lights dimming, ALOT
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From: Hays, Ks
lights dimming, ALOT
hey..i haev an 87 fullsize bronco, and currently have 2 6.5 inch rockford speakers up front, and 6x9s in the back by the subs-2 10" (great quality) Jensens (lol)
, hey they work well! and a 700x rockford amp..going to get new subs soon, and am worrying about the lights dimming, not only them..but the lights on my cd player dim pretty bad when even just the speakers hit, with the subs bypassed, with the engine turned off...and when the engine is on, the lights dim kinda bad at a stop with engine running, and subs running..is this my battery? or wiring, or what, shuold i just get new battery cables? the wires have been cleaned off, i cleaned em realyl well when i installed the subs about 3 months ago.
thanks in advance, Joseph
, hey they work well! and a 700x rockford amp..going to get new subs soon, and am worrying about the lights dimming, not only them..but the lights on my cd player dim pretty bad when even just the speakers hit, with the subs bypassed, with the engine turned off...and when the engine is on, the lights dim kinda bad at a stop with engine running, and subs running..is this my battery? or wiring, or what, shuold i just get new battery cables? the wires have been cleaned off, i cleaned em realyl well when i installed the subs about 3 months ago. thanks in advance, Joseph
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Joined: Aug 2003
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From: South Texas
I assume you have your amp wired directly to the battery? If not that's the first thing to do, using an 8 guage wire (or better) and an inline fuse. And make your ground wire as short as possible. If your battery is a few years old, it's probably a good idea to get a new one. If that doesn't help, then its time to look into a stiffing cap. and check your alt.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
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From: Hays, Ks
first of all, its installed very well..thats why i dont understand why its not working..
first off..i have an inline fuse abuot 8 inches from the battery..and then the 4GA from the battery runs through my 1 farad rockford cap, and then it goes into a distribution block which is fused also, and then 2 power wires go into my amp (8ga) and then 2 groudn wires come out (8 ga also) which runs into another block which splits into a 4GA wire, which runs through the cap again, and then back to a solid ground in the floor..a bolt through the bottom underneath teh carpet
and once again, it dims without the amp being turned on...i instaleld a "switch" yesterday to turn the amp on and off routing the extra remote turnon lead to a switch no the botton of my dash, and even with it off..its still dimming my lights with my speaker..and i dont see how that would put that much strain? my alternator isnt in that good of condition..has the small "squeel" sometimes...but its once again only the cd power...thanks in advance
Joseph
first off..i have an inline fuse abuot 8 inches from the battery..and then the 4GA from the battery runs through my 1 farad rockford cap, and then it goes into a distribution block which is fused also, and then 2 power wires go into my amp (8ga) and then 2 groudn wires come out (8 ga also) which runs into another block which splits into a 4GA wire, which runs through the cap again, and then back to a solid ground in the floor..a bolt through the bottom underneath teh carpet
and once again, it dims without the amp being turned on...i instaleld a "switch" yesterday to turn the amp on and off routing the extra remote turnon lead to a switch no the botton of my dash, and even with it off..its still dimming my lights with my speaker..and i dont see how that would put that much strain? my alternator isnt in that good of condition..has the small "squeel" sometimes...but its once again only the cd power...thanks in advance
Joseph
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,977
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From: South Texas
Sorry about that, I didn't understand the problem at first.
So your lights are dimming with just your HU being on?
That's pretty strange. I would have to say that there is some kind of electrical problem with the truck, but I'm just guessing.
Hope someone else can be more helpful!
So your lights are dimming with just your HU being on?
That's pretty strange. I would have to say that there is some kind of electrical problem with the truck, but I'm just guessing.
Hope someone else can be more helpful!
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Central Ohio
JoeBob, This is my opinion based on 30 years experience. With the system you have a very modest stock alternator and HD battery should be fine. Lose the capacitor(are you sure it's wired correctly, see http://www.paudio.tripod.com/capacitors). I would make sure that my alternator and battery were in top notch condition, FIRST, and go from there.
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From: Hays, Ks
first off..no the head unit doesnt dim whenever i touch it..allt h wires are in correctly..and ive double checked them all..2nd, my battery is pretty heavy duty..950CA and maybe 775 CCA or something..aroud there, and..this is waht im going to do
ive got some leftover 4ga from wiring..so im going to do this "upgrade",i heard it helps out your electrical system..should help out mine, i dont get the "whine" of the alternator overworking..so i think its the battery/wiring
heres the link for the upgrade-http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=007801
doesnt take alot of wire..and it should work, so i figure i'll give that a shot with 10 bucks worth of extra 4ga and see if that helps..
about the cap, yes its installed correctly..and all my fuses are the correct length from power source..and my groudn wire is like 10 inches, and, many people setup their capacitor with this setup, and it helps more than through the dist. block, because the power is directly in line with the power..and since ive gotten it, ive noticed the power hitting a little harder, and the lights dimming alot less, not to mention the alternator working less
thanks in advance..joseph
ive got some leftover 4ga from wiring..so im going to do this "upgrade",i heard it helps out your electrical system..should help out mine, i dont get the "whine" of the alternator overworking..so i think its the battery/wiring
heres the link for the upgrade-http://forum.sounddomain.com/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=007801
doesnt take alot of wire..and it should work, so i figure i'll give that a shot with 10 bucks worth of extra 4ga and see if that helps..
about the cap, yes its installed correctly..and all my fuses are the correct length from power source..and my groudn wire is like 10 inches, and, many people setup their capacitor with this setup, and it helps more than through the dist. block, because the power is directly in line with the power..and since ive gotten it, ive noticed the power hitting a little harder, and the lights dimming alot less, not to mention the alternator working less
thanks in advance..joseph
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From: Central Ohio
JoeBob, If you are sure the battery(no problems with starting, etc.) and alternator are in working order, a simple test can let you know if your alternator/wiring is adequate. Some evening after dark, run your truck for a while with as many accessories as possible(stereo, AC, lights, etc.). Park in front of a wall where you can easily tell how bright your headlights are. Turn off all accessories but your lights. With the engine idling, shut off the engine. If your lights dim, your alternator/wiring is adequate. If your lights would happen to get brighter, you have a problem with maintaining an ADEQUATE supply of voltage. Even if it would be brand new, it could still be inadequate to "keep up" with the current demands. When you kill the engine, the battery takes over supplying voltage instead of the alternator and if your lights get brighter, that means your battery is supplying more voltage than your alternator, which is NOT how it should work. This test will be useful if everything is in top notch working order in your charging system. If you have other serious problems, then this test may be useless.
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From: Hays, Ks
worked on the vehicle today..
alright i ran a new higher strand (and red now instead of black) power cord back to my capacitor/amp..and then ran another 4ga wire off the neg post to a ground post on the chasis
before..the lights dimmed pretty bad even idling off the stereo, i guess this neg wire to my chasis helped, ALOT, running with volume about 2/3 up, bass turned up..subs and speakers running without engine running..i still got 11.80 volts at the lowest with a dig multimeter, and it was around 12.75 shutoff at the battery-positive tip on pos post and the neg on the sidewall touching the neg grounding wire off the neg post-
im pleased..that for some reason..made a huge diff, i guess my grounding just wasnt adequate, my lights dim very little now, u can tell a lil, but not bad at all, and i definitly have less bass fading away with the hits..they hit harder and mroe solid, so its all good
im sure my alternator needing to be replaced is part of it..but its working now, and i'll probably trade within the next 6 months, so no point in putting a HD Alternator in now, thanks for teh help
Joseph
alright i ran a new higher strand (and red now instead of black) power cord back to my capacitor/amp..and then ran another 4ga wire off the neg post to a ground post on the chasis
before..the lights dimmed pretty bad even idling off the stereo, i guess this neg wire to my chasis helped, ALOT, running with volume about 2/3 up, bass turned up..subs and speakers running without engine running..i still got 11.80 volts at the lowest with a dig multimeter, and it was around 12.75 shutoff at the battery-positive tip on pos post and the neg on the sidewall touching the neg grounding wire off the neg post-
im pleased..that for some reason..made a huge diff, i guess my grounding just wasnt adequate, my lights dim very little now, u can tell a lil, but not bad at all, and i definitly have less bass fading away with the hits..they hit harder and mroe solid, so its all good
im sure my alternator needing to be replaced is part of it..but its working now, and i'll probably trade within the next 6 months, so no point in putting a HD Alternator in now, thanks for teh help
Joseph
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Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Ohio
does this bronco have a voltage regulator? my buddy rund an electirc snowplow on his 89 and his lights were bad and the battery kept running down? he changed the voltage regulator and all is well. just a thought?
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Joined: Mar 2003
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From: New Canaan, CT
Loose the cap there usless. You may also want to upgrade the ground wire from your battery to the chassis and Alt ground wire also. I upgraded my alt/chassis and engine ground wires and barely have any dimming. I am pushing around 1300 watts rms.
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