What do i need do stop my headlight dimming? Superbank? agm? bigger alternator?

[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

2kw is a lot man

That isnt really possible without redoing everything. There is only 13 ft of 1/0 premium ofc between the battery and the monoblock and it is pulling 175 amps.. I thought 1/0 was overkill? Actually i thought everything i done was overkill.. Why im so disappointed to be having trouble.

Then it might not be possible to solve your problem.

 

[Wesseat]

One more thing, how did you set your gain?

Cx1800.1 and yes 1 ohm stable.. I set my gains conservatively with 3/4 of max volume on my deck', a 50hz sine wave and a volt meter on the speaker outputs at 42volts which is what it should be for 1800 @ 1 ohm.. I also checked it by ear and the 42v was the lower of two so i left it there. I live 2.5 hours from the nearest stereo shop but i plan on taking it some where with a scope and dial it all in this winter.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

i have not double checked the one from the battery to the frame

This may be where the issue is. Make sure paint is scraped/sanded. The car's electrical is being taxed and not replaced fast enough. I do not know if Jeep's are grounded on the body or the frame, so checking these two is vital. Do not fret, you have everything you need, just gotta find the gremlin.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

@1aespinoza will probably agree with me after he reads my post as usual.

Of course I will agree if the advice is sensible. But do refrain from telling him to replace his windshield.

 

[Wesseat]

This may be where the issue is. Make sure paint is scraped/sanded. The car's electrical is being taxed and not replaced fast enough. I do not know if Jeep's are grounded on the body or the frame, so checking these two is vital. Do not fret, you have everything you need, just gotta find the gremlin.

I didnt get a chance to mess with it tonight.. Ill get the dremel and electrode grease after the frame ground this weekend

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

Halogen headlights are very sensitive to voltage but shouldn't have voltage issues with a 250 amp alt and xs d3400.

Can you use a multi meter to measure actual voltage drop?

 

[Firewalker]

Agreed heck I was running almost 2K in wattage on a 130 amp OEM alternator with 1/0 done and the big 3 and never went below 14.2. That was running a mono-block and a 4 channel amplifier. I would definitely be going over those grounds. I know on the 2000 Wrangler I had, I had a heck of a time finding a decent ground point for the distribution block when I did the system in that. I finally just took a wire brush attachment in a drill and cleaned off all the paint on the rear seat mounting brackets and bolts, thankfully that worked perfectly for me. I also ground to the alternator bolt from the battery as well when doing the big 3 now.

 

[Wesseat]

Ive been thinking about this and the shop that initially installed the big 3 and alternator did wire it differently than what i found on xs powers website.. He ran the alt/engine ground to the battery instead of the chassis and the battery ground is ran to the frame of the jeep, not the tub metal like where my amps are grounded.. Should i ground my engine/alt ground and the battery ground to the factory firewall grounds? My amps are grounded to factory ground points on the tub near the amps. Ill attach pics

 

[Firewalker]

Leave the ground to the alternator from the battery that is just fine, mine is run to the battery as well that is how it should be done. As far as the second ground goes mine is grounded to the bolt that the original ground was on and is basically bolted into the side of the front quarter panel. Also it looks like that one small 4 gauge wire from the positive alternator post is going to the fuse block like it does on mine? If so remove it and use 1/0 instead. I did so and was worth it. Those are usually corroded inside after a year or two vs a sealed connection like the other ones you have.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

I would run the system and start at both ends of each ground and power cable and feel for heat. If it is hot and any point, that is your resistance and it needs to be addressed. (cleaned, crimps checked, bolts secured and tightened).

 

[metalheadjoe 10+ year member]

I would run the system and start at both ends of each ground and power cable and feel for heat. If it is hot and any point, that is your resistance and it needs to be addressed. (cleaned, crimps checked, bolts secured and tightened).

Have you ever found a ground so poor that the conductors got hot to the touch? I have not, so I'm actually curious. Of course everything under the hood gets warm, and i assume all the metal would soak up heat to a point where you can't tell where it's coming from.

 

[1aespinoza 10+ year member]

Have you ever found a ground so poor that the conductors got hot to the touch? I have not, so I'm actually curious. Of course everything under the hood gets warm, and i assume all the metal would soak up heat to a point where you can't tell where it's coming from.

Ever seen amps or fuses with melted connections? There you go. Even battery terminals do it.

 

[Wesseat]

K i just cleaned every factory and aftermarket power and ground under the hood. Still dimming at idle but maybe not quite as bad. After dark ill check it again at 2-3000 rpm and post a video. Ill bypass the factory power wire from the alternator to fuse box with heavy cable and see it that changes anything also.

 

[ThxOne Premium Member]

Have you ever found a ground so poor that the conductors got hot to the touch? I have not, so I'm actually curious. Of course everything under the hood gets warm, and i assume all the metal would soak up heat to a point where you can't tell where it's coming from.

I have. A loose ground can actually catch on fire. I have been burned by a loose ground it got so hot.

 

[Wesseat]

Here is the video of dimming after cleaning every ground i could find and adding a 2 gauge jumper from the factory alternator power wire. I dont think i gained anthing on the dimming but i did notice that the dimming seems worse at high rpms vs idle.. I really dont get that..any ideas?

I cant get the video to upload