got a 2000 civic. While im driving the voltage will drop from 14 volts down to about 12-11 volts. The alternator was just replaced about 5 months ago. I changed the terminals on the battery to some nice chrome ones. Added some more ground wires which helped out alot with my audio system. But at night my HIDs start to flicker like strobe lights. I know that it is doing that because of the voltage drop. But anyone have any ideas what could be causing this. any help would be appreciated.

 

bumpo....any help would be appreciated....

 

bump. come on guys i know someone can help me.

 

why cant none of you guys give me a hand. because i work for a sound shop.

 

thats odd.. could always add a cap. could check the wire connections on the hid kit you have.

 

have a cap installed. and all the wire connections are solid. theyre all soldered together. could it be that the alternator is not getting a good connection to the battery.

 

i got like the same problem ill be driving and when under 3500 rpms my head lights dim out then over that they get brighter and if i use the windows they dim out and the idle drops to like 400 from 600.

i have a system with a cap and everything but its drainging my battery. I think its cause either the battery isnt geting recharged enough may just need a good battery. im using some cheap die hard battery. get a yellow top optima

 

the eld on your car controls the voltage. it makes it drop under 3500 rpm and there are several more factors to it. there is a flow chart for how it works in the honda service manuals. i would post it but i let someone borrow mine and i havent seen it since. you can get the manuals on disk off ebay for about 5 bucks. once you see the flow chart you will understand what its doing. it is very annoying though.

 

okay. but my voltage will go to 12 volts and then if i hit the gas pedal to the floor, after a few seconds the voltage will go back to 14. I have a Optima Yellow Top that i thought was bad so I took it back and had it tested and they said it was good. Happened again so I brought it back and got a new battery. Like i said before could it be that my alternator is going bad or that it doesnt have a good connection up to the battery???

 

Does this happen all of the time? Or just at night?

 

what you are describing is exactly how the eld makes the voltage act. my 95ex does the same, my 94si does not cause its tuned on crome pro and the eld is turned off. i usually leave my fan on 2 or higher on my ex and keeps the voltage up, theres a 10 amp threshhold best i remember and running the fan meets it so the voltage stays up.

 

whats an ELD??? also this happens all the time. My volt gauge in my car fluctuates all the time during the day and night. But I really notice it at night when my HIDs start to flicker like strobe lights.

 

anyone?????

 

eld stands for electronic load detector. it regulates the voltage output from the alternator depending on the electrical needs of the car. it does this all the time that the car is running.
how are your hids powered? do you have a relay harness running them straight from the battery?

 

bump for the answer as well...my gsr does the same thing..i have voltage gauge and when i accelerate the voltage drops down to 12.5 volt and 1-2 mintues later comes back to 14 volt..has been happening since 2 years ago..i replaced with new battery still did the same thing..but car runs fine thou..i don't understand..it's weird.

 

bump for what answer????? i told you already its the eld doing it. its supposed to do it. theres nothing wrong, you just never noticed it until you added a voltage gauge. you wasting your time searching for nothing wrong.

 

sorry i know its off topic but what car do you have that battery in i didnt think a yellow top optima would fit in my ej1 they look "bulky"

 

you need a high output alternator
your stereo and all the add on options are taking alot of juice from your stock's electrical which was designed not to handle all that stereo etc...

 

from what i experienced in a car audio
competition..
if i push my pedal up to 2000rpm the voltage is stable, bur as you go up further..
your engine is also consuming electricity..
this might cause all the voltage drop..

 

will the yellow top fit in my ej1?

 

the car doesnt run fine though when this happens. Everytime it happens, the car starts to have a rough idle and the power of the motor is very sluggish. Also the HIDs that i have plug directly into the factory headlight plugs. could it definatly be that i need a better alternator??? if so where do you guys think i could get a good one for a good price.

 

the hids need a relay harness to feed them power straight from the battery. the oem wires should only be turning on the relays.
try this. leave your climate fan on at least 2 or 3 for a couple of days. see if the voltage is still dropping. let us know what it does.