HO Alternator Acceleration Spike: Cutting my Subs

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Ask Mechman if you can just run a new sense wire. Cheapest and easiest thing to do. It solved my overcharging issue when I just had one battery.

You don't have to rig it

 

[mc71]

Is yours 3-wire?

Because mine's 1-wire (self exciting). I don't think there is a sense wire.

 

[mc71]

Just a little update. Clearing out my PCM memory did wonders for stabilizing the "constantly changing" voltage problem....now it's much more centralized around 14.1-14.4 while driving. My car drives & shifts smoother & my subs sound startlingly more punchy & "confident" (& they sounded good before)....it's amazing this step isn't more of a standard practice with shops.

It didn't cure the 16+v spike when taking off though :-/ helped it, but my amps can still cut out.

If I'm very careful accelerating after a stop light, it might only go to 15+v, sometimes it'll stay in the 14's, but it still surges, as does my heater blower etc.

So still back to deciding on more batteries or new alt....

Or the slight thought I've had about "voltage stabilizers" (like the Pivot MegaRaizin & Sun Automobile's Hyper Voltage Stabilizer GT). There are lots of the same "snake oil" arguments online as w car audio caps (but surprisingly more non-sketchy looking articles saying they can actually help MPG's & HP, which is what most people seem to want them for).

I just want my voltage smoothed out.

Thanks again for the help & comments so far.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

Is yours 3-wire?Because mine's 1-wire (self exciting). I don't think there is a sense wire.

Nope, mine is one wire.

Contact Mechman and ask, seriously

 

[mc71]

Ah ok, well called Mechman & they didn't think the sense idea would do anything because "everything's happening internally" (it's also not actually a self-exciting alt).

There was a "Ford guy" at Mechman when I called, the guy on phone was talking with & it just seems to come down to my car's idle speed (about 900RPM....needle touches bottom of the 1k line) isn't keeping the alt on.

The suggestion of contacting higher-performance shops about tweaking the PCM for higher idle was pretty much the only possible idea.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

That's a terrible excuse from mechman. Get rid of it and get a DC Power or Singer.

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

If you can return it, return it.