Getting Kinda Frustrated......
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2318 Registered: Aug-05 | i got a HO alt, and my lights are still dimming, and i think i have what is known as "AC Ripple", don't know exactly. my lights, guages are bright, but it looks as if there is a "ripple" in the light. it stays bright, but then it goes a little less bright and then back to regular, except it does this very fast. it isn't very noticeable, unless you look at the guages or lights closely, but it is driving me insane. so are the dimming lights. would an Optima Red Top fix this? i am about ready to rip all of the audio equipment out of my car. the money spending never ends. AAH! |
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Gold Member Username: James1115Wilton, Ct Post Number: 4031 Registered: Dec-04 | whoa whoa hold on there muddy step away from your stereo! lol The reason you are getting the rippling effect in your lights is because even though your alt is HO say 175 amps that is only at 3000rpm's. When you run your system at idle your alt prob only puts out 100-115 amps so it may struggle a little but if all you get is a ripple its nothing to be worried about. A new optima red top is a starting battery I would go with the dual purpose yellow top. You need a good battery to be able to handle the overflow when your alt is being strained. |
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Gold Member Username: SouthernrebelMonroe, Louisiana USA Post Number: 1295 Registered: Mar-04 | check all wires...grounds, power, alt-to-batt. i know how frustrating it can be muddy....hang in there man. |
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Gold Member Username: SouthernrebelMonroe, Louisiana USA Post Number: 1296 Registered: Mar-04 | the yellow top is a good idea too... oh, muddy... what gauge is your big-3? |
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Silver Member Username: Iufan4lifeulPost Number: 543 Registered: May-05 | Ok, I have OFFICIALLY proven something on my car and many other peoples. What people see as "dimming of the lights" is actually it vibrating the f*ck out of the car lol. At least in a few peoples I have seen. I know my alt/battery are fine but when I turn it high enough CERTAIN lights will seem to "dim" just a little but at the same time for example the headlights won't. I think something has to do with it be vibrated so much. Just a thought. Might not be true in your case. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2319 Registered: Aug-05 | my big 3 is 4ga. and i get the rippling effect even with the system off. he measured my alt and he said it does 14.5V at idle, and 14.2 with my system playing full blast. it is a 220A alt, but the guy who i bought it from said it will do 220A regardless of engine RPM. i will be upgrading my power wire from battery to D-block to 1/0ga in the near future. and i think it was Isaac who said that a Yellow top used just for a starter battery will not last as long as a red top used as a starter battery(even though that's all a red top is used for lol) |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2321 Registered: Aug-05 | my lights definitely dim, with every bass hit, so does my guage cluster lights and my digital clock, not as much as before i got the alt, but they still do it. and they get brighter when the idle goes up. they have a dual purpose yellow top? |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2322 Registered: Aug-05 | i'm not a wire gauge guru. what is the power handling on the different sizes of wires for "x" amount of feet? |
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Gold Member Username: InvainMichigan United States Post Number: 3869 Registered: Aug-04 | Mine still dim even with a H.O alt, even though it's still in the 13 volt range with my system cranked. The lights in your car are running off of 12 - 14 volts, your gonna notice it even if the voltage fluxuates very little. As long as your voltage rails aren't dropping too low, just try to get used to the dims. Mine aren't very bad mind you, only when it's about half way, as my A/B amp actually pulls less amps the higher I have it turned up after a certain point. I have no idea how much your lights are dimming though, mine just flicker a teeny bit, not really noticeable. |
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Gold Member Username: SouthernrebelMonroe, Louisiana USA Post Number: 1297 Registered: Mar-04 | first off, i would redo my big-3 w/ 1/0...your big-3 is a MAJOR part of any system, it is the vein for your systems blood. (alt is the heart) optima yellow tops are deep-cycle/starting batts....so yes. ---come to think of it, what would the amps be?...the liver or stomach maybe...lmao |
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Gold Member Username: RovinTrinidad & T... Post Number: 1307 Registered: Jul-05 | http://www.the12volt.com/info/recwirsz.asp |
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Gold Member Username: James1115Wilton, Ct Post Number: 4035 Registered: Dec-04 | Yup Joe is correct with any massive fluctuation you are going to notice a minimal effect with a 220 amp alt or not because there is recharge time. Its just how bad it happens that matters. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2323 Registered: Aug-05 | thanks Rovin, i was just on that website looking at a chart of wire guage and its power hadling etc. the dimming isn't bad, but i am an@l about it i guess. i suppose if you go from 14.5 to around 13 or so they will dim, i wasn't really taking that into consideration. my car has no trouble idling either as it did before i got the alt. the amps would be the a**hole, and the speakers would be the noise!!! ROFL!! i started crying i laughed so hard!! LMAO |
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Gold Member Username: SouthernrebelMonroe, Louisiana USA Post Number: 1298 Registered: Mar-04 | muddy... check your voltage at the amps during low volume and high volume (balls to the wall). just to see how lower your voltage is dropping. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2324 Registered: Aug-05 | k thanks. will do. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2340 Registered: Aug-05 | Now something else is wrong with my friggin system!!!! on my way to school this morning, i was listening to a new burnt CD, and i had it loud on the first 3 songs, and then turned it down on the fourth, and the Mids & Highs cut-out and the amp went into protect. so i turned my HU off for a few seconds, and then turned it back on. within the next minute and a half it shut off again, and i had the volume very low, could hardly hear it, and the amp was still fairly cool. not even warm to the touch. so i shut it off again and went to school and then took out the bottom of my backseat and there were a few loose screws underneath, so i removed them. the only thing they could have touched was the terminals in which i have my groung wires screwed to the car(and the paint is scratched off as well to make good contact.) so i put my seat back, and no problems. so i go get something to eat listening to my system the whoe way their, and the whole way back, and i pull into my driveway, and i am getting all of my stuff together to bring into the house, and i turn it up one last time and NO mids and highs again!! WTF is the problem? i had my amp bass amp installed and new wiring ran like a week ago, and now all of a sudden i am having problems with an amp that i have never had a problem with in the 20 months i have owned it.!! the people at my audioshop are out of town at finals in tenn of kentucky or wherever it is, and they won't be able to look at it until tuesday of next week!! i am afraid that i will rip out the amps and smash them on the ground before next tuesday...j/k, but that is about how friggin rediculously angry i am. *sigh* |
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Gold Member Username: Mikechec9Http://www.cardomain.c... Post Number: 1244 Registered: May-05 | it seems like you have more power from your amps than your alt alone can handle. so the load is now being handled/shared by the alt AND the battery. the question is would a optima, etc.. be able to assist the alternator to a greater degree than a stock battery. i have the same issue. it's also to a relatively small degree. i have a 220 amp alt with a true 5 farad cap, but my battery (like yours appears to be) is stock. i'm figuring out if the new battery will help also. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2342 Registered: Aug-05 | yeah, the guy at the audioshop said i need a red top, but i am broke, and i don't see how that is going to fix it. doesn't your battery act like a reservoir, and your alternator being the "water pump" if you will, when the car is running? so wouldn't that mean that if the reservoir is always full(b/c the HO alternator has more than enough capability to charge it) that you wouldn't have any problems, or is it that the reservoir doesn't hold that much water(stock battery)? and yes, i do have the stock battery.  |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4747 Registered: Nov-04 | Okay, how many amps do you have in the car? Do you have one for the mids and highs? If your amp is shutting down, then it is getting overloaded or getting too much voltage. Try this, unhook the rca on the amp and let it run. If it doesn't shut down, then you know it's signal related. Using a DMM, measure the exact voltage getting on the amp. Test the speaker wires to see if there's a short. If you get 4ohms - 3ohms, then it's good. If you get 1ohm or less, then there's a short. All it takes is a little pinch to cause an amp to go into protection. When you say your lights still dim, is it at idle? Can you actually see it dim? With my setup, the headlights didn't dim, at least I couldn't tell with full power, internal lights did dim slightly. That was caused by the power dropping from 14.6 to 13.4 (idle). Do you have caps in your system? You might need one to filter out the spikes in power. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2344 Registered: Aug-05 | i have two amps. one for the mids and highs, and one for the sub.  yes, it is at idle, but it isn't bad. it is just noticeable. in fact i would say it is right at about where it was when i had just the 400w amp on my stock 85amp alt. but it goes almost completely away when i rev it up to a little over 1000-1500rpm. i also have no caps, and i appreciate all the help guys.  i'm guessing it is spikes in power, b/c i revved it up b/c my belt was squeaking slightly, and then i went to turn it up, and the amp was in portect. that might be what it is. would an aftermarket battery help in filtering out power spikes? |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2345 Registered: Aug-05 | this is what i just went outside and did. i turned on the car, and turned the volume up, no problems. then i turned the volume on the HU to 1, and revved the engine up to like 4,000RPM to 5,000RPM, and i looked at the amp and it was in protect. does that mean that it is shutting off due to voltage spikes? and would a new battery fix this? i sure hope so. lol |
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Silver Member Username: SpyderEglin AFB, Florida USA Post Number: 154 Registered: Jun-05 | in all reality i would give a little 1 farad cap a try.....as it will filter out some of the ripple and spikes....and for 50 bucks it's worth a shot! |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4748 Registered: Nov-04 | Don't waste your money on a new battery yet. Using a DMM, measure the voltage with the car in idle, then with the engine at 4000rpm. See if there's a change in voltage. Make sure the rcas are not connected. You want to find if the protectiong is due to voltage spike or signal overload on rcas. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 4749 Registered: Nov-04 | I almost forgot, lack of current/voltage could also trigger protection. So do measure it. |
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Gold Member Username: Basshead86Ocala, FL USA Post Number: 2351 Registered: Aug-05 | k thanks. |
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