jmc916 Posted May 10, 2014 Report Posted May 10, 2014 Hello, The problem: My headlights dim slightly when volume is turned up 85%-100%. Also I notice the RPMs drop a little bit when the bass hits but it varies from song to song. My car: 2012 Mazda 6i My LITTLE system: Kenwood KAC-729 amp, 1 Sony XS-L151P5 bridged on the amp, Rockford Fosgate 8AWG power & ground I'm planning on upgrading my system sometime in the future to a higher wattage amp and sub, but for now I want to get everything working well with what I have... Unfortunately, nobody seems to make high output alternators for my car. So, I was exploring other options. What do you guys think? Would a under the hood battery with more cranking amps be a better option that a capictor? What do you guys even think about a capacitor? I've heard people swing both ways for and against capacitors... Let me know your thoughts! Thanks in advance!
bassman619 Posted May 10, 2014 Report Posted May 10, 2014 Keeo looking for an h/o alt..youll need it for higher wattage..yea a better battery would help ..dont evwn qaste money on a capacitor..Im surprised youre getting dimming from that amount of wattage..doesnt seem like alot..you could try putting on a relay kit for the headlights..but 1st id sah do a big3 upgrade to the car..maybe itll fix with just the big 3..if you have a 2012 chances are you probably still have the original factory battery ..its probably on its way out.. You need trunk space to get groceries and shit...bitches love groceries
jmc916 Posted May 10, 2014 Author Report Posted May 10, 2014 I've checked with Singer, still waiting for their response. Still waiting for a response from Excessive Amperage too. Mechman said they don't have one for my vehicle. Do you know of any other H/O alternator companies I should contact? I'm not sure if this is the original battery or not, the car was used when I bought it 7 months ago. Maybe I'll start with a better battery, the big three, and see what happens. I spent a long time the other night looking for H/O alternators for my car or even someone who has my car who upgraded, but I couldn't find anything.
hdorre Posted May 10, 2014 Report Posted May 10, 2014 DC is another option. For me.. in this order.. Singer, DC, and Mechman. Mechman is out, so that leaves the 2 others. On 5/8/2011 at 7:38 PM, Kranny said: On 5/8/2011 at 7:35 PM, 'Maxim' said: It hurts me inside when I read stuff like this and remember you're 15 LMFAO so true Mitsubishi 3000GT (Old Build) Headunit: Pioneer 80PRS Frontstage: (2) McLaren Audio MLT-2 Tweeters & (4) PRV Audio MR Series Neo 6.5" Mids Substage: 4 15" Hybrid Subs - Tantric Motors & Sundown Softies Amps: Banda 2.4D Amp (Tweets), American Bass VFL 350.4 (Mids), and (2) Ampere 3800s Electrical :Singer 260A Alt & JY Power Lithium 2005 Chevy Colorado Ext Cab Headunit: Pioneer 80PRS Frontstage: 4 PRV 700Ti Tweets & 6 10" Delta Mids on 3000wrms Substage: 6 Fi BTL 18s in a 4th Order Walkthrough on 3 Wolfram 4500s Electrical: Singer "390" and JY Power My Official Feedback Thread
poorfish88 Posted May 10, 2014 Report Posted May 10, 2014 Your lights shouldn't be dimming with that small amp installed. You have a bad connection somewhere or your alt is going bad.
jmc916 Posted May 11, 2014 Author Report Posted May 11, 2014 Your lights shouldn't be dimming with that small amp installed. You have a bad connection somewhere or your alt is going bad. You think it could be the ground? I made sure to sand the ground spot down and all connections are secure...
hazestorm23 Posted May 11, 2014 Report Posted May 11, 2014 Do a big 3 upgrade and a better under the hood battery and you should be good to go for now
DubNDodge Posted May 11, 2014 Report Posted May 11, 2014 First things first, you are going to notice any light dimming even with a 0.1v drop in voltage, especially if you are OCD and pick up on the little things like me. Only way to eliminate dimming lights is to install HID lights. No you don't have to grab blue or purple lights. But there are pure white HID or there are yellow colors if you prefer that.. Sure there might be other ways to completely eliminate that, but hid is a for sure answer. Check to see what your voltage drop actually is at the amp. But the reason your rpms drop when the bass hits is because your alt is being loaded down because you are calling for power. Which in turn bogs the engine down, ECU notices and raises up the rpm to compensate. My car does that big time with a h.o. alternator at idle. It'll drop almost 200rpm. Also, never hurts to check your ground for the amp, make sure it is on bare metal and is not loose. '01 Dodge Stratass Sealed Trunk Build Log 2008 Honda Fit Sport Build Log On 10/3/2013 at 10:00 AM, ROLEXrifleman said: Anyone who says they knew everything they wanted out of life at 19 can go suck a bag of dicks cause they are lying to themselves or brought up in a cult.
philrab Posted May 11, 2014 Report Posted May 11, 2014 I have an 07 Mazda 3, so if you have the 4 cylinder engine we have virtually identical electrical systems. I'm running a slightly smaller amp than you (500 watt rms mono block vs your bridged 2 channel) also on an 8 gauge wiring kit BUT I have a 1.5 farad capacitor and reinforced my battery to chassis grounds (major Mazda weak point!!!). No dimming lights for me. I think caps have their place. They won't make a 2000 watt system work on stock electricals, but for small systems they have their place. All that said, I'd double check your wiring, all connections, and grounds before adding a cap. It's been my experience that even a small amp can cause some headlight dimming in the right conditions. 2015 Toyota Tacoma Build Thread 2007 Mazda 3; 5000K HID's, Kenwood Excelon KDC-X997, Infinity Reference 6.5 comps in front and coaxials in the rear doors, JL 320.4 four channel, Rab Designs built ported enclosure with an SA12, Kenwood monoblock, Redline Leater shift boot/e-brake boot/center console cover, JBR short shifter/shifter bushings/rear motor mount. Build Thread 1996 Mazda Miata: Kenwood Excelon HU, Alpine speaker in the doors, Clearwater (miata specific) headrest speakers. 1994 Mazda Protege: Kenwood Excelon HU, Infinity Reference 2 ways all around, 2x RF Punch 10's in ported boxes.
Guest Posted May 11, 2014 Report Posted May 11, 2014 what kinda battery? (please not factory) have you done the big3? gl
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