kento19

just installed a new sub, still the same amp setup as before but just put a better sub in. now i notice when deep bass hits, my headlights, along with all the interior lights dim, they dim more based on how deep the bass is. Is this a problem i need to fix or is it normal? if i had a capacitor hooked up to my amp would it stop this?

outtamymind

capacitor would help, won't necessarily stop it completely though. did you change your grounds at all.

kento19

yes, i did have it grounded to a regular bolt in the trunk but now i have it directly on the bolt of the negative battery terminal. should i change this?

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

depends how much your pulling! a capacitor just keeps electrical spikes to whatever farad or watt you get, from affecting the system. So if you get a low cap and the spikes take more power than what the cap can hold you'll still get dimming etc.

kento19

is it dangerous? is it possible i have something gone wrong and thats why its dimming? it doesn't really bother me, im just worried of something gone wrong or something that might go wrong.

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

do you know the tech specs of the sub? it probably is pulling some powa

outtamymind

lights dimming with bass usually indicates 1 of 2 things. too much power being drawn for the alternator to handle or a bad ground, but since your using the batteries negative terminal that rules out the bad ground.

07SSYellow

iTrader: (7)

i say ur pulling too much power thats why its dimming, i wouldnt bump it a **** ton or u will kill your battery fast, i did that in my old jeep when i was younger lol get an optima redtop battery and call it good

kento19

the name of my sub is exile, its a 12 inch i think its 1200 watts. powering it is a 760 watt pioneer amp.

jmesl8er

Get another battery, and a splitter that diesels trucks use to charge 2 batteries, then you'll have no problems

kento19

how much am i looking at for a new battery? is anything an upgrade from stock? will a wal mart battery do or do i need something high performance?

redcobalt07

iTrader: (18)

capacitor for sure

northvibe

iTrader: (1)

I assume your old sub was a lower wattage?? sounds like the new sub is just pulling more power. Get a cap and see what happens...or a 2nd battery.. I'm not into sound stuff anymore so I'd tell you to ditch it all together save weight!

jmesl8er

Try a 1 farat capacitor first. Capacitor will be 100 or more. Walmart battery will be 50 or more. Regular car battery will work

BartSS

**** a capacitor. Think of it this way. Sure its gonna help with that one spike but then youre draining the battery and putting strain on the alternator while slamming music and the cap has to recharge itself. Get a better alternator and a better battery if you want. Your alternator is THE most important part. Capacitors are a waste of money

BartSS

1200RMS??? or 1200 max cus if its max then youre at 600RMS and your amp is gonna get overpowered. You can fry the amp out real easy so i wouldnt crank it all the way. Is it a mono amp or 2 channel or 4 channel?? All this matters too.

c4w18

As long as he doesn't clip the signal coming from the amp it's fine to underpower the sub....if he clips, he'll run into problems, so he needs to take it easy on the gain.

As far as the headlights go, do the big 3 upgrade (pretty cheap), with a yellow or red top (better ESR than the stock batteries on these cars) or grab a set of HIDs. You can also change out the incandescent lights in your car with LEDs, that will help too.

AndrewSS/TC

My civic used do that 2300 watts @ 1.3ohms is hard on stuff haha.

A better say, optima battery might fix it.

tglems

iTrader: (3)

Ouch. Severely wrong. A capacitor will fix your problem, and prevent future problems of ruining your battery and alternator prematurely. The entire point of the capacitor is to draw a trickle charge from the battery (which the battery is good at) and discharge it quickly when the bass hit. A capacitor will put no added strain on your battery or alternator, whereas driving around as you are certainly is. In fact, a cap will reduce the strain you are currently putting on your system by allowing your battery and alternator to do what they are good at (slow energy delivery) compared to forcing them to do something they are bad at (quick discharge).
Finally, if you really don't care about battery/alternator life, if you care about your music you want a capacitor. By giving your sub enough energy through the capacitor you get a much cleaner hit from your sub, resulting in better sounding bass.
And, if you don't care about any of this, think about the money. Compare the money of getting a capacitor versus a bigger battery, bigger alternator, etc etc

EmperorJJ1

iTrader: (5)

no offence but those pioneer amps are pretty shitty so if its causing your lights to dim you need to go thru and check the install. any loose connections? what kind of power/ground wire are u using

kento19

the connections are tight, my power and ground wires seem like good quality. i'm not sure of the brand name but they are both red. power is about the size of my middle finger and the ground is about the same size as my pinky.

BartSS

I dunno man like i said i have just a bit more power in my car with 2 12" P3s and the 1000.1 monoblock powering them. My lights DO NOT dim at all and guess what i have no cap. But i did upgrade the alternator. I worked on installing stereos for a while and my copart went to mobile dynamics in AZ to get his Master MECP and i got my info from him. I mean unless the school is telling them bad info then i dunno. **** ill say this much caps look cool lol. Nothing against you though bro im not here to argue

Q Bert

iTrader: (1)

Upgrade your Ground wire to the same size wire as your power, thats the first problem I see.

Caps have there place and can be beneficial in some situations but its just a Band-Aid and does not fix the real problem. What I would recommend would be have the charging system and battery thoroughly tested by a reputable shop. Replace the existing battery in the car with a Kinetic 1800. If problems persist think strongly about the alternator upgrade. Watts cant be made with out work.

tglems

iTrader: (3)

It's cool, sorry if I came off too strong. Depending on the alternator/battery some cars/systems don't really need them, although a cap will always give a better discharge than a battery for the bass hitting hard.

CobawLT2010

Hell, I dim a little with just my 300 watt amp and 2 12 inch subs... can't tell on the headlights but dash lights go dim a little bit... if you we'rent looking for it you couldn't tell... and yes, I have a good ground...