I picked up a Texas star dx250, want to run it in my subaru, will I kill the alternator/ amplifier?
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Linears, alternators, dx250 mobile?
- Thread starter Kingjoey5000
- Start date
amp draw on that amp won't be more than 30 amps or so.
if your vehicle has a 40 amp alternator, you might be in trouble with the headlights and AC on.
anything over a 60 amp alternator and you will be fine.
HOWEVER!!!
the alternator is not the part of the car that should be concerning you the most.
the part of the car that is most susceptible to damage from a linear amplifier is the computer or ECM in your car.
this wasn't a concern in the old days when there were no computers in cars, but manufacturers do not give a flying fig about RF and radios, so they don't bother shielding the ECM against it unless the vehicle is going to be used for a commercial purpose that involves a radio. (police and fire vehicles, and some fleet vehicles for example)
nowadays there are so many little hall effect sensors and other computer related devices on our cars that keying the mic with a linear (and in some cases, just a modified CB) can kill the engine, or worse, kill the computer.
putting an amp in a modern vehicle can be just as easy as it ever was with old vehicles, or it can be a never ending nightmare of shielding, bonding, and replacing blown cam position sensors.
a couple of general tips are to bond the battery, the body, and the engine frame, all to the engine block with heavy copper braid. that will at least make sure that none of the systems have a different ground potential.
next steps will be bonding the hood to the firewall, the exhaust pipe to the frame, and the different panels, such as doors, to the frame. all using copper braid.
the added benefit of doing all this bonding is that your vehicle has just become an EXCELLENT ground plane for your CB antenna and you will get out a bit better.
will everyone who puts a linear in their modern car have these issues?
no. many will have easy success.
here's hoping that you are one of those installs.
lots of good info here on the forum about this.
LC
if your vehicle has a 40 amp alternator, you might be in trouble with the headlights and AC on.
anything over a 60 amp alternator and you will be fine.
HOWEVER!!!
the alternator is not the part of the car that should be concerning you the most.
the part of the car that is most susceptible to damage from a linear amplifier is the computer or ECM in your car.
this wasn't a concern in the old days when there were no computers in cars, but manufacturers do not give a flying fig about RF and radios, so they don't bother shielding the ECM against it unless the vehicle is going to be used for a commercial purpose that involves a radio. (police and fire vehicles, and some fleet vehicles for example)
nowadays there are so many little hall effect sensors and other computer related devices on our cars that keying the mic with a linear (and in some cases, just a modified CB) can kill the engine, or worse, kill the computer.
putting an amp in a modern vehicle can be just as easy as it ever was with old vehicles, or it can be a never ending nightmare of shielding, bonding, and replacing blown cam position sensors.
a couple of general tips are to bond the battery, the body, and the engine frame, all to the engine block with heavy copper braid. that will at least make sure that none of the systems have a different ground potential.
next steps will be bonding the hood to the firewall, the exhaust pipe to the frame, and the different panels, such as doors, to the frame. all using copper braid.
the added benefit of doing all this bonding is that your vehicle has just become an EXCELLENT ground plane for your CB antenna and you will get out a bit better.
will everyone who puts a linear in their modern car have these issues?
no. many will have easy success.
here's hoping that you are one of those installs.
lots of good info here on the forum about this.
LC
Texas Star amplifiers will pull more amps than XForce or older palomar 2 pill amps so you should always be ready for that. Your car should probably be able to handle that amp, however when you're at idle you may notice dimming or a little bogging down when you key depending on how hard you drive the amp.
i wouldn't be too worried about the interference with the vehicle electronics with a TS250 but you never know. I had a 2004 Mazda pickup and my 2 pill amp triggered the check engine light and I'd have to reset it to make it go away
recent subaru's in the UK have 110a alternators, that will handle a ts250 no problem,
a local ran a RM KL500 & sirio highpower 4000 magmount with no issues,
some cars are sensitive to rf messing with the ecu,
over here it was renaults & rovers,
keying up with my m4v within 20 yards of them would cause rovers to kangeroo down the road & instantly stop renault engines,
it looked exactly like this at traffic lights with experienced drivers until i realised what was going on & stopped keying up near them,
a local ran a RM KL500 & sirio highpower 4000 magmount with no issues,
some cars are sensitive to rf messing with the ecu,
over here it was renaults & rovers,
keying up with my m4v within 20 yards of them would cause rovers to kangeroo down the road & instantly stop renault engines,
it looked exactly like this at traffic lights with experienced drivers until i realised what was going on & stopped keying up near them,
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