Big 3 and power cap?

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

I have just completed the alt to battery and batt neg to ground. I havent got around to doing the last as i cant find a place on the engine block. I still have dimming problems. My system is only 500 watt rms. Would a cap help out my alt response time? because on long base notes my lights dim and then return to full brightness. Any ideas?

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[csu87 10+ year member]

cap wont help. what type car is it and did you do the big 3 in 1/0 gauge? as for the ground, you can do it off the alternator bracket.

 

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

I have a 2001 renault clio. Its only got a 70A alternator. I used 4 Gauge wire because i couldnt get 0 gauge at the time. And the alternator bracket is too hard to get too so need to find somewhere else?

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

just find a bolt on the engine somewhere. i have mine on my alt bracket and there was a bolt at the bottom of the engine as well that i grounded. i would try to get 1/0 gauge and see if that helps. also, how old is your battery? it may be time for a new one

 

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

Yes the battery is pretty old. Its low ampage aswell at only 36AH and 280 cold cranking. Would a higher ampage battery help my dimming. I havent got the money for an optima. So would i kill a normal battery with my system?

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

yeah a new battery would help. my starter battery is a 65ah 1080cca that i got from batts plus for $70. try that

 

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

If i do this will my system kill my battery again tho?

 

[csu87 10+ year member]

it shouldnt with only 500 watts. on most cars stock electrical, you can go to about 1000watts with just the big 3

 

[Ronny 10+ year member]

Big 3 it properly, and obtain a mediocre battery and you'll be more than set.

Many stock charging systems with big 3 can support 1kW rms no problems.

 

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

Ive done big 3 now and installed new 60 ah battery and im still getting slight dimming... anything else i can do?

 

[9515ROB 10+ year member]

buy a bigger alt

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

What car is it?

 

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

its a 2001 renault clio 1.2 with 70A alt. i cant afford a new alt... this is stupid only for 500 watt rms! its just the response time of the alt coz its fine if its a long bass note. theres gta b another way?

 

[Lonnie 10+ year member]

Well I dont think you can get much bigger than the 60 AH battery since you only got a 70 amp alt. Dont understand why you would be dimming any though...unless you did the big 3 to a couple bad grounds and/or grounded the amp bad. Would make sense to me anyways...

 

[Muzzy 10+ year member]

How will i find the best ground to use? ive just used the factory ground...