Dimming @ 14.4v+?!

[Red Rocket 10+ year member]

Ok, I got the DVM for my amp to see what kind of voltage I was getting because my lights were dimming at night. Hook it up and drive around some at night with heat and everything on and it stays right around 14.4v. However, my lights were still dimming. I have not done the Big 3 yet (it's been too cold around here recently and I'm in college so it's not easy to find the time or place to do it). I know that caps aren't recommended and don't truly fix problems but I was wondering if a cap may help the dimming some in my situation because my electrical system seems to be stable otherwise.

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[Blunt 10+ year member]

do the big 3 instead of wasting time with a cap they do nothing but hurt you.

 

[MemphisSoul4U 10+ year member]

I don't see a cap helping... It's just something else for the electrical system to charge...

 

[MemphisSoul4U 10+ year member]

Well, blunt beat me to it...

 

[Johnny Drama 5,000+ posts]

What are your amps? and what amperage alt do you have?

 

[Red Rocket 10+ year member]

Amp is in the sig (Audiobahn 8000T). Yeah, I know but it was cheap. I'm saving up money to get something a lot better in the summer. Alt is 140 I believe but not 100% sure.

I guess I was right about the cap then.

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

I would definitely recommend the Big 3, what type of battery do you have also?

 

[Red Rocket 10+ year member]

I would definitely recommend the Big 3, what type of battery do you have also?

Can't remember for some reason right now. Trust me though, the thing is huge and puts out a ton of cranking amps.

Looks like I'll just wait until Spring Break or summer and do the Big 3. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[MemphisSoul4U 10+ year member]

IIRC, in powering a system, it isn't the CCA of a battery, it is the Amp per Hour rating that matters... Am I correct?

 

[Blunt 10+ year member]

reserve capacity

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Unless you plan on totally discharging it, reserve capacity doesn't matter either.

You said that your DMM showed 14.4 the whole time? Do you know the sampling rate of your DMM, most are about 2/sec. Your eyes will detect a light flicker on the order of 1/20 of a second.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

Just what I was gonna say; the meter probably doesn't read the voltage fast enough in order to show the fluctuations.

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

Unless you plan on totally discharging it, reserve capacity doesn't matter either.
You said that your DMM showed 14.4 the whole time? Do you know the sampling rate of your DMM, most are about 2/sec. Your eyes will detect a light flicker on the order of 1/20 of a second.

He's not using an outboard DMM....he's using the optional Audiobahn external votage display that connects directly to the amp and I wouldn't have a clue what the sampling rate is on one of those.

 

[sumone 10+ year member]

If AudioBahn makes the amp & the voltage display, I would bet that it's pretty slow. That's just a guess. An end-user seeing fast voltage fluctations might think something was wrong with the amp or the voltage display...which would mean un-necessary customer support (if available) on their side.