Lights Dimming.. Need help!

[03SXTNeon]

Okay so I have an 03 SXT Neon with a 120amp alternator and the big three upgrade done with 1/0 wire. All grounds and positive wires have been done. I have an HID conversion and most of my light bulbs have been swapped with leds. I have a pioneer DEH-80PRS head unit powering two front 6.5" incriminator audio coax speakers, and two kicker 6x9s coax speakers in the back. I also have a 1400watt skar audio amp powering two 10" sundown audio 4ohm DVC subs wired down to 1ohm at the amp. I used 1/0 wire for everything. The subs are rated for 500 watts rms a piece and the amp obviously pushes 1400rms at 1ohm. I need to know if I really need to get a HO alternator for this setup... I still have a 4 channel amp to take the speakers off the HU and two more dash speakers to hook up. I'm already getting heavy dash light dimming when I turn the system up to half its limit. Please I could use some advice! Thanks for your time!

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[fatboytyler]

Its likely more like 1500Watts (not sure on Skar). Is your battery the standard Lead Acid? Also, are you sure your gains are set correctly?

 

[negolien]

Yes you need a HO alt. 220 is a good choice it's what I run. Some people complain but I use a DB alt and have had 0 issues Singer is another good choice the others... Meh

 

[big scott]

Yes you need a HO alt. 220 is a good choice it's what I run. Some people complain but I use a DB alt and have had 0 issues Singer is another good choice the others... Meh

i to use db alts. i have the 200amp and it works great.

i have the big 4 , all 1/0 and right now im just using my yellow top battery. and when i crank it up, the lowest my voltage goes is about 14 volts.

and im pushing 2,500 rms right now.

so i plan on getting 2 audio batterys for the back.

so ya a good alt. is needed.

 

[03SXTNeon]

I have a brand new yellowtop optima. So the standard alt for my car is an 85amp I upgraded it when I did my timing belt. Just used one from an 02 or cruiser. So I thought the 85 to 120 jump would give me some cushion to run my system without drop... kinda sad about it. I'm also not positive my gains are set correctly. I'm kinda a newbie to audiophile settings... how would I go about this? Also would I just search DB alternator an then my car? Thanks again for all the feedback.

 

[Andrew12 10+ year member]

You don't need a h.o. alternator for that setup. Pick up a small kinetik/ stinger etc battery for the trunk and should help tremendously with the dimming. Does your amp have a bass boost setting? How high is your gain cranked up?

 

[gckless 5,000+ posts]

Get a voltage meter and figure out where you're at. Some lights dim with even .2V drop, but dash lights are usually better than that. Get another battery if you're dropping below 13V, you should not need a new alt. I guess it depends on the price of each though. If they are roughly the same, just get the alt. And Yellowtops are no good. Shouldn't be a reason why you're seeing what you're seeing, just saying.

 

[03SXTNeon]

Okay so I got the yellowtop for a steal and I needed a new battery (new car to me at the time) so the yellowtop was a vast improvement over what was in the car. So I'm at 13.7-13.9 at idle with radio on low. I then push the radio a bit and I get a .2-.5 drop and dome light dimming. I then turn on my headlights and such and the voltage seems to go back up to a 13.9-14.1 ... very weird... I feel like there is something I'm not taking into consideration that is causing this. Is there something I can do instead of a high output? That's a little out of my price range at the moment I'm a college student and work fulltime to pay bills.. took me forever to build up the current system lol. I can't stand dimming lights either.. makes it look cheap and I feel like something is very very wrong.

 

[Andrew12 10+ year member]

I feel like you just ignored everything we told you

 

[03SXTNeon]

No I've taken everything you all have said into consideration. But I am more so seeking some other opinions? I am just wondering why my voltage is so low at idle with nothing on? Shouldn't it be 14+? Also wouldn't another battery just cause another drain on the alternator output? Aren't Batterys parasitic? Any of you have a link to a good second battery install tutorial? Could there be something wrong with the wiring running to my lights?

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

I find it strange that you have this much dimming. Your system is ~1.5K or less, you have a 120 amp alt, a yellowtop, and the big 3. Add another battery. Also, I've heard bad things about yellowtops.

 

[03SXTNeon]

^^^That's what I'm saying lol.. I don't think I should be getting the dimming I am getting. It seems crazy to me. When my bass hits the dash lights look like I am turning the dimming knob all the way down and back up lol

 

[swanginfleet]

Check your ground on your amp. Make sure it's on bare metal and on the frame or as close to the frame as possible. Also check connection for corrosion. If your using ofc wire you might have some corrosion at your terminals. It's very common and will cause bad voltage. A good way to check your positive wire from the alt to the bat is to check the voltage straight off the pos stud on the back of the alt vs the battery and see if your losing voltage in between.

Sounds like a bad wire or messed up alt. Check those first and then check on a second battery or sell the yt and get you a bigger single battery. I've owned several optimas through the years

optimas=overated

 

[adulbrich 5,000+ posts]

I ran a ton off my stock electrical for months before my battery died. I had a 100 amp alt and one battery. Only had dimming headlights one time, because I left my door open earlier that day (the battery was pretty drained). All my wiring was extremely short, which helps a lot in my opinion. I'm upgrading everything on my current build

 

[BoomTaco64]

optimas are great starting batteries. i would add a kinetik power cell in the rear within 6' of the amp...run power and ground from the posts to the amp and ground the battery with a good 1/0 awg cable. do not use any factory bolts. scratch all paint from the area and use your own screws. your alternator jump from the stock to a little bigger may not help. optima does not mean overrated.....they are mostly used in the wrong application that is why they fail....