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Prevent headlight dim with a high powered sub setup


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Hey guys so I'm new to this forum (with experience on installing car audio) and I'm getting another car soon and I want to make the sub setup in the new car top my previous setup. First, let me tell you about my first setup, I had was a 2014 honda civic which had a Hifonics Brutus 15 inch rated at 600w rms and an Alpine MRP-M650 also rated at 600w rms. I spliced into the rear speakers for the amp input cause i had the stock radio and I didn't need rear speakers if I'm going with a sub setup. That setup was really good but the headlight dim was BAD. I was using 8 gauge wire and a 80a fuse (the wire was wayyyy too thin for the power i was running, I only used it because it had actual terminals on it and bare wire was janky and fragile). The car has a 90a alternator and the sub murdered a perfectly good 4 year old 410 cca battery to the point where the car will barely crank in cold weather in about 6 months and the battery will die if i leave the key on for more then 2-3 minutes. This next build I am gonna do the entire install properly with no hackjobbing. The next car I'm getting is an older Subaru Outback which also has an alternator of the same rating but a larger battery and my goal with that car is to run 1000w rms or more with 2x12s without causing the headlights to dim. I plan on running a proper double din and doing the Big 3 wiring upgrade with 0 gauge and run 0 gauge power wire and ground to the amp but then the headlight dim could get even worse then before due to the amp being able to suck more juice from the alternator and starving the other electronics. Led headlights will help reduce overall power consumption and not dim but the voltage dropping due to the bass hitting will still be a major problem as it's not healthy for the car's electronics. What would be the most cost-friendly route with preventing headlight dim for a 1kw rms setup because I won't be able to afford an upgraded alternator for awhile (everyone knows that Subaru parts are expensive and harder to come by usually). I could do a second battery as those aren't super expensive plus ill get the benefit of some extra cranking power when it gets super cold and with 2 batteries i can simply run a power distribution block and run 4 gauge to the amp because my amp has a 4 gauge power and ground hookup. Another option is a capacitor but I have no clue what size I need. Can someone point me in the right direction before I embark on this project, I really don't want to be murdering car batteries every few months with the subs every time I want to play some tunes.



Heres a parts list of what I'm planning on getting.

Amp: https://www.skaraudio.com/products/rp-1500-1d-car-amplifier
Subs (2 of them): https://popsspeakers.com/products/p1000-12 
Box: Buying with subs preinstalled from a friend and its brand new never hooked up
Radio (buying used from a friend for cheap): https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-DMX7704S-Digital-Receiver-Bluetooth/dp/B06XTYJTMQ or this if my friend decides to not sell the kenwood: https://www.crutchfield.com/p_1302440NEX/Pioneer-AVH-2440NEX.html


Also if anyone is curious, here's a vid of the headlight dimming issue I'm having on the civic, the dimming gets worse while driving cause the stock radio has a speed sensitive volume feature that I left on. Also, the song I chose doesn't have a big bass drop so it doesn't seem like its bad but it really is bad: 

 

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Don’t waste more money on more batteries, buy an Alternator. Keep saving your money and install everything together. Your lights might still dim when the bass hits , the best way to fix that is HID or LED headlamp bulbs. Make sure they come with a ballast. Most cars can handle 1K system with minimal electrical upgrades but an 80amp alternator is not gonna do it. If U have the money to keep throwing batteries at a problem U could have already upgraded your Alternator. Don’t mean to sound like a dick but that’s what I would do. Electrical is the heart of your system you wouldn’t walk around all the time with your phone at 15% charged U run it at 100% . Do the same with your audio.

2022 Ford Maverick on 22’s                                                                                                                                          Skar SK1500.1 on 4 Skar VD-8’s                                                                                                                       Mids Sundown Super tweeters, Skar TX 6.5 components on Skar SKM400.4                                                 LC2 for audio control  , XS Power D680 XS Series Extra Battery 

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HO alt could actually make your headlight dimming worse. Reason is because your voltage may sit higher and then when you draw enough current to use up the alt's capability, you will drop to battery voltage and that larger difference will be more noticeable in your headlights. But yeah if you really want to mitigate headlight dim you may need to buy a different bulb type like he said.

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47 minutes ago, k58.cross said:

HO alt could actually make your headlight dimming worse. Reason is because your voltage may sit higher and then when you draw enough current to use up the alt's capability, you will drop to battery voltage and that larger difference will be more noticeable in your headlights. But yeah if you really want to mitigate headlight dim you may need to buy a different bulb type like he said.

Thats the issue i had before and im considering a HO alternator cause it has a larger capacity which means it wont slam the battery as hard. I have a friend with an outback like mine and he is pushing 1.1kw on 2 batteries and an upgraded alternator so i think if i get a big enough battery, ill be able to do 1 kw for awhile till i can get an alternator (which goes for 500 dollars). Batteries are 100 dollars each.

https://www.nationsstarteralternator.com/250-Amp-XP-High-Output-Alternator-for-Subaru-p/13829-250-xp.htm

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7 hours ago, Ron36 said:

Don’t waste more money on more batteries, buy an Alternator. Keep saving your money and install everything together. Your lights might still dim when the bass hits , the best way to fix that is HID or LED headlamp bulbs. Make sure they come with a ballast. Most cars can handle 1K system with minimal electrical upgrades but an 80amp alternator is not gonna do it. If U have the money to keep throwing batteries at a problem U could have already upgraded your Alternator. Don’t mean to sound like a dick but that’s what I would do. Electrical is the heart of your system you wouldn’t walk around all the time with your phone at 15% charged U run it at 100% . Do the same with your audio.

cant do an alternator upgrade immediately due to funding, im probably gonna keep the bass down during normal driving and turn it up at car meets or if i wanna show off

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I admit I'm no expert, but I'll give my opinion based some findings I've made.

If you're only running 1000W rated and your sub is wired "normal" (1 ohm wiring into the amp and amp is rated 1kW@1 ohm), your actual wattage will be less than that due to impedance rise. Even with the amp's efficiency factored in, you won't be drawing enough current to need a HO alternator. I think your stock alt and an extra battery (small AGM like a XP2000) should be more than enough to supply all the current your system will try to draw. Grab a cheap charger like a NOCO and charge the extra battery once every couple weeks or more if it's really cold outside.

The trick is gonna be making/getting a box that both brings out the abilities of your sub and works well in your car (cabin gain effects). 

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3 hours ago, k58.cross said:

I admit I'm no expert, but I'll give my opinion based some findings I've made.

If you're only running 1000W rated and your sub is wired "normal" (1 ohm wiring into the amp and amp is rated 1kW@1 ohm), your actual wattage will be less than that due to impedance rise. Even with the amp's efficiency factored in, you won't be drawing enough current to need a HO alternator. I think your stock alt and an extra battery (small AGM like a XP2000) should be more than enough to supply all the current your system will try to draw. Grab a cheap charger like a NOCO and charge the extra battery once every couple weeks or more if it's really cold outside.

The trick is gonna be making/getting a box that both brings out the abilities of your sub and works well in your car (cabin gain effects). 

I'm gonna be running a 2 ohm load on the amp and probably 2 batteries 

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Retrofit some headlights that have their own power supply.  HID or LED

You could also look into a DC to DC regulating power supply. Though I'd be pretty loathe to put something like that on a piece of safety equipment as important as headlights

 

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I am a  bit confused here      we are talking 1k yes?   I dont see any electrical support listed 

how about the basics??    when I did the big 3   I made sure I did a good chassis ground  and BODY ground and one to the motor from the battery  

just for added insurance I  have a strap from the body to the motor ,  the body is where your headlights get  their ground  just like the wiper  motor and all the little vacuum emission  devices

also  one from the alt to the battery, I really looked at what was feeding the fuse block  (8ga?)  and I was sad that I had over looked that the best I could charge the battery was 8gauge maybe and I have 3 runs of 4 gauge   seemed a bit weak

I have a low budget battery 800 cca  and if I dont clip I dont see much in a drop anymore  long deep notes will drop the voltage a bit at idle  but my  old halogens dont blink anymore  still going to get some led bulbs   my idle is 500 rpm but she stays at 14.1 like a champ worst I have seen is about 13 but it bounced right  up to 14.3 after that note

my light dimming was bad before the grounds      

03 tacoma with 80 amp alt   1k for the subs  and 200 for the highs   yes rms I posted a budget build on here 

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Your problem is u have a 80amp ALT and an Amp that draws 60 amps . U need an Alternator, u can run 100 grounds not gonna solve your issue.

2022 Ford Maverick on 22’s                                                                                                                                          Skar SK1500.1 on 4 Skar VD-8’s                                                                                                                       Mids Sundown Super tweeters, Skar TX 6.5 components on Skar SKM400.4                                                 LC2 for audio control  , XS Power D680 XS Series Extra Battery 

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