headlights dim a lot

[dragonfister 10+ year member]

Hey guys

I drive a 2000 vw golf and the lights dim a lot when im out drivng and pounding my 15'' type R , so after replacing the battery with a yellow top i thought it would have enough power to run everything.

However it still dims quite a bit would doing the *big 3* cause this to stop?

Running a stinger 4 guage kit good for 1500 watts and my amp is only 1000 rms watts alpine.

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[pbnj22 10+ year member]

it should... do big 3 then if that doesnt help get another bat for the back or get a H/O alt..

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Big 3 is always a big help. But I've got ~1500w on a weaker alt and a much smaller battery and have no big dimming problems. I'd suspect you have a bigger problem, like a ground problem. did you install the system yourself?

 

[dragonfister 10+ year member]

no it was done at a shop , my head unit flickers too , its not a constant brightness but ranges ,,,,i should drive her back to the shop and *****?

 

[TheUnderFighter 10+ year member]

Absolutely, it sounds like there is something wrong there. Do not let them tell you you need a new or an extra battery, or even worse, a capacitor. A capacitor is useless in your situation, do not let them convince you otherwise. If they check it over and don't find anything wrong, I'd say get it checked out at another shop.

 

[brodeisel 10+ year member]

I would just figure it out myself instead of going to another shop. Probably is a ground not sanded. Make sure you dont have bass boost on also.

 

[All_Logix 10+ year member]

I honestly believe that doing the Big 3 is going to a massive difference. If I am not mistaken VW did not use alot of heavy electronics in the turn of the century and your probably going to gind like 8-10 guage wire under the hood...if that. Even with a much larger battery or even a HO alternator you have a crazy bottle neck with that wire. Do the Big 3, if you dont see some good results then you should take it back to the shop

 

[r0llinlacs 10+ year member]

How many amps is your alternator? 1000wrms is a lot of juice to pull from any factory electrical system. It will dim no matter what because your alternator can't re-charge your battery fast enough. The big 3 will help, yes, but it won't be a miracle fix. A H-O alternator is the miracle fix.

Also 4 gauge is on the small side for 1000wrms. Do 2 gauge at least, and ground your battery to the chassis with 0 gauge. Anything can cause voltage drop, including small wires, especially when they are run the whole distance of the car (Hood to trunk).

 

[bgowdy 5,000+ posts]

yea i dont have a big3 done yet.(i need to) however i dont have a dimming problem unless imjust sitting at idle. driving it dont dim. i have 3 batts 1 under hood & 2 in hatch. i did upgrade my alt wire to 4 ga because the 10ga that came on it burnt up. lol i didn have none bigger then 4 @ the time

 

[i2ain2thunder 10+ year member]

1 do the big three, still have issue do 2

2 add another battery in the back, make sure all ground connections are clean shiny metal sand down if needed, still have issue do 3

3 shell out a fortune for ho alt.