voltage stabilizer

[austinasto]

hey i have a raizin voltage stabilizer. and i was wondering where else could i ground the engine wires other than the intake manifold because its plastic. could i ground to exhaust side instead?

[CadenceScion]

Voltage Stabilizers are worthless on the tC's, won't do much of anything for you. Same applies to all performance chips = waste of money!

[navylife59]

I am with Cadence on this one. There is not reason or need to upgrade the grounds on the tC, save for, an upgraded audio system like adding a sub. One thing to note is that there is not much headroom to add much more of a load to OEM circuits.
You should read this post, http://www.club-tc.com/forums/engine...tabilizer.html

[CadenceScion]

I have a very loud and very demanding sound system, but I have no need for a voltage stabilizer. The only downfall is the OEM alternator doesn't supply enough power to my system that is over 3000 watts, so an alternator overhaul or a respun would be needed. I use two batteries (Kinetik), one under the hood and one in my rear hatch and a 5 farad capacitor (PowerAcoustik) to supply power and maintain current.

[navylife59]

For the layman, are we talking about an upgraded grounding system or a voltage stabilizer? With your 5 F capacitor, you already have a voltage stabilizer. Save for the Jacob Electronics piece that I spoke of in the other thread, voltage stabilizers on the market are just a couple of 1/8 up to 1/4 Farad capacitors in parallel with maybe some load resistors to control discharge rates. The grounding kits are nothing more than heavy gauge cables and high current lugs. You can use 4Ga car audio power cables and make your own grounds.

With a high amperage draw sound system, it is beneficial to upgrade the chassis ground at the battery. This should be the same size as the +12VDC lead for the dedicated amplifiers, additional to the OEM ground. I like to upgrade the ground from the battery to the motor block. The OEM ground should be sufficient for the stock alternator under normal loading but it is not known if there is enough current headroom in the stock ground cable for the alternator under a full, extended load. An upgraded alternator will required a larger gauge cable. The Stiffening capacitors should have the same gauge wire going to ground as the +12VDC lead.

FYI: For those that don't know about Stiffening Capacitors, read here.

Cadence, How do you have your primary and secondary battery connected? Are they isolated? There are some pitfalls to running dual batteries.

[CadenceScion]

All I know is I have one Kinetik under the hood and another Kinetik in the rear hatch. My buddy that I mentioned to you prior did the install, so I am not totally sure how everything is wired. I leave that stuff to him, since that is his major and expertise. All I can tell you is I have never had any failures, although the OEM alternator still needs to be respun, which my buddy knows of someone in Groton, NY who can do that. I also read up on this problem on another Scion related website and they said not to run an alternator w/ no more than 200 amps, our electrical system isn't designed to handle it. On another note I have had my sound system metered several times and I am consistent at 138-139dB's on my buddies Term Lab SPL Meter. I was also metered last year at a car show in Corning, NY and managed a 142dB in my class and won a 1st place trophy. Not all SPL meter's are the same, most of them require frequent calibration for them to be considered accurate and can cost approx $2,500 or more to buy.

[navylife59]

Your bud should have you covered then. Sometimes 2 batteries present too much of a charging load to an OEM alternator like an older GM product. The other aspect about dual batteries is that they will naturally drain upon themselves if there is any voltage differential between them. With remote battery locations, you have to figure the voltage drop of the power lead. The longer the cable, the more the resistance, and thusly a voltage drop. This is overcome with a larger gauge cable. As your batteries age, they may differentiate in stored voltage so you have to watch out if your car ever sets up for more than a few days if the batteries are not isolated.