Severe dimming, then shut down.

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

Well i have had my system in for about a year now, and we recently got a new battery for my car about the time i put my system in, My system is a sony xplod headunit, 4 gauge wiring kit, 1600 watt lanzar amp, 2 12" rockford fosgate dvc rfp 1212, and a 1 farad cap. well when my system plays or even my stock speakers everything dims till i hit the gas my headlights get a bit brighter but quickly go back to dim. And when i play certain songs everything shuts down, my headunit, and amp just turn off right there. and then it'll come back on and if i don't turn it down quick enough as soon as the bass hits it will shut back off. It only does it on low bass on high bass its fine. But when i turn my subs off and just play the stock speakers (except sony xplod 6x9's) it shuts off the headunit. and everything dims even with now subs on. The dash lights, heater knob lights, headlights, dome light, everything. What could be the problem, and we have a new alternator in the car too. Same as a stock one just new cause the old one went out. It's a 1999 Chevy Cavalier RS. When high bass hits its nice and clean and my cap reads about 13.67 and it's sometimes at 14.08 when music's not on. But, when low bass hits it reads about 12.22, so could it be my amp not able to produce enough power for low bass or what? It didnt happen before cause i only had 2 10" P1's so never needed that much power.

any suggestions?

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[shaneb 10+ year member]

your new battery is not as big as the old one?

What was crank amps on old one and what are the crank amps on new one.

 

[greendragonslim 10+ year member]

I think that it's something to do with your cap.

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

most likely a bad ground or connection

 

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

yea battery is a decent one, its actually my grandpa's car and he's not a cheap type of guy, he alwayz get the best stuff. so i know the battery's still good.

 

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

i was thinking bad ground too, cause it's in the trunk near the tail lights under the carpet juss jammed under a clasp type thing. but my headunit doesnt dim at all. just the other lights, and why would everything dim when the subs arent playing?

 

[sks_lex 10+ year member]

Ground on battery itself?

 

[Linkz 10+ year member]

Your amp is pulling more current than your charging system can provide. You alternator went out because of the strain.

You need to do the big 3. Buy some larger capacity batteries such as kinetik 2000 or a deka (9a31)

If batteries don't help much then a new alternator is the next step. I would guess you only get about 60-80 amps out of that alt. Get it measured at autozone to see what it does.

 

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

everything's good. and it only shuts off on low notes, high bass never shut it off. my friend wired my headunit to my lights though also so everything turns on when i turn the car on, but if i dont have my keys handy i just switch on the lights and everything turns on. does that effect n e thing? and my Odometer light recently just went super dim, then went bright fer a bit, then went dim again. so im thinkin there's gotta be a short somewhere.

 

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

my alternator went out before my system was in, so its a fresh alternator and fresh battery. Nothing ever went out cause of my system. it all went out just before i installed everything. so it was fresh when i put it in.

 

[Linkz 10+ year member]

everything's good. and it only shuts off on low notes, high bass never shut it off. my friend wired my headunit to my lights though also so everything turns on when i turn the car on, but if i dont have my keys handy i just switch on the lights and everything turns on. does that effect n e thing? and my Odometer light recently just went super dim, then went bright fer a bit, then went dim again. so im thinkin there's gotta be a short somewhere.

I don't understand why you would wire an HU to the lights. All the necessary power cords should be in the console of the vehicle.

 

[Linkz 10+ year member]

my alternator went out before my system was in, so its a fresh alternator and fresh battery. Nothing ever went out cause of my system. it all went out just before i installed everything. so it was fresh when i put it in.

Ah, my bad.

 

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

idk he did it lol. and he has it done to his but nothing happened and he's got a sunfire, veryyyy similar to my car. and his shit BANGS!

 

[Jameseypoo 5,000+ posts]

eat pringles

 

[xkennyx69 10+ year member]

any other suggestions?