Lights dim when my bass hits.

[ttjj1410]

hello all. i have an issue with the lights on my 05 GP dimming when the bass hits. i have all leds on the car inside and out to reduce power consumption on the alternator and because they look really good. i have 1 memphis 12" with a 200 watt amp. also this is a relatively new issue as it didnt do this when i lived in georgia and has started since moving to alaska. any advice on this is greatly appreciated as i dont want to damage any electronics in the car. thanks in advance

[SlowNA06]

You ran the power cord on top of the interior lighting wiring. EMP, broski. I don't see any way around interior lights dimming unless you run the power wire around a different part of the car.

now if your headlights are dimming... Turn something down.

[TLSheff]

i have 1 memphis 12" with a 200 watt amp.

I would GUESS that your amp is working too hard and pulling alot to keep up the sound your trying for. If its maxed and your cranking your stereo up its just got a major draw on the battery and alt. You would probably do better with a bigger amp that could be turned down and a decent capacitor to help out.

Back in the day I had a 600watt Memphis 600-c amp pushing 2 PR 12's in my truck, with the capacitor my headlights stopped dimming because it took some of the draw, but if I really cranked up the amp it wouldn't matter. But usually a 200 amp wouldn't pull that much so I'm not 100% sure.

[Bio248]

capacitors dont work. you need a higher amperage alternator.

[SlowNA06]

and a decent capacitor to help out.

wut

[develand]

Bigger wires, and check or get new alternator.

[matt5112]

how is a higher amp alt gonna help when he's hardly pushing any power?

[develand]

To the OP, what size of wires are you running?

[Tuner-Extraordinaire]

just means the car appreciates the jams.

[Explicit_Spade]

Turn the amp down.

[SlowNA06]

Wait... does nobody else's interior lights dim when their bass hits? Am I doing it wrong?

[cameron92]

Wait... does nobody else's interior lights dim when their bass hits? Am I doing it wrong?

Mine do, and my voltage drops from 13.7 to around 12-12.5

[SlowNA06]

Mine do, and my voltage drops from 13.7 to around 12-12.5

I bet your headlights dim. Mine don't. Don't think my voltage drops below 14-something.

[SeanGTP]

My headlights don't dim where as the rest of my lights do, pretty greatly, on my 1000watt amp. 4GA wire with a 120amp fuse, amp is fused at 80amps. But even my old amp with the 25A fuse did that as well.

Big 3 upgrade, that should fix it.

In my case my car is so power-f*cked that I don't think I'll ever NOT have issues. -_-

[Brian99SE]

capacitors dont work. you need a higher amperage alternator.

You're right to an extent. Not to say you are wrong. Capacitors DO provide some function as a Filter and does smooth out the power drop to a less noticeable extent. Which may make it seem like the car is not straining as much as it did without. yet there is still a massive voltage drop.

[SeanGTP]

I heard capacitors put strain on the alt. I'm not sure how, but that turned me away from ever getting one.

[SlowNA06]

I heard capacitors put strain on the alt. I'm not sure how, but that turned me away from ever getting one.

Can't imagine how big a cap setup you'd need to do that, but any reason's a good one.

[Brian99SE]

Only feasable time i could see that it could put a strain on any components is inital power up from 0V But they normally have a resistor for a longer Time Constant charge. Say Its a 1 Farad CAP with a 50 OHM resistor... T=50*1 Where Time=Resistance(Ohms) * Capacity (Farad)

Which would mean the capacitor would be 63% of supply voltage 8.72 volts for a 13.8 volt supply after 50 seconds.

[matt5112]

what is the definition of a farad?

[Brian99SE]

Unit (ISU) of capacitance in laymans terms.