HELP!! Weird voltage Issues

[Jd377 6]

Ok so I installed my Stinger voltmeter last week and tuned it or whatever with my multimeter and it works perfect,.. but now that I can watch my voltage.. it is weird.

Sometimes when I am driving it goes below 12v.. this is even if my head-unit is off, no windsheild wipers, no headlights no ac.. nothing on just driving and it randomly went to like 11.6 even.. I have figured out my "normal" voltage when driving is usually 12.5-12.7v... like that's what it stays at most of the time.. but when im driving I notice it is randomly at like 11.9 then later its like 11.6 and its for like 5-10 mins sometimes and then sometimes it goes back to like 12.2 or 12.5 and just fluctuates a lot..

BUT i know you shouldn't even use your subs if the voltage is below 12v.. so ... I cant even turn on music sometimes when im driving cuz its below 12 even just driving.. and its not only at stoplights.. sometimes at stoplights, sometimes crusin 45 local and sometimes going 75 on the highway..

What on earth would make it be so random all the time?.. I dont understand at all.. and sometimes when its like 12 i turn my music on a little it goes to like 12.3 but i know its working cuz if i crank it, it still goes down like normal and also cuz if I pull out the DMM and check batt or amp they all read same as the DVM..

and also.. randomly tonight it was like omg 14.3-14.4... and then back to 12.5... then like 2 mins later like 14.3 for 2 mins then back to 12.5..

IM SO CONFUSE PLEASE HELP IM HURTING MY BRAIN!!

-Jd

[thor02 2]

Do you have the power and ground wires for the voltmeter on solid connections? Where is the reading from?

[Sir-Lancelot 216]

Check your grounds and that everything is tight.

[CrazyKenKid 64]

first verify with a dmm your voltage (i know just for kicks do it please)

next check all ground connections

have you done the big 3

how old is your alt?

check your serpentine belt

next thing if all else fails pull your alt off and get it looked at ASAP

if this doesn't work so well switch batteries.. maybe your battery died or can't hold a voltage?

i don't know what to tell you man i hope you figure this out.

[djjdnap 78]

yea check at the batt that its 14v or so with the car on.

Then go back and check the inside meter.

If there's a difference u might have wired bad.

Other wise bad alt.

[Jd377 6]

They are ran directly to my amp, But im saying the voltmeter has to be right cuz if I pull over and get my Dmm out and check the amp it reads the exact same, and at my front batt it read maybe .1 or .2 higher.. but thats obviously because the amp might have .1 less than the front batt.

What would make my car be screwed on voltage.. like what voltage does the car die lol.. 11.5 driving with nothing on was making my heart race

[ssh 924]

I'd have the car idling and put a dmm directly on the battery posts on the main start battery, make sure that voltage is the same as your lcd meter is reading.

If it is, your stock alt sucks. Not a big surprise, temperature and rpm will cause it to fluctuate. There might be a possibility of your voltage regulator going bad if it sporadically goes up for a few minutes and goes back down with no heavy loads...

Mine as well just get a h/o alt instead of replacing with new stock alt...

Weren't you planning on getting a dc alt?

[bassahaulic 155]

A lot of new cars go in between 12v-14v as they drive depending on load.

[Jd377 6]

The voltage at my front battery is MAYBE .1 higher than the voltmeter... which means the whole car voltage is screwed, not my wiring of the amp..

My battery is BRAND new from 1 week ago PLUS i have fully charged it before install ( kinetik hc1400 )

At batt. its like 12.7v

Yes big 3 is done in 4awg 3 ground upgrade plus 1 alt to batt

Car is from 1997.. As far as i know its the original but not sure? Ive only owned car 2-3 yrs

[ssh 924]

The voltage at my front battery is MAYBE .1 higher than the voltmeter... which means the whole car voltage is screwed, not my wiring of the amp..

My battery is BRAND new from 1 week ago PLUS i have fully charged it before install ( kinetik hc1400 )

At batt. its like 12.7v

Yes big 3 is done in 4awg 3 ground upgrade plus 1 alt to batt

Car is from 1997.. As far as i know its the original but not sure? Ive only owned car 2-3 yrs

Resting voltage for battery?

Sounds like your stock alt is just old and worn, not working like it use to. Wear and Tear man.

[Jd377 6]

Well today is the first time it has EVER went 14.3.... It is always 12.7 max.. 12.8 if Jesus charges my battery for me.

It is always 12.6... llike normal and goes down to 11.6 - 12.3 for the whole ride to school/work each day..

I am planning on gettin a DC Pro 210 alt this friday anyway but didn't know if that would fix it or not..

btw when i get the new dc alt, is the regulator part of the alt? Im noob at alts.. ( so like if i get the DC alt, does it have a new regulator or whatever, that way its not the same as the one stock on this alt or would the regulator need to be purchased seperate if thats the problem..)

[Jd377 6]

If i get the charger out and 100% charge it and then check resting voltage of front batt its like 13.3ish.. but with car running my front batt is like 12.7-12.8

[ssh 924]

Well today is the first time it has EVER went 14.3.... It is always 12.7 max.. 12.8 if Jesus charges my battery for me.

It is always 12.6... llike normal and goes down to 11.6 - 12.3 for the whole ride to school/work each day..

I am planning on gettin a DC Pro 210 alt this friday anyway but didn't know if that would fix it or not..

btw when i get the new dc alt, is the regulator part of the alt? Im noob at alts.. ( so like if i get the DC alt, does it have a new regulator or whatever, that way its not the same as the one stock on this alt or would the regulator need to be purchased seperate if thats the problem..)

Just get the DC alt. It will fix all your problems. It's internally regulated, probably come with a bypass harness skipping the computers ecu.

It's simple to install and setup. It will come with everything you need.

[djjdnap 78]

yea bad alt.

i got a 98, gf has an 07 both voltage stays at 14v

yea only reason u haven't gotten stuck is cuz ur battery is new, otherwise i'd say

u'd goto start ur car and click, click

[ssh 924]

If i get the charger out and 100% charge it and then check resting voltage of front batt its like 13.3ish.. but with car running my front batt is like 12.7-12.8

Your stock alt isn't producing enough power to charge your battery(s) and run your electrical equipment, computer ecu, ac, lights, etc. So the battery has to kick in and help run everything, so it's slowly being discharged, and hardly/rarely being charged from the alt.

[Jd377 6]

ahh now we see why my other walmart batt. died last month.. even though it was only a year old!! LOL. GAY..

And yes I charge the new batt 1-3 times a week lol.. 3 times cuz im weird like that. every other day never hurts.. at least thats what I say.. And especially since the alts hardly charging it.

Hopefully the DC alt can get here in less than a week from order..

[Jd377 6]

While you are all here, Is it MANDATORY to upgrade my big 3 to 1/0 with the new alt?.. or will my 4awg be good enough for now.. I cant really afford the wires + alt atm.. barley the alt friday as is.. Just dont want it to be too much current and burn up my wires.

[ssh 924]

ahh now we see why my other walmart batt. died last month.. even though it was only a year old!! LOL. GAY..

And yes I charge the new batt 1-3 times a week lol.. 3 times cuz im weird like that. every other day never hurts.. at least thats what I say.. And especially since the alts hardly charging it.

Hopefully the DC alt can get here in less than a week from order..

Just keep charging your batteries until you get the DC alt in.

[ssh 924]

While you are all here, Is it MANDATORY to upgrade my big 3 to 1/0 with the new alt?.. or will my 4awg be good enough for now.. I cant really afford the wires + alt atm.. barley the alt friday as is.. Just dont want it to be too much current and burn up my wires.

Just use the 4gauge you got now, and later when you can afford it add some 1/0gauge.

4gauge wire can actually handle a few amount of amperage in short runs

[Jd377 6]

ahh now we see why my other walmart batt. died last month.. even though it was only a year old!! LOL. GAY..

And yes I charge the new batt 1-3 times a week lol.. 3 times cuz im weird like that. every other day never hurts.. at least thats what I say.. And especially since the alts hardly charging it.

Hopefully the DC alt can get here in less than a week from order..

Just keep charging your batteries until you get the DC alt in.

Will do for sure!!

do dc alts run voltage at like 14.4 or 14.8? it would be legit to sit that high instead of 12.7 I can only imagine!!

[Jd377 6]

While you are all here, Is it MANDATORY to upgrade my big 3 to 1/0 with the new alt?.. or will my 4awg be good enough for now.. I cant really afford the wires + alt atm.. barley the alt friday as is.. Just dont want it to be too much current and burn up my wires.

Just use the 4gauge you got now, and later when you can afford it add some 1/0gauge.

4gauge wire can actually handle a few amount of amperage in short runs

Ok awesome! Just wanted to make sure before I fried my car or something on accident! Ill def. replace with 1/0 soon after to provide better flow throughout my car.

[ssh 924]

ahh now we see why my other walmart batt. died last month.. even though it was only a year old!! LOL. GAY..

And yes I charge the new batt 1-3 times a week lol.. 3 times cuz im weird like that. every other day never hurts.. at least thats what I say.. And especially since the alts hardly charging it.

Hopefully the DC alt can get here in less than a week from order..

Just keep charging your batteries until you get the DC alt in.

Will do for sure!!

do dc alts run voltage at like 14.4 or 14.8? it would be legit to sit that high instead of 12.7 I can only imagine!!

It'll probably sit around 15v-15.5v depending on temp and what not. I know when it was cold in the morning mine would be around 15.5v, but even when it was hot, 100 degrees outside driving for a few hours AND a saz1500d at full tilt, my voltage was in the high 14s.

Obviously depends on which model you get, but you get the idea

[Jd377 6]

ahh now we see why my other walmart batt. died last month.. even though it was only a year old!! LOL. GAY..

And yes I charge the new batt 1-3 times a week lol.. 3 times cuz im weird like that. every other day never hurts.. at least thats what I say.. And especially since the alts hardly charging it.

Hopefully the DC alt can get here in less than a week from order..

Just keep charging your batteries until you get the DC alt in.

Will do for sure!!

do dc alts run voltage at like 14.4 or 14.8? it would be legit to sit that high instead of 12.7 I can only imagine!!

It'll probably sit around 15v-15.5v depending on temp and what not. I know when it was cold in the morning mine would be around 15.5v, but even when it was hot, 100 degrees outside driving for a few hours AND a saz1500d at full tilt, my voltage was in the high 14s.

Obviously depends on which model you get, but you get the idea

Holy grandma! 15v possibly!! NICE, I would love to sit in the 14's at full tilt ( PRO 210, 100 at idle ). I wanted to demo the other day after I installed the new batt and voltmeter in.. and I hit a 10.9.. EW turned off sub immediately and decided sub on "LOW" til new alt..

[ssh 924]

While you are all here, Is it MANDATORY to upgrade my big 3 to 1/0 with the new alt?.. or will my 4awg be good enough for now.. I cant really afford the wires + alt atm.. barley the alt friday as is.. Just dont want it to be too much current and burn up my wires.

Just use the 4gauge you got now, and later when you can afford it add some 1/0gauge.

4gauge wire can actually handle a few amount of amperage in short runs

Ok awesome! Just wanted to make sure before I fried my car or something on accident! Ill def. replace with 1/0 soon after to provide better flow throughout my car.

Yeah it's a good idea to use the bigger wire, less resistance. But a 2foot length of 4gauge can handle upwards of 250amps. So your short runs of 4gauge are already good enough for your current amp and what not.

[ssh 924]

ahh now we see why my other walmart batt. died last month.. even though it was only a year old!! LOL. GAY..

And yes I charge the new batt 1-3 times a week lol.. 3 times cuz im weird like that. every other day never hurts.. at least thats what I say.. And especially since the alts hardly charging it.

Hopefully the DC alt can get here in less than a week from order..

Just keep charging your batteries until you get the DC alt in.

Will do for sure!!

do dc alts run voltage at like 14.4 or 14.8? it would be legit to sit that high instead of 12.7 I can only imagine!!

It'll probably sit around 15v-15.5v depending on temp and what not. I know when it was cold in the morning mine would be around 15.5v, but even when it was hot, 100 degrees outside driving for a few hours AND a saz1500d at full tilt, my voltage was in the high 14s.

Obviously depends on which model you get, but you get the idea

Holy grandma! 15v possibly!! NICE, I would love to sit in the 14's at full tilt ( PRO 210, 100 at idle ). I wanted to demo the other day after I installed the new batt and voltmeter in.. and I hit a 10.9.. EW turned off sub immediately and decided sub on "LOW" til new alt..

11v is bad to me, even 12s don't make my day considering it's draining the battery lol.

In my last build I had a regular deep cycle starting battery and a dc alt, no extra batteries. Voltage was fine but I had some headlight dimming and people kept trying to tell me my alt was bad and I needed more batteries. Headlight dimming was caused by voltage fluctuation, from 15v to 14v (not bad). I was just planning on putting in some HIDs any ways... Nice thing about HIDs, they use a ballast and aren't affected by voltage fluctuation