When the bass hits every light in my car dims. Dunno if my battery cant take it anymore. What could be the problem? I'm new to this car audio.

 

if its not the battery... is the alternator

 

are alternators expensive? can you buy one thats more stronger than the stock?

 

your putting stress on your electrical equipment.

how many RMS watts are you running alone on your stereo equipment?

an high output alternator can cost from $200+. before investing into an HO alt, consider DIY-ing some nice grounding points shown here: http://forum.sounddomain.com/f...801;p=

 

look into a cap. I think a 1 farad will be enough.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by romoracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">look into a cap. I think a 1 farad will be enough.</TD></TR></TABLE>

caps are good but they still require a recharge, which means its more of a bandage than an actual fix.

i would try upgrading the grounds first as stated above, then a new alternator wouldnt even worry about a cap

 

it was a tip. Thing is he or she didnt tell us much about the system. Because if he has a 800 watt max system its alot diff then having a 1800 watt max. If its 500 i would look into a cap or a yellow top battery. with a 1800 then i would tell them to look into a yellow top, cap and alt.

**more info will help!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Manolo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When the bass hits every light in my car dims. Dunno if my battery cant take it anymore. What could be the problem? I'm new to this car audio.</TD></TR></TABLE> Need more info, what do you have for stereo equipment, HU, [head unit] amp/s speakers, makes and models.

The reason your lights dim is your alt./batt. are not able to supply the current, [amps] that the amp needs when "bass hits", for bass, the amp needs a lot of current, [amps] fast.

Depending on the stereo system and/or the cars charging system, there are a number of things that can be done, some have been mentioned above.

None of the above mean anything unless we know more about your car and system, and the first thing I would ask you to do is have the charging system checked out, go to any batt./alt. shop and have them check it, it only takes a min. and they will do it for free, they will tell you the condition of your batt. and the output of the alt.

You can do some basic checks yourself........
Do you have or have you had any problems starting your car?
If no, it's unlikely there is anything wrong with your batt.

Checking the alt. is a little harder, but if the batt. is staying charged, the alt. is still working, but it'd output may be down, a batt. shop can check that.

If the lights are dimming with bass, it's a good bet the amp is connected properly, as current is going to it when needed, [although not enough] if the lights ain't getting enough the amp isn't ether, but as you notice, it's only when the "bass hits"

Sometimes, as romoracing mentioned, all you need is a cap, it will supply the "bursts" of power the amp needs when making bass.

As he also mentioned it will depend on how many watts your system is.

It has also been mentioned that grounding may be the problem, and that is always the case, whatever the gauge of the amps power wire from the batt. is, you have to also add a ground wire from the batt. to the chassis and motor/transmission, and of coarse the ground for the amp also has to be good.

A bigger alt. has also been mentioned, and I am a firm believe that anytime you add more load, [things that use power, like amps] you should also add more supply, [bigger alt.], but unlike say a set of rally lights, [25 amp draw] when on will constantly draw 25 amps, because music is dynamic, constantly changing, an amps draw is also constantly changing, EG: if an amp needs 25 amps when it is maxed out, [making it's rms watts] it probably only averages 10 amps, [depending on how loud you play it

I could tell you to get a bigger alt. and batt. add the cap and upgrade the power and grounds, and I would be right and your dimming light problem would go away, but you may only need better grounding or the cap or a batt or an alt.

Get back with as much info about the stereo system and car as you can and I can do a better job of helping, [without you having to sell you soul] 94

 

Not this again......Go get you current draw measured if it exceeds your alternators output then upgrade.

Lets not forget an alternator produces 3-phase AC which is then ran through a bridge rectifier and then a voltage regulator to produce DC.

Semiconductors have what is called "turn-on" resistance usually "Rds ON" on a datasheet. This is the resistance through the semiconductor when it is saturated or fully turned on.

So lets say your alternator has an Rds on of .01 ohms and we pull 100 amps. This is a 1.0 volt drop just from the semiconductors!! This is before it ever hits your electrical system.

So even with a bigger alternator your lights will still dim!!!!!!!!!!

The varying in voltage is called the ripple voltage. You will never end up with 0 ripple. But a cap can reduce the ripple voltage assuming you dont exceed current capabilities and the cap has a low ESR.
A cap isn't a band aid.

Someone please tell me what the load a cap puts on the electrical system is?

 

I have to correct myself. If the transistor is saturated then current has been exceeded in a system with feedback. So voltage drop will depend on how fast the system can correct for any errors.

The other way to look at this is if you take a sine wave and invert the lower half you will notice that it still isn't DC. You have some gaps where there is no voltage being produced by the alternator. 3 Phase has 3 sinewaves shifted by 30 degrees flip the lower half and you still have some gaps. This is where the cap comes in it will fill in those gaps. Make sense? Probably not.....oh well.

 

Rockford Fosgate 451s = 450 Watts cause its bridged
MB Quart RWC304 = 160 - 300 Watts load

Only 1 sub. Also another question, i have the amped screwed onto the actual sub box, is that a stupid move? if so, where should I put it? I have a EJ1. anybody have pics of thier setup in the EJ1?

I also found out that my battery is bad, my alternator is good. checked it out at the shop today.

 

In other words the cap completes the current waves. For the ppl stumped heres me trying to explain it in basic english.

"Think of it as a brigde where parts of it have been cut out. The cap fills in the parts to make a complete brigde. If you guys that have a cap with the dig. meter, that why it goes from 13.9&gt;13.7 to 13.2 then back up, The alt. stops making power and the cap helps keep the current steady"

I screw the amp on the box all the time nothin wrong with that.

See now 450 is nothin. Like you said it was your battery. Just look into another one. May I recommend a yellow top!!!

Good luck!

 

my sub is like the pic. has two connecting terminals. should i wire it like the picture or just use one terminal?


Modified by Manolo at 8:25 PM 11/28/2005

 

1 sub / Dual Voice Coil - 4 ohms x 2
Option #1

Option #2



how you got it wired up is perfect

 

Lol best diagram yet on HT love the red circle. Think you could resize the picture

What's the impedence of the speaker? The amp you have is not recommended to run a 2 ohm load bridged. Thats what RF says anyway.

 

amp:
# 115 watts RMS x 2 at 4 ohms
# 225 watts RMS x 2 at 2 ohms
# 450 watts RMS x 1 bridged output at 4 ohms
# stereo or bridged mono output
# 4-ohm stable in bridged mode

sub:
* RMS Power Range : 225 Watts
* Impedance: 4 Ohm

 

good looking romo i was about to post it up.

so what do u guys suggest i do?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Manolo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so what do u guys suggest i do? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Same as this guy

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nsxxtreme &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Same as this guy</TD></TR></TABLE>

you mean?


sorry there was more then one person on that thread

but isnt it the same thing as this?


or is his + and - wired together on one side and the other + and - on the other?

 

will i hear a difference with this setup? will it put extra pressure on the battery?

 

not really on either. Its just a thing so your sub will work at a lower indepence.

 

so lower impedence is better...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Manolo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so lower impedence is better...</TD></TR></TABLE>
most dual voice coil subs are built for heavy-duty use. So they can take a beating because a basic sub just uses on coil a dvc uses 2 so the power is disbruted among 2 not just one.

easiest way to put it

 

i appreciate the help. tomorrow i will come with the results after i change up the speaker, add new grounds and the battery.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Manolo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i appreciate the help. tomorrow i will come with the results after i change up the speaker, add new grounds and the battery.</TD></TR></TABLE>

good luck!!!!