I have a 2012 Lancer GTS that is only about 8 months old. I through a pretty nice Rockford fosgate system in it. Initially everything was running fine. A couple months later (a couple weeks ago) my system started sounding crappy, in & out sound, like it wasn't receiving enough power. I have an escort 9500ix that can read and display my car voltage. After messing around a little, I noticed a few things and do not know what to make out of it. If I walk out to my car right now and turn it on, it'll read roughly 12.4v but charge pretty quickly up to 13.8v-14.1v. As soon as I kick that bad-boy out of park and start moving (either reverse or drive) the voltage will drop all the way down to 12v. However if I turn on my headlights or AC, then I guess the alternator starts to work and the voltage rises to about 13.4v-13.8v.

I'm not sure if this is normal..something I would of never noticed if I didn't have an aftermarket system and hear the distortion or if something is not right. If it is normal, then my question is what should I do to the car so my system receives efficient power? Should I get a stronger battery (currently stocked battery), high output alternator (currently stocked alternator) or if its maybe something to do with the regulator/computing issue?

Any advice/solutions much appreciated!

 

Well, if your Rockford Fosgate system is all stock, then you shouldn't have to upgrade anything, because the car alternator/battery would be efficient for it.

As far as an alternator problem, it sounds a bit odd, seeing as if it WAS the alternator, then the charge would be worse I'd assume. Hell, it could even be a warning sign of a failing alternator.

But seeing as you have a 2012, I would say get it checked out for FREE if you're still under warranty.