Cloak is right about taking it in to a professional!! Otherwise the two wires you downgraded, you might need to put those back up to what they were!!! Other than that rechecking all connections, making sure you have solid grounds on all your grounds and that you have no open circuts that are touching at all!!!

 

While you're there getting your beefy alternator tested, test your battery as well... Most places should do that kind of thing for free...
If you make them remove the alternator for a bench test, you may get charged, though...

A cap is more of a band-aid than anything else... It may temporarily cover a problem, but that's about it..

Why did you downgrade your big 3 wires?

Having a high amp alternator will NOT damage your system... It doesn't put out 150amps all the time, it only supplies whatever is needed at the time, that's why they have a peak/constant rating, a lot like peak and RMS rating for your amps...

 

I had downgraded the cable from the alternator to the battery because a friend had told me that the larger the wire, the more power it would drain from the battery. You guys have told me to check my grounds and all, and I will do so, but I am starting to believe that my alternator is not suitable for all of the things that I have in the truck. I have quite some extras. That is why I had bought that Powermaster alternator in the first place. Now, the thing is, I had it installed, and it was not working properly. When I had that alternator installed, I had "the big 3". The voltage was pretty low. So then we tried a smaller wire, which is the one i have now, to see if it made a difference, and it was still the same. I have just gone on the Powermaster website, and I saw that the recommended gauge of wire for that alternator is 6 gauge. I hada 4 gauge from the alternator to the battery("big 3"). My question is, could the 4 gauge wire instead of the 6 gauge wire, have caused the high output alternator to give me a low voltage? What else could cause a high output alternator to react that way. I know high output alternators are very sensitive to rpms and pulley size. Should I put a smaller pulley on that alternator? I had thought this high output alternator was defective, but from reading a bit, I now see that there could be something that isn't right. I am going to call Powermaster and ask them for technical support, but what do you guys think.

 

what all are you running? the Leds inside and the cap and the amp? still should not be dimming that much if at all.

 

I have the 1200 wat amp, the cap, the 1200 watt Dual Subs with neon, the leds, the Optx LED tailgate light, and I also have some neons on the inside too. And I have some more extras planned for in the future.

 

Your friend is obviously not a 12-volt expert...

 

Im just gonna say it bluntly.....your friend is a friggin IDIOT and doesnt have a CLUE what he is talking about. Wire by itself doesnt drain power. It is the item connected on the other end that has the ability to drain power. Larger cable provides less resistance allowing the power to travel faster.


No, larger wire will not cause lower voltage. A bad ground at the battery can cause lower voltage. A bad battery can cause lower voltage.

 

First of all, you dont have a 1200watt amp or 1200watt subs. Your subs are probably 200 watts and your amp is probably making 400 at best...Secondly, you definitely don't have enough current draw to promote dimming or large voltage drops. I could run that setup off a 65amp alt no problem...So, I assure you you have a wiring problem. I would bet my money on either the amp wiring or Big 3. But there is a5% chance you have a faulty alterator, bad battery, or bad voltage regulator...But like I said, please have a 12volt expert diagnose your vehicles dimming problem....Until you have that done I really dont feel like helping you any further. My advice, along with Hillbilly and Bobditts, is valuable. And I would venture to guess they feel similar toward the situation...

 

I draw WAY more power than that with the stock alternator and none of my lights hit.

My sub draws 300W RMS when cranked (Amp is 350W RMS)

And when I turn on my 800 or so watts of lights, my needle barely moves, and never leaves the 14V line, unless I'm driving really slow and hit like 500 RPM, then it bogs down, but other than that, no issues...

That's also with the stock AC-Delco battery

The wire reccomendation of 6 guage is the minimum wire they need for optimum performance...

Ask your friend where his flux capacitor is wired in lol j/k

 

Ok, then I won't even bother with the high output alternator. I'm going to take it to a car audio place to get the sound system checked out, and if that doesn't solve it, I might just go back to the electrician I went to. The thing is, I had gone to that car electrician about a year ago for the same problem, and he had told me to get either a second battery or a high output alternator. The car electrician had also said that the system was quite a load, and that therefore I should consider a better alternator or a back-up battery. And btw, could you guys just go over "the big 3" again, just so I could put it all back together again? I believe its a 4 gauge from the positive on the battery to the back of the alternator, a 4 gauge from the negative on the battery to the chasis, and a 4 gauge from the negative on the battery to the alternator bracket. Am I correct?