Is my Amp Draining My Battery?

Question

Sometimes I start my car and it dosent have enought juice to turn over.

How much juice do AMPS Consume when the stereo is off (car parked overnight with amp switched on but not driven)

Also, If Running at a Fairly High Volume, a 10" Infinity Subwoofer for 10 Minutes, is that enough of a battery drain to cause a severe drop in power?

Answer 1

the amp should turn off with your stereo inless you have it rigged never leave an amp on all the time if it is left on all the time it could get hot enough to melt it self ive seen it happen in my cousins truck melted into the carpit and fried the amp and you should be fine with just a 10 playing for 10 mins to still have the power to start your car

Answer 2

your question revealed your problem, simple answer:

Yes your amp is draining the battery.



your amp is supposed to turn off when your stereo turns off, there is remote wire that travels from your stereo and into your amp. the remote wire triggers the amp on when the key is turned to ACC.

Check the remote wire at both ends and im sure you'll find your problem.

Answer 3

REMOTE wire. you are missing that. I dont know how it even starts without that...

but remote pretty much turns off your amp when there is no power going in your head unit (when your car is off).

Answer 4

If the amplifier was installed correctly, the amps should Not be on when the key is removed.  If the amp stays on, then your battery will definately drain.  If the amp has any kind of power light on when the key is out there is a problem.  

when the car is running, the alternator in the car is spinning and creating electricity to be stored in the battery.  If everything goes well, it should not cause a problem.

here is a checklist of things that commonly cause your a loss of battery power:

1,  Check for dirty or loose battery terminals.  the battery terminals should be very clean and tight to where they will not move by hand twisting.  try to remove the terminals and brush the terminals with a wire brush.

2,  check if the battery casing is swollen.  This could be a sign you need a new battery.  if your battery is over 3 years old, you may be near the end of its usable life.

3,  check if the power connector at the alternator is loose or dirty.  This may cause the alternatory not to provide solid power t the battery\

good luck

Answer 5

The only way to know the answer is to actually measure the current draw with a multimeter.  I have an amplifier that draws about .7 amps (700mA) when it is on but not receiving a signal but it is an old Sherwood XA-1240Q with the fan removed and no fancy (high power) neon lights etc.  At that rate it would pull down an average new fully charged starting battery enough to cause a no-crank in about 2-3 days.  A modern less efficient amplifier with fancy lights etc. would drain it even faster. Given that it takes several hours of above idle (highway with no stops) driving in a regular car to fully recharge the battery you can see how the battery would be easily drained.  Also common starting batteries will shed plate material, lose capacity, and be quickly ruined when deep cycled like this so yours is probably on the weak side now.

Basically like the others have said you need to properly connect the remote wire so that the amp actually shuts off with the key and head unit.  I would also replace the battery with a good one that can be deep cycled such as an Exide Orbital XCD or Optima Yellow Top