Ok, so i have an 01 cls, and i just got my system installed and i'm runn a jbl 75.4 which is rated at 105x4 RMS and runnin a pair of cdt audio's up front and bridged the back to channels for an ID sub...Anyway so i'm ridin down the street and this is the first time i had driven at night with the new system installed...my volume is tad higher than normal...and my headlight blinked two times...it did this just randomly about every minute or two for the 15 minute ride....and at one point my head unit shut off completly and then came back on..(that was with the volume up)...


So what do u guys think...

Need a new alternator maybe?? How many amps is the stock alternator???

 

i run a 1000 watt amp, a x box, tv, and neons, and mine blinks a little, but not too much

 

Maybe a loose connection somewhere? Short?

 

im runnin 1500 watts/500 rms and my shit dims like crazy. not my headlights, but my taillights, and all my interior lights. i think a bigger battery or a cap will take care of that.

 

hopefully its just that, so has anybody had their headlights do that?? Its kinda scary cause i don't wanna mess up my HID's

 

i would deffinatly check your connections cause from just having components in the car you shouldnt loose that much power, i doubt its a short somewhere, if it was it wouldnt work at all , or turned back on.

 

Sounds like you have a short are a bare wire contacting metal every once in a while. This used to happen on my old car when I would roll down my window. One of the wires in the door was loose. I would check this first before getting a battery or cap. Because a battery or cap won't mean shit if you have a short.

 

I have an '01 and running 250 watts with no dimming problems at all. I was thinking about getting a cap, but it appears that I don't really need one. I would do what the others suggest before you try to replace anything.
Good luck!

B

 

there is no short... its a voltage drop. plain and simple

you will eventually kill your alternator like this, a bandaid might be a optima yellow top, but the long term solution is a higher output alternator.

it is possibel that the alternator is already dying which is why you see dimming with apparently low power demands, maybe go it tested to see if its putting out full power?

 

ok, now my headlights are fine, but i'm still having the sound shut off on real deep bass when the volume is up, also during this time my amp will go on standby...hmmm..

 

if the HU / amp are turning off at high volume it is voltage drop

 

get more juice

 

no the head unit is fine now, its just the amp...do you think more juice would really help my amp not go into standby?? or do u just think something might be wrong with my amp?

 

could be a bad ground if its just the amp.... is it grounded to a bare metal point?

 

also what size wire is running to it, is it wired correctly to the right resistance?

 

thats what my old amp did, i oculd never figure out y it did it

 

i used a 4 gauge wire, i'm not sure if its grounded to bare metal points, or if its the right resistance cause my installer did it, but he's a great installer i don't think he would mess that up

 

even great installers mess up sometimes

 

get new optima yellow top battery. when i got my system, all my interior and my headlight was blinking when i wuz bumping my system. but not after i got new optima battery.