Sound Sytem Kills Alternator?

Can a sound system do damage to a alternator?

Ever since i installed my subs, by the end of a long day of non stop music, my alternator decided to give up on me.

I didnt think it would do any damage since it was a small 400watt system, so i passed on a capacitor setup.


Then all of a sudden, i started driving and all the lights started dimming then the car dies. I get a jump start, and drive for a block and same shit happens.


It couldnt be my batt, cause i just picked up a new one about 1-2months ago.

This never happend before i got my subs, so my guess is the amp put too much stress on it.


This did how ever, happend before to me in my 240sx. But i didnt have any subs, just drove it so hard then some how the alternator died...I dont think i have  any luck with alternators.


But yeah, back to the question. Is it possible? AND what can i do to prevent it from happening in the future.


Thanks


P.S.
Its a 98 Q45t, and 2x JL w1v2 subs and a JL e1400 amp. If that matters.

its just a coincidence, or maybe even a bad ground.

try upgrading your factory ground wires to a larger size and see if that helps.

Im going to mess with the grounds a lil today.

The last time this happend on my 240 is was a ground wire.


But i have no idea wtf im doing with the VH, hope i even find the alternator. haha

Il let you guys know what happens.

Thanks

Faulty wiring?

That was my guess, i cleaned up the terminal connectors ect today and the car ran fine.

I did how ever gave the batt a full charge first.

But i dont know if its the batt with the help of the little power thats left of the alt thats driving it, untill the batt is drained once more time and the alt is on its own.


Let me ask this tho, for alternators. Can they become weak? Or its alive or dead no "barely hanging on" type of problem.

Alternators can start to loose their charging abilities over time. I have to agree with BLACKonBLACK98 on this one and just say that its a coincidence if it is the alternator thats bad. Have you tried disconnecting/unistalling the components to see if you can eliminate the problem if it is associated with the install? All you have to do is check it voltage with a multimeter. Doesn't matter where but before you check the voltage I'd disconnect the power wire to your amp at the battery and it should be anywhere between 13.5-14.8 with the car running. If its lower than that its the alternator. If your profile is correct I remember doing one a few years ago on a car like yours and it wasn't fun at all!!! Good luck.

Yeah, i disconnected my amp the night my car started acting up.


"If your profile is correct I remember doing one a few years ago on a car like yours and it wasn't fun at all!!!"

What do you mean by that? haha.

To check if your alternator is the problem, and to see if it's doing it's job, conduct a simple test. Start the car, pull off the ground wire on the battery. If the car dies, your alternator is not putting out enough amps and is dying or dead already.

That rules out the alternator for sure. 

Due to u putting in the system, had you had a weak alternator, the increased power draw could have drained your battery faster than the alternator was recharging it. 

Bad ground/wiring would also cause the battery not to be able to charge. 

So, run that test, if it's ok, and it's still acting up, start looking into wiring/battery. And yes, your battery can be bad even though it's only 2 months old.

[quote=Caoboy;108298]To check if your alternator is the problem, and to see if it's doing it's job, conduct a simple test. Start the car, pull off the ground wire on the battery. If the car dies, your alternator is not putting out enough amps and is dying or dead already.[/quote]
+1

i killed an alternator by playing video games in my car after i turned off the engine

[quote=Caoboy;108298]To check if your alternator is the problem, and to see if it's doing it's job, conduct a simple test. Start the car, pull off the ground wire on the battery. If the car dies, your alternator is not putting out enough amps and is dying or dead already.
 
That rules out the alternator for sure. 
 
[/quote]
 
This test isn't applicable with vehicles with more modern electrical systems especially Asian made cars. The battery is needed in most cases to help stabilize and support the charging system while the car is on. Once you pull the ground wire off the battery the car will most likely drop in rpms and then eventually cut off. Unless you have a high-output alternator this isn't the correct way to check it.
 
Oh yeah, my comment was about an alternator I did on a 97-98 Q and I believe I had to drop the compressor to get it out. Could be wrong it was a few years ago.

Ohh, yeah. The alt looks like a bitch to uninstall.

And thats what i was thinking, cause when the batt was dead, the car ran and then started droping rpms then just dies.

I had a feeling the newer cars ran diffrent then my 240sx so i didnt really think about doing the "pull the ground" trick to see.

Im going to go at it with the multimeter.


Thanks every one for the help, if the multimeter dosnt help because of a bad ground.

I will make a new ground, if that dosnt help, i will start removing the alternator and put it on a test bench i have at my work to see if it can still put out full 110amps.

[quote=G33kY97;108342]i killed an alternator by playing video games in my car after i turned off the engine[/quote]
interesting since your alternator only works when the engine is running.

is it some kind of new design? space age maybe?

[quote=Yokotas13;108568]interesting since your alternator only works when the engine is running.

is it some kind of new design? space age maybe?[/quote]

ZING!

haha, damn.

But yeah, got my alternator tested. On start up, it runs perfect, wait a few secs the alternator starts to get weaker, but by a couple of volts.

Then i get a call at work one day, a customer telling me how his car lights just suddenly died. The day his car died on start up was about the same time as me, when the weather around here was around 35*F and we got our batts from the same place.

The place we got our batts from turns out to rebuild their batts, and alot of local mechs say that their batts are bad and seems to go bad around cold weather.

He also did the alternator test, even disconnected the batt and the car still ran...

Im going to put some money into a optima and see if that will fix things first since i need one anyways, THEN i will uninstall the alternator and bench test it to make sure it aint the grounds, i might even install new grounds if thats the case.

Turns out my voltage regulator on the alternator is having problems. Theres my problem.

[QUOTE=Yokotas13;108568]interesting since your alternator only works when the engine is running.

is it some kind of new design? space age maybe?[/QUOTE]

LMAO

When I had a sytem in an previous car, it was suggested getting a higher strength alternator and or buying a capacitor.....Been a long time so I don't remember the sizing.