? on electrical system

[Fialchar]

K, my battery is fully charged sitting at 14, I have 2 power caps, 1 farad each, so I know I have the power I need, but something's screwy with my electrical system. When I do something such as change the headlights from low to hi-beam, it freezes the head unit (Even at low low volumes) and as far as I know, the headlights/head unit aren't really connected.My radar detector gives me low voltage warnings even when I charged the battery not even an hour ago and it's still reading high voltage levels. Is a wire shorted out somewhere or something?

[Jahntassa]

Is there a way you can check voltage as you're driving around? The battery should only have 12 volts when sitting, the alternator puts out the 14. I've seen my alternator put out anywhere from 15.1 (max on a hot day) to as low as 12.7 with my system on loud and sitting at a stop light.Start the car and check voltage at as many places as you can while switching the components (like the hi/low beams).Did you change your ground wires under the hood? Are the grounds to your caps solid? Maybe something came loose?Definitely try and figure out what voltages you're getting with the car running. An easy way to do it is find an unused cigarette lighter plug from some old piece of equipment, cut the wires, and attatch a voltage meter to that...

[Fialchar]

I'll get Angel's little brother to run behind the car and read the power cap's readouts for me when I'm driving. The 14 was when it was just cranked and sitting there. About a month ago it would sit at 12's to 13's and if I let the system wear it down all day (Which I always try never to do) it could go as low as 8's.I've already switched from the stock battery to an Optima Yellowtop, killed that one, and now have a 900 CCA battery in it.

[Jahntassa]

See...it really sounds like an Alternator problem.. But, if it's 14 when cranked and sitting there..it most likely isn't. You don't need to drive to check it, just have it running. When off, it should be around 12 volts, when running, around 14..Definitely sounds wierd..

[Fialchar]

The first thing that came to my mind was the alternator too, but I'm not exactly an expert and it still seems strange. Hopefully it'll be solved when I upgrade to a Stinger alternator :

[Jahntassa]

Aren't those things expensive? I keep hearing they're something like $1,000..You should be able to get the alternator tested at a dealership or something like an AutoZone.. I think. Either way, let us know. I'd be interested how much it'd cost for something like that..

[Fialchar]

From what I've heard the Stinger alternators are going to run between 700-1000 dollars, I think I might be better off getting the brushes changed and having my current alternator rewound. (By the way, thanks for all the info Jantassa)