ss2.4lvvt

im getting really fed up with this headlight dimming crap.. and before anyone storms up the search first thing i searched "headlight dimming" and nothing came up.. now that that is outta the way lol..

went thru 5 different sources this is what i found

1: mechanic: said adding another battery would give you more storage for power and would cure headlight dimming,

2: searched on internet: said another battery would make problem worse due to larger strain on alternator, BUT cap would fix problem...

3: atlantic car stereo(car audio place): said cap will only make things worse and introduce noise to system, battery also would make dimming worse, only thing you can do is get higher output alternator.

4: sound vision(another car audio place): said cap is a good thing, and adding a battery has always fixed all problems they ever had with a car that had headlight dimming and it has to be a dry cell battery(which im thinking what does it matter if its a dry cell, 12v is 12v!!)

5: guy i bought a stinger 1 farad cap from: said hes running 1800w and upgraded to a tsunami 10farad cap, totally fixed his headlight dimming, and that make sure all my grounds are at least 4 guage(which has been done and)

6:Edit* forgot to add one.. 50 year old guy at canadian tire tried to tell me the lights shouldnt dim cause the stereo is hooked to my battery and not the alternator... after arguing with him that its not dimming when just the battery is on its drawing from the alternator and that why its dimming when the cars running and him still telling me that the car runs on the battery and not the alternator when its running i told him hes a f#ing idiot and walked away... lol

so thats the run around im getting.. like i said in my other post about the "stock amperage meter" i dont mind spending the money to fix it (other than the change the alternator option because its just too much money) i just dont wanna do the run around trying this and that before its gone..

i did install the 1 farad cap.. just how it said to be installed.. inline with the power line(less than 12 inches before the amp) and with its own 4 guage ground(very short), im running a 500w alpine class d amp @ 2 ohms, with two kenwood exelon 1000w thin subwoofers in a 2 cu/ft box, cd player is a jvc kd-avx44

so far ive got lots of advice about grounds on here and there all done, but with the cap seems when the lights do dim.. it dims more than with out it.. when i run the stereo at 17 or 18 its fine its only the last little way around 20 or 21(max volume setting for deck is 40) that it starts to dim.. the amp is set to 3/4 gain, bass boost is +5db, crossover is set to 120Hz... ive never seen a car dim with 500w! and thats how i planned my system so that i wouldnt run into problems like this but here i am.. so if theres anyone out there that has done the f*ing around trying this and that and has come to a cheaper solution than a 700.00 high amp alternator id love to see your reply.. thanks

Spun

iTrader: (1)

My first amp was 360 watts and it dimmed my headlights
You don't have to put a second battery in, just replace yours with a better one.
A bigger alt would kill your problem but on a 500 watt system, IMO its not needed.
You really want an easy way to kill the dim, put an HID kit in
Regulated power source = no dim

Welcome to owning a Cobalt, IMO the worst cars to try and put systems in.
If it aint the power issues its the damn rattles

ss2.4lvvt

I hear ya!... my toyota celica had hardly any dimming at over 1000w between class d amp and 4 channel... mechanics told me that american cars have better alternators.. yearh right.. so can you explain to me why id need a better battery if its not going below 12v's? if its the fault of the alternator not being able to keep up with supplying the amp with power it needs and on accessory power it will run for over an hour on battery.. i just cant wrap my head around that concept... and if i do get a battery the only different thing about otima batterys is you can mount them upside down without spilling acid everywhere.. other than that the cca and ca are just as good as a normal engergizer car battery... thanks

ok searched optima batteryes on the net.. says they last longer(never had a battery fail on me yet), stands up to vibration(my car doesnt vibrate or go offroading), can stand to be discharged to 10.5v(never let it go that far anyway), does say it has less internal resistance but doesnt compare it to anything..

my friend has a RSX with a yellow top hes running two 500w sony amps and three sony xplodes and he still has headlight dimming.. has anyone actually just replaced the battery with a yellow top and abolished there headlight dimming?