Why in the blue hell are my lights dimming when i have a 250 amp alt?

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

I can't say that it WILL, but in most cases it does. There are a few variables to take into account, one being in the nature of his grounds, which has been stated by someone else. Every install I've done that the lights have dimmed, whether it's my own ride, a friends, or a customers, it has fixed the issue. The size of the alt does come into play on some. An 85 ampere alt w/a 250 ampere system, a cap wont fix that issue. So there are some variables to take into account.

Even the person credited with inventing the idea of adding caps to a car audio system does not agree with your assessment. He (Richard Clark) has further stated that even the reasoning he did it, for power conditioning, is generally not necessary unless you are competing on an extremely high level SQ basis, as he was at the time. At that level, every little pop or noise added to the sound can make or break you, and even having judges simply SEE a cap (or better yet, a bank of small ones) in the system can add points to your score by way of simple human perceptions of reality.

If your charging system is sufficient to power the current demand placed on it, but your lights still dim, you have a resistance problem that a cap merely masks. If your charging system is insufficient to power the current demand placed on it, adding a small capacity power supply will not change this, no matter what its discharge rate is.

Furthermore, do you realize your amplifier already has a bank of capacitors built into its input stage? So, if more capacitance is required for proper audio performance, why do you suppose all the amp manufacturers out there dont just build more capacitance into their input stages?

If the root reason for adding a cap to your stereo is to prevent headlights from dimming, you'll be money ahead by simply adding small caps to your headlight circuit. But that would be kind of silly, wouldn't it?

 

[Wingsfreak9 10+ year member]

it must suck to get ripped on for how ghey your escort is every single time you post on this forum...poor fella....at least u got a nice system in it.

 

[kmanian 5,000+ posts]

I can't say that it WILL, but in most cases it does. There are a few variables to take into account, one being in the nature of his grounds, which has been stated by someone else. Every install I've done that the lights have dimmed, whether it's my own ride, a friends, or a customers, it has fixed the issue. The size of the alt does come into play on some. An 85 ampere alt w/a 250 ampere system, a cap wont fix that issue. So there are some variables to take into account.

so in light of the last part of your post,

Question: the OP has a 450+amp system and a 225amp alt, do you think a cap would fix that issue.

Answer: Nope

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

Simple. Bad grounds, and single battery too far away from the amp. Easiest way to solve it is to add a sealed AGM battery to the back within 2 feet of the amp and use your current 12V run to charge the 2nd battery.

 

[AlterEgo99 5,000+ posts]

Wait, wot!?

 

[AlterEgo99 5,000+ posts]

Just go to the dome and discuss my penis...who gives a shit about your dimming lights????? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Just go to the dome and discuss my penis...who gives a shit about your dimming lights????? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

You are a horrible troll.

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

So foreign cars with much smaller engines are the only ones with this option? What exactly does one give up by going with the small engine then? Anything, in your opinion?

No never said that

Smaller engines give up torque, with a turbo they give up torque till the turbo spools(aka turbo lag)

That being said, most of the older V8's $uck IMO they make the power of modern V6's and weigh more. And no I didnt say all V8's $uck. I personally like the sound of some of them. Just most of the people around me think putting a bigger carb, cam and headers/duals means they have 500hp, and none of them even know what a wideband is. Sure on some its possible but in a 4000lb+ car/truck its not very fast, but again most people think 13's are fast. If you know anything about motors you know that the head is what makes the power the rest just supplement it and tune the powerband.

As for the OP, get another battery or 2 and make sure everything else is up to par.

 

[smgreen20 10+ year member]

Another thing people overlook is the advancement in electronics and caps are included. Though their general build is essentially the same, they have gotten better. So while Richard Clark knows what he's talking about, times and advancement have changed.

Kmanian, Was there a point in your smarta$$ness? General rule of thumb 1farad for every 1k watts. A system that could draw 450 amperes would need at least a 10 farad bank. So lets be reasonable about this. There is a point when the power is far to great for a cap to have any real advantage. Anyone running 5k watts, he!! even 2k watts isn't really after SQ and if they think they are, they're fooling themselves. Headroom is a great thing to have, but for one to say they're running 2k+ watts is probably only using 500 of it. So in that sense one isn't really running 2k+ watts are they?

Caps came about, as stated, for the SQ competitor in that it helps smooth out the ripple in the DC voltage and to do what a battery can't and that is to provide a discharge of current on transient peaks. I'm on my way to an EE degree and while I don't know it all I do have my own reserved feelings/thought about caps, and whether anyone likes it or not, they do have their place.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

No never said that
Smaller engines give up torque, with a turbo they give up torque till the turbo spools(aka turbo lag)

That being said, most of the older V8's $uck IMO they make the power of modern V6's and weigh more. And no I didnt say all V8's $uck. I personally like the sound of some of them. Just most of the people around me think putting a bigger carb, cam and headers/duals means they have 500hp, and none of them even know what a wideband is. Sure on some its possible but in a 4000lb+ car/truck its not very fast, but again most people think 13's are fast. If you know anything about motors you know that the head is what makes the power the rest just supplement it and tune the powerband.

As for the OP, get another battery or 2 and make sure everything else is up to par.

No, they (almost) always give up torque. Saying they only give it up till the turbo spools up is stacking the deck in the smaller motor's favor again, because your comment assumes the smaller motor has a turbo and the larger one doesn't.

What does the age of the V8 have to do with anything? Unless you are simply talking about head design. But then, most modern heads can be placed on 'old' V8's still (minus the reverse cooling style heads).

The head isn't what makes the power, the combination of heads, carb/FI, intake and exhaust manifolds, cam (valve timing) and engine displacement/stroke all factor into the power created, as well as the powerband range. The head's flow characteristics add a lot to the powerband placement and width.

 

[audioholic 5,000+ posts]

Another thing people overlook is the advancement in electronics and caps are included. Though their general build is essentially the same, they have gotten better. So while Richard Clark knows what he's talking about, times and advancement have changed.

If you are studying to be an EE, I think its fair to ask you exactly what has changed in caps over the past decade to make you claim this.

In fact, Id say pretty much the opposite is true. As the cap craze has gotten more popular, companies keep coming out with larger and larger caps, while their ESR specs go through the roof. If you read much of RC's comments on the subject, he denounces these designs completely, and maintains that a bank of smaller caps is the best way to gain the transient response you keep mentioning.

You never commented on the fact that your amplifier already has caps built into its input stage, and why you feel the manufacturers all undersize this cap array to require you to add an external one.

 

[VWBobby 10+ year member]

You have to understand that when Richard Clark was experimenting with caps, the AGM batteries we have for Car Audio were not available yet!

He was probably using your typical lead acid deep cycle marine battery.

Even if you have the battery within 2 feet of the amp, its still not as good as having a bank of capacitors or a large capacitor a few inches from the amp. Richard and his competitor knew this from their testing.

Now we have the Deka, XS, Stinger, etc high slew rate, low ESR batteries. Since the advent of these batteries, it pretty much negates the need for capacitors in larger installs. A cap is still good for some with a struggling battery trying to keep up. No amount of 0/1 wire from the front to the back of a car is going to equal the effectiveness of a cap. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif Short runs with high slew rates is where its at.

 

[Annnarbor84 5,000+ posts]

Lawls were had after reading this stupid shit

 

[SpeedEuphoria 10+ year member]

No, they (almost) always give up torque.

Ok then the benefits of the smaller motor are less weight and better fuel economy off boost

and efficiency. You dont see a whole lot of DOHC V8's(thats where the head comments come in).

 

[anwaypasible 10+ year member]

What's up CA brahs, I have big 3 updated, and a 250 amp alt. Why are my lights dimming the *** out when my bass is barely up?

i have not read this entire thread ( 7 pages ) but i dont see why it should take that long to answer this question.

there are only a few things it could be:

1. your amps are ******* up an unsual amount of electricity

2. the metal that your vehicle is made out of is a very poor method of transfering electricity.. try wiring something and bypass using the frame or metal body to pass the electricity and see if there is an improvement.

3.the voltage regulator might not be responding appropriately to the electrical fluctuations caused by the amplifiers.

do the headlights/tail lights and interior lights all dim? (this would suggest reason 1)

maybe the headlights are wired directly and only the interior lights dim?

can you play a test tone and hold the note to see if the lights brighten after a few moments have passed? (this would suggest reason 3)

if the lights do brighten after some time, and the note is still playing, your voltage regulator is reacting very slow.

someone suggested a 'bad ground' which is basically the same thing as reason 1.

if your fusebox is grounded to metal instead of directly to the battery, it might be a straw that is too small because the metal isnt conducting the electricity efficiently.

honestly, if your headlights and interior lights have a solid connection and are dimming.. then that suggests that the amplifiers are ******* extra amounts of electricity.. or the alternator is not providing the power as advertised and is probably failing or will be dead soon.

maybe take it out and have it checked for proper amperage numbers.