What I have:
First off, I have a '00 Honda Civic LX.
Standard (Kirkland brand) battery,
.5 Farad Rockford Punch Cap,
12" Solobaric (400W RMS/800 Peak)
Pioneer Amp pusshing 780W Total (400W RMS).

Now my problem:
When the bass is kicking at full for no more than 10 minutes or so I get a feel of lag from the car as if I have a serious drain (possible lack of electrical power). Car is immediately fine once the system is turned off.

I have minimal headlight and dash dimming, I used a small alternator tester which returned an OK-Green. I also used a multi-meter to test at the battery end, returning this:

Car Idle (NO BASS/ Audio): 14.1V Stable
Car Idle (W/BASS Audio @ Full): 13.5 - 14V Variable

Testing at the Cap and Amp match up the same. I tried making a post in the regular forum and was suggested to post in here. I dont know much about this car since I just bought it, (my first honda), and from what someone told me.... Honda tends to make weaker alternators, and I should opt for an Optima battery (but I dont wanna go nutz on cash on a battery if I dont have to.. and first wanna see if a weaker battery is the problem!

Thank You in advance!

 

I dont know about yours but the 60 amp that comes OEM in a crx wasnt holding a thing.

I swapped mine or a 135amp alt and a yellow top.

Cost me 300 bucks but I now have a lot of power left over

 

also remember civic's are exactly super powerful, so any extra draw on the alternator is noticable. It can be as bad as turning on the AC

 

have you upgraded your grounds already? aka the "big 3 upgrade"? try replacing your grounds (battery ground, alternator ground, engine ground) with 4ga or if possible 2 or even 0 gauge. try these first if you haven't already, if it still doesnt improve, try upgrading the alt and the battery. but since you're only pushing 400watts, i dont think an alternator upgrade would be that significant, maybe a better battery.

 

Actually, not a bad idea at all. I think I will see about getting some 2 Gauge wire, which would make more sense. Yea, I dont plan to go any higher than 400 Watt RMS. I do think the battery is the problem. Do you know the difference between red and yellow top optima batterys?

Also, do you recommend a good "type" of wire for this wire replacement (or online store to check out)? Like, do they actually sell wire for this with premade leads to make life easy?

Thank YOU!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jaycapz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Actually, not a bad idea at all. I think I will see about getting some 2 Gauge wire, which would make more sense. Yea, I dont plan to go any higher than 400 Watt RMS. I do think the battery is the problem. Do you know the difference between red and yellow top optima batterys?

Also, do you recommend a good "type" of wire for this wire replacement (or online store to check out)? Like, do they actually sell wire for this with premade leads to make life easy?

Thank YOU!</TD></TR></TABLE>
redtop optimas are more for a very reliable cranking(starting) applications and overall good on your electrical system but just as good as the yellowtop.
yellowtop optimas are more for playing your system for long periods of time with the car OFF. you know, one of them parking lot sessions.

anyway as for wires, i assume you meant for ground wire replacement, any brand would do, it's only a matter of color preference i guess. i don't know of any other online stores but i've always been a fan of sounddomain.com. you can buy wires by the foot. they also sell ring terminals (lightning audios are the cheapest ones.) if i were you, check out the prices online first then drive down to your local stereo shops, i'd bet they might even sell it to you cheaper.

as for the premade, you might be talking about the ground wire kits, they're just overpriced and probably not even as good as a kit you put together yourself. anyway you'd only probably need like 3 or 4 feet of wires.

 

Oh so the yellow top has more reserve time on it? good stuff.

Also, I just need to let out a final b*tch on this ( being new to honda's ).

THE POWER with Air conditioning on, is like driving a go cart with a mobile home attached in 1st gear!

Ok, im done. lol