scion214

hey every one i have a little problem and i m hoping someone can help me, well i have a sound system i ve been playing around with for the past four months i finally got everything set up and the problem i got is everytime the bass hits my lights dim . i ve got two amps, three twelves,a cap and an optima battery red top. what else can i do to keep the lights from dimming they only dimm when i turn it up loud , a little help or advice would be helpful

JDM_Imperial_bB

a grounding kit (if you dont have one)... and another cap or a bigger one...

JDM_Imperial_bB

or maybe even a bigger gauge wire

Neothin

run the largest wire you can to the amps. definitely 0awg to the back and then probably 2 4awg runs to the amps. same with the grounds.

do the big three in 0awg in the engine bay

positive -> alternator
chassis -> negative
chassis-> engine block

scion214

i ve got 4 gage wire going from the battery, fuse under the hood, double fuse in the rear of the car before the cap all 4 guage wire even the ground is 4 guage, and a ground block

Neothin

run 0

Igor-formerly-trophywhore

Get a Stinger battery, bat cap, or capacitor like a 3+ farad. Wiring would also help it all depends one way or another the all the ideas will work. The cheapest way is to toss in a capacitor to level out your power draw.

MPanova

All of the above is WRONG. IF your alt. can not keep up with the charging damand that is what cuases your lights to dim, if you add more caps or larger wire it will only get worse. If you need to talk to someone about it in person you can call me (I sent you my number in a PM)

eddo456

batteries and bat caps might help. The above post is a definite end all solution. I would say that the big three will help this problem tremendously but the cap you have and any additional one are completely useless, I had a five farad stinger cap and about 500 watts pulled for my subwoofers, and the lights still dimmed. I have had a friend who added a second battery in the back and his problems were solved but the is a much bigger stress on your alternator and more additions to the system that store energy and power will only draw more from your alternator.

saylor

MPanova is correct.

If you don't get an H.O. alternator - you're never gonna be happy, and you will probably fry something before it's all over with.

MPanova

Like I said I sent you a PM if you want to talk about it and not try to type back and forth. I know what I am talking about I have been building custom magazine show trucks for the last 10 years all with huge systems (3000watts +) My daily driver right now is a 2005 Mustang GT with 4 12's int he back seat and 4 amps in the trunk. Total power on this system is in the 4000 + range. I have no caps or extra batterys and my lights do not dim even at high volume for long periods of time (couple hours) and since I have very high end equipment the amps do not get much above room temp.

I have 1 12 in the wifes tC with a little over 1000watts RMS and it hits just over 140db in the temp box and a fiber glass one is coming in the near future

saylor

seems like the going size for a scion h.o. alternator is 180 amp... but I only found one on the bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Scion...QQcmdZViewItem

Panova - where's the hookups in Houston??

MPanova

Panova - where's the hookups in Houston?? [/quote]


Me

If anyone needs to get ahold of me for anything car audio related please just call me , 281-827-7026

Ill be at work all night tonight and up all day tomarrow so cll anytime, if it goes straight to voice mail leave a message and a good time to call back and I will asap

UV7

Panova's got it correct. All the caps in the world running off the finest 0wg wire isn't going to fix squat if the charging system cannot keep up. Your stereo system requires current to operate. So does every other electrical device in your car, including lights, gauges, ignition system, etc.. If you follow the proverbial "Rob Peter to pay Paul"m you will eventually suffer damaged equipment.
Here's a simple mathematical way to look at the situation:
Watts(power)=Amps(current) x Volts(elec. equivalent to pressure)
1000watts eats up approximately 83.3 amps @ 12 volts. Considering the fact that the xB only has an 80 amp alternator from the factory, and given the fact that other parts of the car are also eating up some of the 80 amps the alternator can provide, there is not enough amperage to support the car and its additional system. A larger battery will assist in resolving the problem by adding additional current storage, but only by so much. If you already have an Optima battery and are still having enough current draw to dim lights, you may need to consider a H.O. alternator. Be prepared to spend some good $$$.

Neothin

iraggi's start at like 350 and go up from there

MPanova

One other thing to consider is a H.O alt. will accentually take away from anything else that belt is running on. Basically you will lose some performance/HP Hard to explain but maybe someone else could figure out how to type it out

UV7

...as opposed to losing performance due to several hundred pounds of stereo equipment being added to the vehicle weight? A larger alternator is not going to decrease engine performance dramatically. All you are doing is increasing weight due to added wraps of coil in the alternator and even then, the weight is negligible in comparison to that of the bulk of the stereo system itself. There is VERY little, if any, difference in added drag from a H.O. alternator versus a stock alternator. Other than a possible change in rotational speed due to variance in pulley size, there shouldn't be any direct power loss.

MPanova

The loss I am talking about is from the different size pulley. Its like adding an under drive pulley and your alt. and ac work a little less proficient. Like you said its not much loss but some people have said they notice a difference when they add the high output alt.

ElDiablo17

All I can think of is that you can add more power by adding some sort of fuse or something in the Alternator for 40 bucks somewhere in Houston to produce more power (amps) and also add another batter in the back and use a battery isolators/Regulator. I would do both when I put one sub of 6000 watt/2 OHMS and run either 3000 or (2 amps) 6000 watt AMP with the largest wire as possible to prevent a lot of resistance that causes the light to dim. The longer the wire, the more resistance and the thicker the wire, the less of resistance. Optima battery is a good choice. This is my opinion of doing the stereo system. I could be wrong cuz everybody doing the stereo system as a different way.