When I turn the turn signal on my voltage meter jumps in tune to the blinker, somwhere around the 12 volt mark. While driving the meter reads probably somehwhere around 12.5-13 volts, but nowhere near 14. The alternator is putting out at least 13.8-9 volts, it's brand new and I have tested it.

Would like to install a new stereo with amps soon, but I am worried that it's going to suck power similar to the blinker...could the problem I have described be a battery going bad, bad battery cables, or something similar?

Right on-

 

Your car is 17 years old, it's bound to have corroded connections somewhere. Trace the circuit to find em. Clean and improve connection quality and it'll work wonders.

Okay. Let's start at the + battery terminal. White powder? too much grease? Clean her up, remove the connection and shine it up with a wire brush or a knife. (Careful, don't remove too much material. The terminal is tapered to match the connector.) Put it back on tightly and cover with a light coat of grease or petroleum jelly to deter water and future corrosion.

Moving down the wire we get to the fusible links. Again, scrape any connctions with a knife till you see shiny metal. Make sure screw type connections are tight. Di-electric grease helps with these smaller connections.

Any harnesses along the way, Take apart, check for corrosion. Small screw drivers and dental tools work nicely tor those little pins inside the plastic hoods. It's ahrd to get grease in there, so WD-40 is your friend. Reconnect and if you can, wrap them in plastic to keep water out.

Switches are some fo the hardest things to clean. The ignition switch is a key point. (No pun intended.) Use contact cleaner and shoot it in the switch itself, not the key hole. (Take apart the steering column covers to get at the switch. Contact cleaner may be sold as tuner cleaner/lubricant in old TV repair shops. Remember the rotary tuners for VHF/UHF?) After squirting the cleaner in, put the key in and turn back and forth a few times to break up dirt in the switch.

Grounds are like any other connection, Make sure everything has a good ground to the chasis. Paint is not a conductor and therefore any grounds you make should be screwed into a non grounded part of the chasis. Look for a bolt that is used for holding something else down. (That is mainly for when you install your new stereo.) An extra ground between the engine block or alternator, to the chasis or direct to the - battery terminal sometimes helps the car's electrical system. Use heavy gauge wire for this. It may even improve your engine performance by improving spark efficiency.

Battery cables are cheap. If you have any doubt about them, replace them. You can tell they are bad if you see many fraying strands, can't get them on tight, no matter how much you crank the bolt, or if they are heavily corroded.

Good luck

 

Mine does the same with the turn signal- I wouldn't worry about it.

When driving I see about 14 volts, when stopped about 12.5-13. Mind you, I've added a second ground cable to the motor. Before that, I was seeing around 13. I highly recommend the additional ground.

I have an electric fan (big amperage draw), as well as a 5 channel Alpine amp running 4 speakers and a 10" JL. This setup is fine for power.

I used to run a 4 channel amp powering my speakers, and a Rockford amp to my JL 12". I think the sub power may have been clipping a bit, but it was good enough for 140 decibels hehe. It was truly ******* loud.

If you have a really big stereo in mind, maybe run a second gen alternator (bolts right up apparently - might need different spacer) and a stiffening cap.

 

Pele-
Thanks for the thourough repsonse...I'm pretty sure the battery cables aren't corroded, though they do have a lot of extra grease on the terminals...I'll clean em up and start the path of wire cleansing...I recently replaced my combo switch (headlight/turn/blink/cruise/wiper) so I've got contact cleaner, dielectric grease, and compressed air a plenty. I may also try the extra ground, sounds like it couldn't hurt. As soon as I get a free weekend...

Silver-
Nothing too big a stereo, so I'm hoping the stock amp will keep pace. I was going to install a system very similar to yours, a 5 channel amp power components up front, coaxial in the rear and a JL sub built in the driver side storage bin. Where did you put your sub, and what power is your amp? Any tips, tricks, advice or pics?

Right on-

 

good pointers. i will do the same.

 

I have an Alpine Flex 5, it's one of the cheaper ones not the V12. It's 30x2, 40x2, and 100 for the sub, all RMS Small amp, but it does the job. It's hidden in one of the storage boxes. I love it since you can hide all the wires easily.

Deck is the JVC Kameleon, decent sound and good eye candy at night.

I'm running Infiniti coaxials in the stock front location - 4" speakers suck IMO, and next year I may try to find some kick panels that work, or maybe just cut holes in the doors.

I stuffed some Alpine 6x9s in the stock rear speaker holes. You have to cut holes in the plastic trim pieces that cover the speaker holes, and mount the speakers shallow (cause the hole isn't too deep), but it's worth it. It looks nice when finished.

As for the sub, it's just in a box for now. I like to be able to take it out when I want to drive hard. Actually I rarely have it in the car anymore. I'm trying to decide whether I want to give up the utility of my remaining storage compartment and make a new box to fit.

Good luck!

 

mine does that too. i wouldn't worry.

although, i think i'm gonna put an extra ground on the engine just for the hell of it.

 

You could check your turn signal relays. Sometimes when they're going bad they start doing that...But not always...So check also what everyone else had mentioned....