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headlight dimming on bass hits 

 

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 Post subject: headlight dimming on bass hits
Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 6:00 am 
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I know there was a few posts about this on the old FM, but cant find any at the moment.. got a kicker zr1000amp with two kicker L7 12" subs and getting serious dimmage when i turn it up even a little. Sometimes my whole cluster turns off and on (ie. needles drop then came back)..

Got a optima yellow top battery when i first got the system, and that made things better, but still had dimming and how its getting worse..

next obvious step was to upgrade the alternator, so i take it to the sparky, and he goes "geez you already have a 110amp alternator in there thats the largest that'l fit without modding it a fair bit".. which is weird coz i've never upgraded my alternator

ive been told countless times a capacitor is useless for this problem and its more to improve response of the bass hits..

so just wondering if anyone else has had such problems and what they did about it?

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 6:17 am 
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im no auto elec but maybe try and do wat 4x4s do and find space for another battery. just a suggestion.
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 11:24 am 
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umm, what is the wattage of the amp and subs and what is the power cable your running.

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 11:37 am 
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Get a yellow top.

I had the same problem. Eventually killed my battery. Got a yellow top. All sweet now

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 1:06 pm 
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mate its just one of those things, every action has a reaction thing. Put more load onto your electrical system somethin is going to go, usually your lights cause they drain a bit of power in terms of amps. U'll find its not a voltage thing. and if you are drawing that much power form your system, with 2 batteries installed then a cap is your next option, as it is another reserviour for power (amps).

As for the alternator, its a ford. from memory they always had a large factory fitted unit
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 2:15 pm 
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I'm pushing more than 1500W RMS and dont have any dimming issues.

Be sure to run correct size power cable from the amp to the battery (both positive and negative!). If you're grounding the amp to the chassis, you need to remember that your headlights share the same negative cabling back to the battery, which often is responsible for severe headlight dimming.

If you continue to have problems, upgrade your battery. As others have said, a Yellowtop should fix all your problems, whether you use it as your 1 and only battery, or install it as a 2nd battery it will make a huge difference.

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 2:46 pm 
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My mate runs 2x12" Eclipse subs and has minor dimmage on big hits. I thougght it would just be te vibations rattling the wires around a litle.
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 2:50 pm 
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everybody who has said "get a yellow top" read the original post again, says he already has one :wink:

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 3:15 pm 
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tomcolahan wrote:
everybody who has said "get a yellow top" read the original post again, says he already has one :wink:


haha yeah i already got one.. helped for about 6 months and only got minor dimmage, but now its starting to get worse

DMac: The amp is rated at about 1000watt rms, and as an idea of how much ampage im draining I have a 120A fuse.. not sure about the power cabling coz i didnt install it, but ill find out (it looks quite thick to me)

Waggin: What size power cables are u running and what alternator do u have? and is your yellowtop your only battery?

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 4:36 pm 
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Waggin wrote:
I'm pushing more than 1500W RMS and dont have any dimming issues.

Be sure to run correct size power cable from the amp to the battery (both positive and negative!). If you're grounding the amp to the chassis, you need to remember that your headlights share the same negative cabling back to the battery, which often is responsible for severe headlight dimming.

If you continue to have problems, upgrade your battery. As others have said, a Yellowtop should fix all your problems, whether you use it as your 1 and only battery, or install it as a 2nd battery it will make a huge difference.


I agree completely, power and earth cable are two of the most important things.
When the cable is too small the amplifier cann't get enough current through it and the voltage drops. Once it gets below about 9 or 10v then lights and stuff stop working properly. Most amps shut off at approx 10volts too.

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 10:49 pm 
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get some fat 4GA or even 2GA cable from your battery to distribution boxes, and 8GA or simmilar to amps and stuff and you should be right. :)

good luck with it
ryan
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 11:05 pm 
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run a few earths to as it help. and when ur idling even though u have a 110 amp alternator doesnt mean its giving 110, proberly only giving about 80 or 90. also running really big wire doesnt mean its better. look at ur starter motor wire and i bet its not as thick as ur cable to ur amp, yet it will pull much more than ur amp will!
thick the cable the more resistance u will have in tern more voltage drop.
also check that ur alternator is working correctly see how much amps are coming out of it.
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 11:22 pm 
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fordgt290 wrote:
thick the cable the more resistance u will have in tern more voltage drop.


WRONG.

larger diameter cables have LESS resistance, thus less voltage drop, = more current (Amps).

To opener, if you can get a cap cheap (ebay *cough*), try that, a 2Farad cap worked for me (although I didn't have my cluster failing?!?!). And of course the cap shoul dbe installed as close as possible to the AMP with as short and fat a cable as possible.

I run 2 8GA from the battery to the back into the cap, then from the cap, into my amp, and a 12V lighter socket I have mounted in the boot. I've got a 4GA neg wire going to the rear seat mount point (big a** bolt into lots of metal)

 

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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 11:41 pm 
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I'm suprised that no one has even mentioned getting a capacitor. Your alternator can only put out a certain amount of current as is the same with your battery. Oops, someone actually has.

Forget expensive 2 battery setups and just get yourself a 1.2 farad capacitor for about $300 bucks, wire it up yourself to your amp and its all good.

Basically it does the same as a surge tank does to your fuel system. Its pretty much a buffer.

I'm using a 1 farad cap for my 600 RMS system...no more dimming, no more amp clippage.

Also, yes you can get 2-4 farad capacitors.

 

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Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 12:14 am 
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im pushing close to 1000w rms, running a stock century s**t battery, and no caps, and no dimmage at all, except possibly a TINY bit at idle.

the secret ?

big power and earth cable straight to the battery
none of this chassis earthing rubbish.

 

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