there is a loud weene sound comming from my alternator when i am running my stereo. i have a high power amp in there and its cutting out all the time and my dash lights seem to be flickering an awful lot. i have narrowed it down to the alternator because i have checked everything and i dont think its putting out enough amperage to keep my stuff running right and keep them A ok. any suggestions on a good alternator via ebay or another website? i found mr alternator from the forum search but i would like to know if anyone has had the same problem and/or has a high output alt and is doing ok with it. if i gotta buy one i gotta buy one but id like some suggestions and input from other ranger owners first. my friend at work says its prob the alt as well and hes the manager of mobile audio and has been so for about 15 years now..so i trust his advice when he says the stock ranger alt sucks ***. anywho any input is nice. thanks in advance.
josh

 

dude if you got alternator whine (whine that increases as the car's RPM's increase), the noise is usually the result of a voltage differential created by more than one ground path or a poor ground path. i'd check your ground on your amp.. make sure it's grounded to metal in a clean area, and try not to ground it where something from the factory has already been grounded.

as for the lights diming.. yes it may be because you're alternator is straining.. what kind of amp do you have??? what size wire are you running to it, etc.. let us know some info on your stuff, we'll help ya out.

as of right now though, i'd fix the alternator whine to get rid of the noise.. you can fix the dimming lights after that.

 

the whine goes away as my rpm increases, probably due to the alt pulley spinning faster and generating more volts. either way it needs to be fixed. i will prob go with the mr alternator 170amp. as for my audio setup i have a rockford punch 800 amp powerng infinity kappa perfect 6.5 components in front and 3 way kappa perfect 6x9 in the rear. i have a rockford punch 8002 amp powering 2 kappa perfect 10.1d in a mini box. im using a rockford 1200 watt amp wiring kit for both amps. it worked fine when i installed everything the first time but now its all starting to cut out. maybe the alt is really shot now or something...i dunno what the deal is but i need to fix it double asap.

 

also i just read what kind of setup you have for your system and are/were you having any probs like this or any problem at all with your system??

 

noise i have no problem with, at all. i was very cautious when it came to running my lines... my lights dim slightly when my system is peaking.

if you're going to get a new alternator, that might fix the light problem, but wont do anything for the noise! if the ground arent a problem, i'd look at your power wire for the amp, then look at the signal wires for the amp (remote turn on, rca's, etc.) make sure they arent near each other! they can easily pick up radiated noise, which you'll hear thru your system.


btw.. how far away are you from tempe? im here in tempe taking classes right now at mobile dynamics for car audio.

 

tempe is about 30 min maybe..im off 67th and bell rd up in glendale. im not hearing the noise through my system. its purely a whine from the alt itself. my system sounds really nice..when its all working properly..ive got all rockford wiring, rca, misc cables, speaker wire, etc. i will double check all my grounds and whatnot tomarrow after i get out of work. i might even have my friend check it out while im at work tomarrow. ill keep you posted.

 

yeah if you're hearing the whine while the stereo is off, then its a good possibility that the problem isnt something electrical... well, audio anyways. like you've already said.. get your friend, or anyone for that matter, and have them check out the alternator, test it and see how it's doing. if it looks to be fine, ask them what the hell it might be, lol. anyhow, best of luck to ya, and ill be looking around tomorrow for a response to this thread, hope it turns out well for ya!

 

yeah it still happens when my deck isnt on too. hmm that makes me wonder. well thanks man. where at in tempe are you??

 

why dont you invest in a capacitor? dont you know that wattage over 1000 nearly requires a capacitor? its actually best to put a cap. in around 800 watts. it may not fix the whine but it will take some strain off the battery and stop the dimming lights.

 

Is the whine coming through the speakers? The sound can still go through the system a little when it is off.
Disconnect your RCA's and see if it makes the noise still. If not, which it sounds like not, it is a power problem. See if any wires are crossing including remote and power and gound.
Also your first post said the speakers were cutting out. Is it just the subs or everything? If just the subs, check the wiring setup, them oms may be too low for the amp to handle and it would go in to protect at high volumes.

 

^^^yep...forgot about that one. when i first hooked up an amp to the stock head unit, i messed up the RCA adapter wiring and got horrible whining and the other speakers played at low volume (if at all) and the amped speakers at insane volumes.

check that your RCAs arent crossed. the back of my headunit is white and red and the wires are black and red. i had to double check a few times that the sub was hooked up right and then i kept the red to red from amp to head unit. all extra precautions.

 

i would never waste my money on a cap.. it's just another load on your battery and electrical system. they're definately not a must-have for an audio system if its built right. they're ok in certain ocassions and can and will sometimes cure the dimming of the lights.. but they're not necessary.

 

Big thick 1/0 gauge and a healthy battery is all you need. Never run any electronics without the motor running (You listening C? ) I push somewhere around 1200 watts RMS to all my speakers, and when the bass hits hard, it will lower my RPMS at idle just a hair. Lights may dim, but that's the price you pay for a very clean and direct route of power delivery. It's a different story at cruisng RPM's though...

 

I have a little over 1000rms and my lights dim at ANY rpm, I even tried it at 5000 the other day, the lights still dim enough to notice, but not major problem. I have 0/1g ran too, and direct ground to a YellowTop batt.

 

oh yeah, well the tach in my torino moves with the turn signal, so HA

 

by direct ground, you dont mean from the amp or whatever, all the way back into the engine bay and to the battery, right??? if so, why???

 

^^^yes, i have 4g ground direct from the sub amp to the ground on the battery. It is the most efficient way for the power to get to the amp, instead of traveling all the way through and body and other such parts back to the battery.

 

the closer the ground the better..

 

yeah running a ground directly to the battery wasnt necessary.. if anything, you've only increased your chances of picking up some radiated noise, or might even give you an unwanted voltage drop.. if it worked for you, lucky you i guess.. but to say that's the most efficient way isnt really true.. correctly grounding to your car somewhere close to the amp will be the easiest and safest way to connect a ground.

 

Doing it is the way to get the least radiated noise, none at all possible, because it's not touching or connected to any other electrical part at all. The voltage would be the highest doing this, in that it doesn't have to compete with other electrical devices' grounds going back to the battery.

Ask an audio expert about this, i want to see what they would say.

In my manual for my amp it even tells to do this. My friends have Honda's and the ground loops are insane, so they have to run a direct ground to get rid of the loops.
I know many people with really high power stereo systems, in excess of 2000 watts, that were professionally installed, and they ran direct grounds.