2003 sierra dimming prob.

[denali804 10+ year member]

Move that ground and check to make sure your battery post are tight. I know you said you added a second battery but what kind of shape and type of battery is your main battery. Also what is the fuse value on that explode amp. A 2003 fullsize gm with a good battery should handle your system without an issue. You should have a stock 120-140 amp alternator.

 

[SICCMAD3 10+ year member]

i would suggest you get another amp to start with. but if the lights dim at idle with the stereo off their could be a really easy fix for it if its u or z motor and has one wire at the alt. connector

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

both batteries are really new everstart maxx. dont remember the value on the fuzes, but they are orange lol. lights dont dim idleing... but what causes the radio to reset/go off

 

[ltr450racer690 10+ year member]

i have a 2003 gmc 2500hd reg cab and i dont have any problems like this in my truck and a grounded to a seat bolt.

 

[wasted ink 10+ year member]

-Clean (preferably relocate) your ground.. Use sandpaper to get it to bare metal.

-Reset the gains on your amp using a DMM.. I'm willing to bet it is set too high, and that is your problem.

 

[ado 10+ year member]

I have an '03 Silverado and the seat bolt in the back is not good enough. Even if you said the seat bracket there is still paint on the other side of the bracket and on the floor. On mine, I drilled a hole through the floor and ran 1/0 from the frame to the seat bolt, then grounded my second battery back there, so it goes straight to the frame. I am running an SAZ-1500D and Kicker zx650 with an optima in the front and a HC800 in the back with only slight dimming at idle on certain notes, none driving.

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

where did you ground it to the frame....... so you jumped from the frame to the seat bolt.....then just connected the amp neg to the seat???

also how do i set the gains with a dmm

 

[ado 10+ year member]

There was already a hole in the frame, it is on my pass side. Then ran that wire to the seat bolt, then my back battery is connected there along with my two amp grounds.

You need a clamp meter to set the gains properly with a dmm. You need to clamp the meter around one wire going to the sub and get your current (amps). Then measure your output voltage (VAC) of the + and - of the amp. Multiply the two and that is your power (Watts).

VAC x AMPS = Watts

It is best to do this while playing around a 40-50 hz test tone.

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

i fixed the headunit prob... i killed the battery... (ran the radio too long with the truck on aux...) and i recharged the battery.

fixed that sunday and i re-located the ground to the frame today.and i sanded the frame untill i could almost see myself in it.. so we will se if its fixed when i go to school tomorrow....

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

well i did fix the dimming problem....buttt

i was driving home from school. (takes about 10 minutes.) and the radio worked excellent..... untill i pulled in my driveway. the bass would cut off completely for about 2- 4 seconds and come back on. and it does this at random intervals.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/mad.gif.c18f003ab0ef8a0d9c27ca78d77a6392.gif

its really pissing me off. it did this before i changed the ground wire (might be important)

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

anyone have an idea

 

[loopkiller 10+ year member]

I would assume it is dead batteries. Those batteries are not made for car audio applications. You should have bought some better AGM batteries. Even one good one under the hood should have been enough. Any of the G31 AGM audio batteries would have done just fine.

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

moves the groumd to the frame and it still dimms badly

 

[ado 10+ year member]

Use a DMM and a piece of wire to measure the resistance from your amp ground to the ground post of your battery. Let me know what it is, It should be very small.

 

[jeremy.vaughn 10+ year member]

could you explain to me how to do that because my amp ground is a really long way from the battery