tlazn

i have a system in my car. lights be flickering. what can i do to help stop that? someone told me about a pulley upgrade or a voltage stabilizer. any suggestions?

CSWBiggs

if you want help around here...especially from me...you need to provide details...

year of car...?
age of battery...?
what makes up your system..amps?

if you expect assitance provide some details...

-Jason

tlazn

i have an 06 acura tl with the factory battery in it still. i have one 12 in it with a pioneer 760w amp. its hook to factory radio with navi.

Crestwood1001

Get an optima yellow top to start, if that does not help it may be a good idea to get a high output alternator, especiously if ur gonna keep adding things to your system

CSWBiggs

h/o alternator...is not necessary....i run close to 2kw RMS on the stock alternator...

where r u located? climate plays a big role on the consistancy of battery operation...

here could be some issues..

battery could be past it's prime...most likely cause
alternator has gone bad...not likely
corroded battery leads and cables...possible

-Jason

PinSpree

ahem. Get a 1 farad capacitor. Unless you're pushing 15's that should absorb the current drain. Optima batt wouldn't hurt. Also check you wire AWG. 500 watt amp, nothing smaller than 4AWG. 1000W or more 0AWG.

Eiswritsat

A cap isnt designed to stop headlights from dimming and if you buy one for that reason its gonna be doing nothing more then acting as a band-aid for a bigger electrical problem. Replace or Upgrade you battery and grounds first...Also check your gain on the amplifier also just for good measure...what does a 15" sub have to do with his headlights dimming?

CSWBiggs

he's just an idiot...

PinSpree

The actual size of the sub doesn't mean anything obviously, I meant if he's pushing 15's he's probably got 1500w behind it. A capacitor is exactly for what his problem is. What do you think it's made for? I'm a lisenced electrician. The drain that dims the headlights, dashlights etc, is obviously happening when the subs hit hard, not sporadically whenever music is playing. The cap stores current constantly, and discharges in the event of drain before the battery is effected. Unless you're at a SPL competition and are cranking out 30 second tone tracks the cap should level out the full load current of the amp. Of course you might have a much more severe problem if you were running multiple amps, but generally speaking, most peoples simple systems don't pull enough current that a normal or yellow top battery can't handle, it's just the spikes. For reference, in some older houses (with central air) when the air conditioning compressor kicks on outside the house lights dim momentarily. To solve that more modern units come with 30 microfarad capacitors in addition to the 5mf on the circuit board to absorb the locked rotor current. Back to the system, it's hard to explain how to find out how much drain you have when the subs hit, but some capacitors, even cheapies like lightning audio have some form of rating of how fast they deliver power. The higher that is the better it will prevent dimming....just my 3 1/2 cents. And for the record, you're an idiot (whoever called me one) You own a system shop and you don't know this?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Car-Audio-...-Them&id=74789

MistahWes06TL

can someone please tell me why you are all saying hes got 15's? as stated, he has a 12..with a 70W amp.

OP-make sure you have the correct gauge wire hooked from your battery to amp, amp to subs, and that you have the gain set properly. If this doesnt work, get a new amp. Most problems like that are amp/wiring related.
Your battery is most likely fine as well as your amp.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

Maybe I'm crazy but I used to get dimming of my headlights with my system until I introduced a capacitor two. I always figured it was the solution to the problem. I guess I might be wrong though based on these responses.

CSWBiggs

caps are a marketing ploy...Just so you know...caps were introduced back in the late 70's to make up for an amplifiers poor design...they were also to be used back when music was actually recorded well...with much higher crest factor's and much more dynamic range...this gave the cap a chance to regain it charge..a cap in today's rap...techno..pop...based music...driven to damn near clipping right out of the box...a cap does nothing....

and you still are an idiot... a cap is a bandaid...and i am more than of the caps that are installed on HVAC compressors...and in shitacular instances...you would install an additional "Hard Start Cap"...please remember that this is AC so current demands are much much lower due to the line voltage being much higher..10 times higher in 120 and 20 times higher in 240...AC voltage is much more forgiving than DC voltage...esp 12volt dc...ohm's law...i do believe the NEC leaves that out...due to most electricians are mindless monkeys...lol...don't come into my world...because i know yours inside and out....been there done that...

the size of the wiring that leads to the amp would simply limit the power supply the amp...simply to the point that the fuse that is appropriately sized for the wiring would blow...lower voltage is equal to much higher current...again OHM's law...you're an HV Electrician...stick to being told what to do...because you can't think for yourself...you gotta read and believe everything that you see on the internet...which makes you the idiot my friend

-Jason

Just for future reference...

ohm's Law...

Learn it...Live it....Love it...

PinSpree

Mindless monkeys....yet you're the one putting bullshit into cars so people can blow their eardrums out. Glad we got the heirarchy of vocational relevance straight there. Agree to disagree. Capacitor will fix the problem and I think we both know it.

CSWBiggs

umm...i'm a Cisco Network Admin for the DoD...get your facts straight...

-Jason

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

You obviously know your stuff, but it's an ahole way to come across name calling someone that came on the forum to help a fellow aziner out. In most people's cases...a bandaid is just what they're looking for. lights dim...add cap...lights no longer dim. Marketing ploy or not, in my ignorance, that would solve the problem for me as far as I'd want to take it.


PS...I for some reason am feeling how my gf feels when I explain to her why camber correction is necessary...she doesn't care...she just knows it fu*ks my tires if I don't do it.

Lol...peace to both of you.

-Jeremy

CSWBiggs

ahole or not...a cap is supposed to be in addition to an already healthy electrical system...

he has a 760 watt max amp...that means he likely gets 350 watts at best...say the amp draws 35 amps...this is a very very small current draw...if 35 amps is causing his lights to dim...he needs to fix his electrical system...my system draws almost 130 peak...and I have no diming lights...

i have a good healthy stock acura battery and properly terminated connections...



-Jason

btw...camber will not kill your tires with in reason of course....

Eiswritsat

i have to agree, i mean your gonna spend $100 for a "decent" cap at best so why not spend a little more and get a battery and upgrade your wires..

PinSpree

Hmm in CSW's defense, he did claim to be an asshole in his profile. Guess no point in beating a dead horse.

rockstar143

iTrader: (6)

^^^True.
And I agree...with the TOE corrected, I've been able to run -2 camber in the rear without issue.

About the electrical connections, maybe I didn't take into account that I had gradually transitioned to better electrical with my systems too. I have nickel plated battery terminals and 1AWG (IIRC) wiring to distribution blocks and very good grounds and connections. In addition I have the 1 farad cap...maybe I give it more credit than it deserves.

DiamondJoeQuimby

iTrader: (2)

biggs is spot on, a cap is useless in this (and 99.98% of other) application. Double check all connections, especially grounds. That amp should not have problem getting appropriate current/voltage from the stock charging system.