headlights dimming

slaw · Post by **slaw** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 4:55 pm

ok so i had this beat up q logic box in my trunk that holds two 10" woofers
and i blew one so i just was running one and had taken the blown one out, so i bought a new sealed box off ebay, and hooked it up and obviously because the other one acted as a ported box, the bass isnt as loud, so i cranked the gain up on my amp a little more (im now at about 70-75% as opposed to my 60-65 i was running) and now my headlights are dimming like crazy

my set up is as follows
i have a pioneer deh-9800bt headunit
all stock speakers were replaced with alpine type s speakers (exluding the front tweeters)
i have a rockford fosgate 2x500 watt amp(bridged to 1000 watts)
not positive if i have 0 or 2 gauge wire, it came from a fosgate wiring kit rated for 1000 or 1200 watts
i have a tsunami 1.2 farad cap
in line fuse (not sure the rating)
sealed box with a 10" alpine type R sub in the tunk
and thats it
my brother has a "grounding kit" that hes trying to get rid of and he said that it will help with the headlights dimming(as well as the rest of the lights on the console dimming etc)
i was considering just getting another cap although the 1.2 farad was said to be enough for a 1000 watt system
either that or get a new battery
any suggestions or ideas
if needed i can take pictures of my set up

jT · Post by jT » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:12 pm

the general consensus that everyone seems to agree on is that caps are a waste of time and money

upgrade all your ground wires, maybe get a new battery, and might need a higher output alternator

slaw · Post by **slaw** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 5:19 pm

yea my brother told me caps were garbage but i didnt listen to him because i took electronics classes at a technical high school and based on general theory i wouldve asumed it to be helpful
i think im gonna get either an optima or a duralast red top battery
but that disussions already in progress in the general area

lambostealth · Post by **lambostealth** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:49 pm

3000Watts in my trunk, TV's, underglows, etc., No dimming headlights.

No cap.

0g power and grounds seem to do the trick, plus I upgraded all the grounds under the hood with 4g.

Optima yellow top is the only other thing in my electrical system thats upgraded. I have an overdrive pully for my alternator, but I haven't put it on yet because i don't really think I need it just yet.

slaw · Post by **slaw** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 10:00 am

yea my brother said this grounding kit goes under the hood and connects to the battery and stuff, im assuming its just gonna replace some factory wires
ill see about grabbin one of those batteries when i can
thanks guys

Craz1000 · Post by **Craz1000** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 2:29 pm

i put in 2 caps on my 1800w RMS system, dimmig gone.... nuff said

upgrading the grounding system helps a little too, you will also notice your car gets a little more pep, i used 4awg power wire i had laying arround at the shop, worked great and the caps are keeping the spikes at bay

slaw · Post by **slaw** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 7:32 pm

what size caps u running
i was considering picking up a matching 1.2 farad making it 2.4 alltogether , or just buying a huge like 3 or 4 farad one lol

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:14 pm

bah, just upgrade your grounds.

nineball · Post by **nineball** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 3:08 pm

capacitors are a waste of time and money.

http://forum.realmofexcursion.com/showt ... hp?t=17970

upgrade your wiring under the hood, and use 4g or bigger. replace all ground lines for the enginge, battery and anything else that is grounded. upgrade positive line too. if that doesn't solve your problem, the next step is an upgraded battery. if that still doesn't fix it then you can get a biiger output alternator. the stock neon alt is about 85, but the pt crusier is a direct swap in and gives 100-150 depending on the year and model.

Craz1000 · Post by **Craz1000** » Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:27 pm

the main reason why people hate caps as far as getting rid of dimming is the common misconseption that caps are made for that reason and also the misconseption the amps draw power from the + side of the terminal, these are both not true, electrons flow from - to + not + to -, thats why upgrading your grounding system has much more of an effect than adding caps.

A caps PRIMARY purpose is only to condition power and filter noise. your alternator puts out DC voltage in pulses which then your battery smooths out (and this ability is degraded as the battery ages) but its still not 100%, the caps help eliminate the remaining ripple and also conditions the power going though the amp and acts as tempoary storage that way the amp dosent choke itself when it suddenly has to draw more current than what the alternator has currently available, but this function is only a side effect of its design, its not a primary purpose, the power it stores is actually very small and when its drained the cap itself still has to draw power do charge itself so getting one dose nothing to keep it from so much current being drawn that your alternator has to play catch up which is whats happening when your lights dim, however in doing so it softens the blows your amps throw to your alternator when they drain more than what is available because caps charge 3-7x slower than the speed they discharge.

i have a total of 2farads in caps but they are high quality not "Phonex Digital" garbage that you buy in ebay. the grounding upgrade took off about 60 to 70% of the dimming the caps got rid of the rest plus my amps are louder now because they have a constant, uninterupted stream of power available and my SPL has gone up by at least 20% from my sub amps and my 4-channel (cleaner power = cleaner output)

these things do work but not for the reason people think they are made for, they arent simply "instant charging batteries" they are merely electrical buffers. Ask any installer thats First-Class MECP and have the textbook and theyll show you. what caps DO and DONT do and how to get more out of them. upgrading your alternator though is always the recomended way to stop any problems as far as insufficient power, but you will want a cap always to condition the line and also since your amp is chowing down on a condition source of power some believe that it may also help the electrical components inside your amp last a bit longer, but im not too sure of that but it is very possible