Dimming headlights
#11
10-16-2008, 10:49 PM
RE: Dimming headlights
ORIGINAL: RocknSS04
Upgrade the big 3 ONLY if you are doing an alternator upgrade, otherwise, it will do nothing for your problem.
Again, this is a difference of opinion here. But a capacitor is nothing more than a short term voltage storage device. Upgrading your battery to a minimum of a deep cycle battery will help, but a second battery is better. Turn off the motor and see how long your stereo runs. You need to have your motor running to listen to your stereo? Not me! My lights don't flicker, either.
Your stereo should NOT be wired to your fuse box, NEVER!
Again, I relate this to my snow plowing experiences, plowing at night. Stall the truck with one battery, and you are calling for a jump start. Running a second battery with an isolator solves this problem. One battery runs the truck, and one runs the plow. Stock alternators.
There is no such thing as too large of a battery.
Upgrade the big 3 ONLY if you are doing an alternator upgrade, otherwise, it will do nothing for your problem.
Again, this is a difference of opinion here. But a capacitor is nothing more than a short term voltage storage device. Upgrading your battery to a minimum of a deep cycle battery will help, but a second battery is better. Turn off the motor and see how long your stereo runs. You need to have your motor running to listen to your stereo? Not me! My lights don't flicker, either.
Your stereo should NOT be wired to your fuse box, NEVER!
Again, I relate this to my snow plowing experiences, plowing at night. Stall the truck with one battery, and you are calling for a jump start. Running a second battery with an isolator solves this problem. One battery runs the truck, and one runs the plow. Stock alternators.
There is no such thing as too large of a battery.
#12
10-17-2008, 04:53 PM
RE: Dimming headlights
I never bothered to read the post casue this is what I did to fix my issue.
Ok first off wire the amp power directly to the battery, with a inline fuse.
Replace the battery with a yellow top
Add or replace the ground wire with a 4awg, but scrape the paint from under the body bolt it goes to
Make sure you ground it to a solid mount in the trunk.
Caps I think are a waste if you do the above.
Plus its not volts you should be concerned it should be about amps....... You facroty alt is only about 120amps, 40 of them go to your amp, the rest of the car still needs what is left. Now on low volume it wont matter but crank it, the amp will draw more current.
Ok first off wire the amp power directly to the battery, with a inline fuse.
Replace the battery with a yellow top
Add or replace the ground wire with a 4awg, but scrape the paint from under the body bolt it goes to
Make sure you ground it to a solid mount in the trunk.
Caps I think are a waste if you do the above.
Plus its not volts you should be concerned it should be about amps....... You facroty alt is only about 120amps, 40 of them go to your amp, the rest of the car still needs what is left. Now on low volume it wont matter but crank it, the amp will draw more current.
#13
10-25-2008, 11:07 AM
RE: Dimming headlights
What gauge wire are you suing for power and ground connections? If your wire is too small, your amps could be starving for power. I'm a firm believer in a little overkill when it comes to wire.
I had a 96 Dodge Avenger (not sure what the alternator output was), 3 Soundstream amps (1200 watts total peak), 4 Audio Control components, Clarion HU and 12 disc changer. My one amp was a class A, which are known not to be very efficient, but sound quality is excellent. Never had any power related problems. I ran 2 gauge power cable from battery to a 100 amp breaker, then to dist. block. Four gauge wire to all amps. Replaced stock battery and alt. wiring with 4 gauge. Single ground point in trunk - 2 gauge to dist. block, 4 gauge to amps. Under the hood, ran three separate grounds:
1. battery to chassis
2. chassis to engine block
3. firewall to engine block
All 4 gauge wire - this eliminates all ground loops.
I had a 96 Dodge Avenger (not sure what the alternator output was), 3 Soundstream amps (1200 watts total peak), 4 Audio Control components, Clarion HU and 12 disc changer. My one amp was a class A, which are known not to be very efficient, but sound quality is excellent. Never had any power related problems. I ran 2 gauge power cable from battery to a 100 amp breaker, then to dist. block. Four gauge wire to all amps. Replaced stock battery and alt. wiring with 4 gauge. Single ground point in trunk - 2 gauge to dist. block, 4 gauge to amps. Under the hood, ran three separate grounds:
1. battery to chassis
2. chassis to engine block
3. firewall to engine block
All 4 gauge wire - this eliminates all ground loops.
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