Amplifer Affects Car Battery Life??

Hi...

I bought my Swift VDi on August 2008.

I had a normal SONY HU with 4 blaupunkt speakers till May 2009. The battery and everything was perfect till then.

Then on May 2009, I bought a new blaupunkt 800W SubWoofer Bass Reflex box and a new Blaupunkt 2 channel amplifer.

Then since August 2009, Im watching that, when I use power windows or anything like interior bulb, the headlamps dim a bit, just like it happens in Hero Honda Bikes when you start the bike.

So, is it affecting the battery life and power ??

Or its just my battery, which I should get checked from Exide Guys ?

Well a slight dimming is normal - and I guess nothing to do with the HU or amps. Get the battery checked if it makes you comfortable.

Ok,will call Exide guys to check the fluids in there. Thanks Rohit pajji.

Soam, you have guessed the phenomenon right. There is  correlation between the battery and the music system.

Your music system specs are top-end. The setup certainly saps current from the battery. If you are using music for long time on battery alone, you would potentially drain battery enough to precipitate the situation you describe - A battery low on charge would have internal resistance increased, so if you load the battery more, it would respond by lowering terminal voltage - resulting in dimming of headlamps.

I recommend you use your music system mostly when the car engine is ON, so as not to drain the battery off. I recall here that our ICE legend Arun Dhawan uses his system ALWAYS with the car engine ON, even when the car is parked - because he has a 1000W setup in the car. Your setup is pretty close in wattage.

Also give enough opportunity to your battery to get charged again - looks like your commutes are short, and total use of car less, so the battery does not get a chance to replenish the charge lost. A long drive once in a while will keep it juiced.

And nothing wrong in getting the battery checked.

Is there any correlation with the gauge of the power wires used in linking the setup to the battery?

A 0.5 farad capacitor might also solve the issue(but expensive!).

If you put a big enough music system in a car it will be necessary to upgrade the alternator.  I don't know how powerful the music system has to get before this is needed with the Swift.  Other things that can be done to deal with power issues are installing a second battery and getting a big capacitor like Binoy mentioned.  I'm really not an expert on this, so I can't tell you what you need.  These are just some things that are commonly done with really powerful car audio systems.

Hi Mike,Krishnaji,

please inform,whether it is also ok for Soam to charge battery with electric car battery charger with cutoffs for 2 / 3 hours,instead of  "a long drive once in a while" (to save petrol) or "upgrade alternator" (cost ?) as suggested by you ?. Because, my son has a similar problem with his indica xeta 1.4 nov2006.a car battery charger costs only about rs.600. Thanks -JP

Hi...

I hardly ever used my Audio System on batttery alone.

I normally go out and then only its used, or else never.

I think, I should get it checked from Exide guys, since its already 1.3 years old now.

Soam no worry's buddy it is normal as i use power windows lights fluctuate little bit...no need to woory...enjoy your drive..

@JP -   No problems whatsoever in charging the battery through an external Battery charger provided that the charger is of proper rating and should be able to charge the battery effeciently. I'm using a seperate charger (at times not regularly) for charging battery in my Suzuki Esteem for the last one and half year and no problems till now.