So I had a Kenwood KAC-8104D amplifier installed with two 12" subwoofers last week, and now the battery light turned on in my 2004 A6 2.7t. I talked to Best Buy (they installed it), and they said that my alternator might not be powerful enough to run the amplifier. Has anyone had any experience with this? I don't want to have to pay to upgrade my alternator, so any help is appreciated.

Oh, I forgot to say that the light came on while I was driving, and the car starts fine and I haven't noticed any problems other than just the light coming on. The Volt meter thing is in the normal range (about 11) when the car is on too.

Thanks

 

wow best buy sucks!!!!!!!! lol I get so many customers from best buy coming to my shop because of there screw ups but a kenwood kac-8104d is not that powerful of an amp I was running a kicker zx1000.1 to 2 12inch kicker l5s with no problem so I would think if anything it would be because of an old battery and normal for the volt meter would be between 12 and 14

 

Exactly, the amp isn't that powerful so I don't get why this would happen. I forgot to say that the battery is only about two or three months old, I just had the dealer put in a new one ($200+ ripoff :/). I'm planning to take my car back to Best Buy tomorrow to have them double check to make sure everything is installed correctly before taking it to the dealer...has anyone had any experience with this, where I should tell the installers to look for anything specific?

And the volt meter, so 11 is low? Would having the amp installed cause this? Maybe I just left some lights on or something the other day...but wouldn't it have recovered by now?

 

turn the radio off and drive around and see where the meter goes also check the ground wire for the amp and have your battery tested to check if your battery is weak and just needs a recharge ...your alt. may just be the problem it may not be charging your battery well

 

Hmm, the amp is grounded to the base of the trunk. I will try driving tomorrow without the stereo on. Is it possible that incorrect installation could be causing a strain on the battery/alternator?

and is it possible that I may need to "upgrade my alternator because it is not powerful enough" as the Best Buy installer said?

 

So I was driving to school this morning and I was watching the volt meeter as it slowly dropped. I ended up making it to my girlfriends house to park before the power in the car went out (steering, brakes, etc.). I'm guessing it's the alternator :/

 

yea i would think so try starting the car and disconnecting the battery the car should stay running if not you may have a bad alt

 

Yeah, I had it towed to the dealer and it needs a new alternator...they said it didn't have anything to do with my amplifier.

 

So actually the GeekSquad gets a few "brownie points" once in a while?

 

Actually, never mind. They put in a new alternator and said that the car still has the same problem...now they're trying to figure out whats wrong.