock.(by bigger i mean depth). A weak battery / alternator can cause accessories to turn off or not work too but check and see if other accessories shut off like your head unit does. As far as what battery to get, it depends on how much power you are robbing from the battery to power the subs through the amp. if its not a giant amp or they arent giant subs, you shouldnt need a special battery, alternator, or capasitors really.

 

[tavas]

I had a similar problem with my car. We swere stuck in very slow moving traffic at night, in a hot and humid climate. So I was running air con, stereo and lights, all at idle speed on the motor (because we were just creeping along or stopped). What happened essentially is I drained the battery cos at low speed the alternator wasn't putting enough current out to accomodate the electrical demand. Consequently when I turned the car off I didn't get going again. my stereo was dropping in and out also, though I didn't notice any significant dimming of the headlights.

Imagine your battery is a bucket of water. If you drain too much out without putting enough in your bucket will empty (a flat battery). The drain is your electrical load, the top up is your alternator. Now, if your load (current draw) exceeds your alternator's rated output, then your battery will go flat. This is regardless of what voltage the alternator puts out (cos power = volts x amps). Buying a bigger battery just means your bucket is bigger, but will still drain if you're not putting enough current in.

Your alternator puts out say 90 amps. If you had no load on the battery then it wouold recieve the full 90 amps. But because you have lights, engine management, stereo etc the battery will only see whatever is left over. If the load is greater than the spare change, you won't be charging your battery.

Check your ground wires; you may have corroded terminals or the wire may be shitty, and maybe have an auto sparky check your alternator current output. Should take less than 1 hour and will let you know the state of your electrical system if you intend to upgrade your stereo or add more lights