I'm sure alot of you have helped me out with my system or have read my descriptions of it. But here's something I've noticed as bump to my tunes.

At nighttime, whenever I'm feeling really loud, I've noticed that not only my headlights but any light source in my CR-V (yes, this includes the inside light, the instrument panel lights and even the little light under the hood and in the glove box) dims quite noticeably every time my bass hits. I just have a little mono-block 800 watt max amp wired at 1 ohm so I'm surprised that it draws that much juice.

Okay, now that I've told you about the cool part, here's the part that's got me wondering. I don't know if it's just me or if this is really happening but whenever I accelerate with my system that loud, it seems like the accelerator cuts out a little. I've checked all the wires and cables and it appears that the accelerator is connected directly to a small box that has about four or five wires coming out of it. Nowhere does it actually connect to the engine. So, is this drain on my electrical system bad and if so, what can I do to correct the problem without too much expense on my part. I'm thinking already another battery in parallel to the current one but I hate that look. Any suggestions?

 

YOU need to go out and buy and install a capacitor... depending on how many watts your running is how many farads youll need if you **** isnt show worthy 1/2 farad to 1 will suit you just fine. what happening is when your bass hits its drawing power from the alternator and everything else powered in your car. A cap will store electricity so when it hits it will draw from the cap and not your batt.

 

And when your first long bass note hits, it will drain that cap and make the dimming worse until the cap recharges (if it ever does), but hey at least the dimming will be constant...

Xstream - How old is the battery in your car? How is the batteries water level?

It's worth you upgrading your engine and battery earths, and the alternator positive too. They will certainly have more of an effect on reducing your light dimming than a capacitor will.

 

If it does do that then obviouslly hell need a bigger cap genious.

 

Go and have a read of basic electrical theory.

If the guy is having problems with volt-drop due to high load on his cars electrical system, adding a further load (in the form of a capacitor) isn't going to do jack to actually solve the problem.

All that capacitor will do is mask the problem by semi-levelling the current draw out.

While you are at it, how about you also read up on the effect of the capacitors ESR on it's charging rate/time too.

 

Do you mean that when you floor it the engine takes longer to respond? Or does the engine miss and play up a touch, then go for it?

 

thanks for providing good info.

a capacitor isn't needed for such a simple setup, some would argue that capacitors are usually worthless. i agree with igor, OP should get a new battery, upgrade his wiring. and NO you wouldn't need a bigger capacitor. i don't even know how/why you came to that conclusion. upgrading his wiring would allow the power to flow more efficiently, not add more power.

 

Don't waste money on cap. Do the big 3 and it much cheaper on the run to do. I don't see why he would need a cap for that tiny system he have.

 

It is the OEM battery and it's maintenance free, so...I have no idea how to check it.

It's more like when I press on the accelerator it's like the engine just slows down or something. I've watched the tachometer and it doesn't drop but I still feel the loss of power.

 

Usually there are caps on the battery you can remove or even window that you can check the water with. How old is the battery?

 

It's an 06 model, so I'd say 3-4 years old.

 

First thing I would do is have a load check done, free at just about any alt./batt. shop, it only takes a few min., it will tell you the condition of the batt. and the cars charging system.

If it is all good, [up to spec] I would check all the amps power and ground connections, at amp and ground point and at the batt., also make sure batt. terminals are on tight and they are clean.

I need a make and model of the amp and what speakers/subs it is running, running amps at 1 ohm loads is hard on everything, the amp draws a lot of current when cranked.

A second batt. will do little more then extend play time when engine is not running, it also adds an extra load to the alt.

As mentioned, "beefing up" up the wiring can help, [if wiring is the problem] at the very least a batt. to chassis ground cable should be added, [same gauge as amps power lead] from batt. neg.(-) to a chassis ground point, [shock tower or frame rail works very well, and make the chassis connection as close to firewall as possible.

Questions...
What gauge is the power and ground leads for the amp?
How long is the amps ground lead and where and how is it connected?
What kind of fuse is in the amps power lead, [type of fuse and amperage]?

If more current is needed there is only one way to get it, a bigger alt., with that said, without knowing the make and model of the amp I can' tell you if you need a bigger alt., so I will wait for that info.

As for a cap, don't listen to the naysayers, they do not know what they are talking about, [probably engineers of some kind] a properly installed cap, [if needed] will supply the amp with needed current at peak load times, [bass hitting hard], getting a lot of current, instantly, to an amp at the end of 10+ feet of power wire is not easy and a car batt. is not designed to deliver current quickly to a car amp, in fact a cars batt. is there to start the car and that's about it, once running the cars alt. supplies the current needs of the car, if the "need" exceeds the supply you will get not only dimming lights, but the amp itself will be starved of power, driving it into clipping, [distortion] and that's not good for the amp or the speakers, resulting in poor SQ coming from the speakers.

Keep this in mind, an amp making 800W needs about 120A of current to make that 800W, but also keep in mind music is dynamic, the amp is not making 800W all the time, only when bass hits hard and amp is maxed out.
For all the know it alls that will want to jump in about this amps wattage and how it is not 800W and so on, STFU, the above is just an example and until we get a make and model you know diddly. 94

 

fcm is og of this **** period!

 

I'm choosing to take extreme exception to the highlighted statement, as it is expressely designed to offend and denigrate those whose experience and knowledge leads them to a conclusion that is different from the opinion of the postee.

 

As you have a right to, it does not change the fact that blanket statements that caps do not work is wrong, and the statement I made was intended to offend anyone who makes that claim.

It is also a fact that it is almost always an engineer of some kind making that statement, as for experience and knowledge, I have over 30 years of car audio "experience and knowledge".

So before you get your panties in a knot and take "extreme exception" how long have you been installing car audio and solving power, [current] problems in cars, or are you just an engineer?. 94

 

Ok. Here goes and I hope you don't need any serial numbers of the sub 'cause it's in a ported box in my car and I'm too lazy to take it out of the damned box and look at the back of it just to find a serial number.

1. JC Power M800D powering a Kicker 12" DCV wired at 1 ohm. The sub is rated at 800W max, since I still haven't gotten a clear answer on how to figure RMS wattage! See here for details >>> https://honda-tech.com/forums/audio-security-video-27/converting-watts-max-watts-rms-2627314/

2. Power lead: 1 gauge, I think. Ground lead 2 gauge, I think.

3. Ground lead length...a little over a foot as the amp is mounted on the sub's box. It's connected directly to the chassis of the car with a bolt and a crimp-on ring connector. It was installed at King of Car Audio in Texarkana, Texas and the guy that did it said he made sure it was a good connection.

4. Power lead fuse: Block fuse rated at 100A


As a side note pretty much all the electrical system under the hood is OEM save the addition of the power lead to the amp. I checked the battery terminals and they look clean...no corrosion if that's what you guys are worried about.

 

NINJA EDIT...didnt have size of the system when first posted

 

??? WTF does THAT mean?

 

OK, the JC Powers M800D is 1x200W RMS into 4 ohms and 1x400W RMS into 2 ohms, it is NOT stable below 2 ohms, [this may be your problem] the amp was not designed to drive a 1 ohm load, it will use excessive amounts of current, run hot and clip very easily.

Without a model number for the sub I can't help much more, Kicker makes 8 models of subs and all 8 models have a 12", and all but 2, [Comp and Comp VT] are available in 2 and 4 ohm DVC models.

Look here to see of you recognize your sub...
http://www.kicker.com/Subwoofers

Let me know. 94

 

Ok. I found it there >>> http://www.kicker.com/Subwoofers and here. >>> http://www.crutchfield.com/p_2067C12...22.html?tp=111

It's a 07CVR122.

So...now my next question is...and thank you for that info about the amp not being stable below 1 ohm... is there any way that I can get the impedance up to 2 ohm without buying another sub? Or will I have to get my lazy *** off my chair and take the sub out of the box and rewire it back to 4 ohm?

BTW, the amp does run hot and it clips easily. Damn, fcm, you're good at this!

 

It is really the wrong sub for the amp or wrong amp for the sub, the CRV 12" 4 ohm DVC would be a better sub, [wired to 2 ohms] but your still better off rewiring the sub to 4 ohms, it will leave the amp underpowered for the sub but should solve the dimming problem and as long as you do not over-drive the amp it will eliminate the clipping and hot amp, you will however not get to full "potential" out of the sub and you still run the risk of damaging the subs VCs, [if you have not already].

Pull the sub and rewire it to 4 ohms, while it is out smell the VCs, you will know if you have already burnt them, if so replace it with a DVC 4 ohm and you should be good to go. 94

 

Okay. I don't really know what I'm smelling for...is it similar to the smell of a shorted circuit in an old dishwasher?

I took the sub out and rewired it to 4 ohm. Of course it doesn't hit as hard but I haven't had a chance to test it and see if it still dims the headlight...guess I gotta check that.

 

BTW about to apply for a job at a car audio and home theater place close to here! Hope I can provide MORE info instead of ASKING more questions!

 

Burnt electrical circuits all smell about the same, they smell burnt, with that said a burnt smell does not automatically mean the VCs are damage beyond working order, other tests are needed to know that. 94

 

Then, yep, they're burnt. Come to think of it...I've actually burnt them several times...sadly.

What kind of test will determine if they still work...I mean I still get enough bass to vibrate my mirrors and that's all I really require from my system. So how else can I test them?