Today after work, I went to a shop and had my battery hooked up and found out I have a bad alternator. With the AC and headlights on, the battery only puts out 12 volts instead of 14. That is with THE STEREO OFF. This sucks, so I go to the dealership and set an appointment and will have it checked out Monday morning. I told them about the stereo too, so that if they replace the bad alternator with a new one, then I won't have the same problems with the dimming headlights. I have no idea what kind of price quote I am going to get, but I am prepared for the worse! I imagine that the dealership will charge more for everything, but they said I would get money knocked off since my car is still under warranty. What do you guys think? I only have two amps, although one is in "High Current" mode since it is running 2 DVC subs at 1 ohm. How much do you think this is going to cost me?

Mister T

 

If you are going to have to pay for a new alternator, you might want to look into getting a more powerful one. SOem alternator shops can just rebuild yours to a stronger one or just buy a new one that is already more powerful.

 

I just want a price range on what it may cost so that if the dealership asks for too much then I can get it done by some one else. I will be in shock when they call me at work or page me on Monday!

Mister T

 

someone else may not be able to do it! The protege has this cool alternator that "talks" with the engine control cpu and the cpu then stores data, but it also controls the alternator. By my understanding half the hardware like the ICs are in the alternator, but the other half of this cpu regulated and controlled system resides within the cpu box, meaning you can't just drop any alternator into it. In turn- there is no "upgrade" alternator that mazda carries to just drop into the protege, so I am not sure your dealer/mazda will be able to do anything about it. Historically dealers are pretty famous for just telling folks that the excessive aftermarket drain they have installed in not honored by the warrenty, nor their responsibility. In actuality, the UCC states that aftermarket products like stereo does not void the warrenty unless it modifies the exsisting system in some fashon- a plug in product like stereo is alright, but double winding the alternator is a no no. I will be curious to hear what the dealer says anyway. 12 volts is within the specification range of the protege alternator. Alternators have an operating range, like 12 to 14.5 volts. The actual voltage it runs at is dependent on the useage load, ambient temperature, and RPM among others. It may not be a bad alternator at all, but the dealer should be able to tell for sure.
Let us all know what you find out!

 

I'll find something out on Monday probably around noonish. I will be ready for the shock of my life! Just hope that it's good news. Notice every time I think I am done, some thing happens? **** happens! I will be happy once I get every thing working that I already have! This thing is burning a hole in my pocket.

Michael

 

The dimming of the lights when the bass hits is progressively worse. It dims more noticeable and even can tell the interior lights are dimming.

michael

 

I can run my car all day and the moment I start listening to music loud, the dimming starts. I don't live far from work so it's not like I am listening to music really loud for long sessions. This sucks! In my 91 base model Eclipse, I had manual windows (hence a small alternator) and didn't have the **** to deal with. I ended up getting a bigger battery after the one with the car died on me (from being old maybe), but the cap and the wiring, which is identical to what I have in this car, did the trick. I could crank the **** up LOUD and not even a hint of dimming. I wonder if the cap crapped out!

Michael

 

I went to the battery shop that I told you back a few weeks ago. I already have an appointment at the dealership for Monday, so they will test both the battery and alternator with the stereo on and off. I hope I just need a battery that is a little bit bigger to fix the problem. I put my tongue on the stiffening cap, and it's charged!!! I won't be able to taste any thing for a couple of weeks, so that can't be the problem No seriously, I hope my cap hasn't crapped!! How do you know so much about the sub boxes down to the 100th hertz? Damn Blue, you got it down to a science or you have some program that configures it all out. I took a little test drive and popped in an old bass CD from my early 20's and really am liking the EDesign subs! The "K" stands for Kick ***! Maybe I won't deal with building a new box until later. I almost wonder though, if I had it built to their specs on their website, it it would make that much of a difference. Too bad I can't throw some glue and carpet the box black. Someone did come up with an idea, get a small piece of wood, carpet it, and cut 12" holes in it to go over the prefab box making the trunk look like a large box, but I need some real estate for groceries. That is the only grip of those subs. The rubber surrounds are HUGE (like the JL W6s) that you can't buy speaker grills to protect them from flying milk cartons. I do have a cargo net, but can't fit much in there. Thanks for the info.

Michael

 

Speaking of Batteries...

IS there any issues in using a Blue-top versus a Red-top? The Blue is simply a red-top built for Marine applications. Spec wise they are the same. The Blue would match my color scheme better. Or I can go with another brand and build some type of custom cover for the battery.

 

I got no where with the dealership on the alternator and voltage drops. They told me that the battery and alternator check out fine. I asked them about my stereo and what the recommend, but got a stupid response after leaving the **** there all day! I was told in a previous post that Proteges' do operate at around 12 volts. Is that the case? Also, my Soundstream amp is rated 1/3 the power at 12 volts versus 14.4 volts. For example, the Class A3.0 <small one> is rated at 25 wattsx2@12 volts and 75 wattsx2 @ 14.4 volts. I didn't have the dimming of lights problem in my previous Eclipse and volumewise, it sounds the same as it does in this car. What should I do get a bigger battery or shell out big bucks on a larger alternator (or have mine rewired)?

Mister T

 

perhaps you could try to narrow it down a little. Try taking the cap out of the loop to see if the cap is in any way causing a problem. Then you can disconnect the battery with the car running to see if the alternator is the problem. Maybe try running some bigger/better grounds to the chassis and alternator. Hell, maybe just getting a new battery will help. I wish I could help you more.

 

Just curious, but how could the cap be the problem if I disconnected it. I would be afraid of the amp sucking some serious juice. I am wondering if a 1991 Eclipse (base model) has a bigger alternator than the Protege since I have the same setup (minus the subs, but still had DVCs at the time at the same impedence) as I have now. How much is getting the factory one re-wired to handle a little more? Is that a few hundred bucks? Have your ED's come in yet? These things kick ***! My sub has a subsonic filter and can cut frequencies that are low to the sub and boost frequencies that are slightly higher increasing the sound by as much as 5dBs. I played with it some and man that thing hits harder than before!!! Any louder and it would be purely obnoxious! I am talking LOUD too! I have got to get that thing measured <SPL> and see what those bad boys are putting out! The thing of it is, is that they are the perfect sub. They sound good with jazz music, heavy rock, metal, rap, and bass CDs. It's like no matter what you throw at them, they take it and slap it back at you! I can start charging people for back massages and throw in a pair of ear plugs. I never thought 12s could sound that loud in a sedan. I can't imagine how it would have sounded in my old Eclipse (hatchback). Skull crushin' bass! I am no bass head, but these are the ****!

 

Do you have weekends off or are you on duty? I work Monday through Friday, the first time in years of having a normal work week. Last year for example, was the first Christmas I had off in 5-6 years. I didn't know what to do with myself.

Mister T

 

A nice quiet neighborhood!! I used to live in North Charleston and some times it sounded like the c-17s were going to land on your house!!! It's probably less active since the war is supposably over in Iraq. I say that because the bastards keep ambushing us. "No we don't like Americans! They liberate us from bad man and let us live as we wish. So get out and let us kill ourselves!" They might as well say that. One minute they love us and the next they don't. Hope I don't offend any one with this post.

Mister T

 

Activity hasn't lessened, its just the local training missions that have, though those are starting to pick up. After the war was done, Charleston AFB set two base records on tonnage moved in 24 hours. Something like 720 short tons the first time, and then one week later, 820 short tons. This is the busiest we have ever been.

Btw, for the alternator, I had it go bad on my last car, and when it did, everything started dying in the car, until the battery couldn't carry the load anymore. So likely not the alternator. Not much help, i know