Dodge stratus Se 03 with lights dimming wth amp, new battery, new alternator, big...

J

Javier

Member
...3... still lights dimming? I got a new battery, a 120Amp alternator, gauge 4 cable for the big 3 (i used the ones that are sold at autozone for the grounds to the chassis and to the engine)... lights still dimming.... resistance in all ground points (chassis, engine, amplifier to chassis) is less than 0.2 OHMs for all of them... lights still dimming... I got the following values for the voltage measured at the amplifier:

Engine off / system down: 12.6V...

Engine on / system off: between 14.54 and 14.62 with everything off (lights, dome light, heater, rear defroster), between 14.58 and 14.66 with everything on (except the radio)...

Engine on / system on: between 14.44 and 14.70 with low settings (gain -5, loud at mid), between 13.79 and 14.81 with gain at +3 and loudness on hi... everything else was on for both tests.... the dimming starts with the gain at 0 and loudness at medium...

could that help to determine what is wrong (the amp, the car, something else....)???

thanks...
its a 2 channel 380WRMS amplifier that goes to a subwoofer only... the stock amp for this car is 85AMPS... one of the reasons that i got a med to small amp was to avoid doing expensive upgrades on my electrical system... i am seriously considering taking everything out and try to ge some of my money back by selling the system on craigslist if i don't find out what's wrong....
 
billd

billd

Member
How big is your amp? or at least what is the fuse rating?
Your 4 gauge is fine. The company where i got my 200 amp alt suggest upgrading to 4 gauge minimum and it has been working like a champ.
A lot of people talk about how a cap won't work, but this is exactly the situation where it would help, even though not many ppl on here want to admit it. I'd bet dollars to donuts that if you put a cap in, your dimming would go away...And people would still continue to say caps don't work. Oh well...
 
E

edwards1337

Member
shoulda used 0/1g wire for your big three upgrade... lol and 120 amp alternator isnt a HO alternator, thats stock in most vehicles.. thats actually less amps than a stock alternator than most vehicles

you should have gotten AT LEAST a 200amp alternator, maybe even more.. thats considered a high output alternator

get a REAL high output alternator and redo your big thee upgrade with 0/1g wire.

also get an optima yellow top battery

and no, a capacitor will NOT help
heres why..

A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help. The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient. A cap does it's best to keep the voltage at a certain level, but if the voltage changes so will the cap voltage. The cap just makes the change smoother. The diming light syndrome isn't a voltage issue but rather a current (amperage) drop. The voltage simply follows what the current does. A cap does not help this situation at all. A cap doesn't provide more power nor does it try to correct it.



and i even have a capacitor and my lights STILL dim, with only a 400 rms watt system, my stock alternator is 115amps, i have 2 12" mtx thunder 4500 subs with an alpine mrp-m450 amplifier. and my lights dimmed, i purchased a 2.0 farad cap.. did it fix my light dimming? lol nope, i can show you a vid of my lights still dimming if you dont belive me, oh and also i did my big three upgrade by using 1/0g wire.

dont waste your money on a cap.



___________________________________

edit:

what kind of amp/subs do you have?
 
I

infokid

New member
you need a capacitor not only will it help the dimming stop it will save the hard amps being pulled from your battery making your battery able to have a longer life
 
E

edwards1337

Member
shoulda used 0/1g wire for your big three upgrade... lol and 120 amp alternator isnt a HO alternator, thats stock in most vehicles.. thats actually less amps than a stock alternator than most vehicles

you should have gotten AT LEAST a 200amp alternator, maybe even more.. thats considered a high output alternator

get a REAL high output alternator and redo your big thee upgrade with 0/1g wire.

also get an optima yellow top battery

and no, a capacitor will NOT help
heres why..

A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help. The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient. A cap does it's best to keep the voltage at a certain level, but if the voltage changes so will the cap voltage. The cap just makes the change smoother. The diming light syndrome isn't a voltage issue but rather a current (amperage) drop. The voltage simply follows what the current does. A cap does not help this situation at all. A cap doesn't provide more power nor does it try to correct it.



and i even have a capacitor and my lights STILL dim, with only a 400 rms watt system, my stock alternator is 115amps, i have 2 12" mtx thunder 4500 subs with an alpine mrp-m450 amplifier. and my lights dimmed, i purchased a 2.0 farad cap.. did it fix my light dimming? lol nope, i can show you a vid of my lights still dimming if you dont belive me, oh and also i did my big three upgrade by using 1/0g wire.

dont waste your money on a cap.



___________________________________

edit:

what kind of amp/subs do you have?
 
I

infokid

New member
you need a capacitor not only will it help the dimming stop it will save the hard amps being pulled from your battery making your battery able to have a longer life
 
E

edwards1337

Member
shoulda used 0/1g wire for your big three upgrade... lol and 120 amp alternator isnt a HO alternator, thats stock in most vehicles.. thats actually less amps than a stock alternator than most vehicles

you should have gotten AT LEAST a 200amp alternator, maybe even more.. thats considered a high output alternator

get a REAL high output alternator and redo your big thee upgrade with 0/1g wire.

also get an optima yellow top battery

and no, a capacitor will NOT help
heres why..

A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help. The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient. A cap does it's best to keep the voltage at a certain level, but if the voltage changes so will the cap voltage. The cap just makes the change smoother. The diming light syndrome isn't a voltage issue but rather a current (amperage) drop. The voltage simply follows what the current does. A cap does not help this situation at all. A cap doesn't provide more power nor does it try to correct it.



and i even have a capacitor and my lights STILL dim, with only a 400 rms watt system, my stock alternator is 115amps, i have 2 12" mtx thunder 4500 subs with an alpine mrp-m450 amplifier. and my lights dimmed, i purchased a 2.0 farad cap.. did it fix my light dimming? lol nope, i can show you a vid of my lights still dimming if you dont belive me, oh and also i did my big three upgrade by using 1/0g wire.

dont waste your money on a cap.



___________________________________

edit:

what kind of amp/subs do you have?
 
E

edwards1337

Member
shoulda used 0/1g wire for your big three upgrade... lol and 120 amp alternator isnt a HO alternator, thats stock in most vehicles.. thats actually less amps than a stock alternator than most vehicles

you should have gotten AT LEAST a 200amp alternator, maybe even more.. thats considered a high output alternator

get a REAL high output alternator and redo your big thee upgrade with 0/1g wire.

also get an optima yellow top battery

and no, a capacitor will NOT help
heres why..

A capacitor is only good so far as the audio system isn't trying to pull too much from the electrical system. A cap doesn't provide more power, it's designed to 'stiffen' the voltage to the amp, nothing else. If the current isn't there, a cap won't help. The alternator must have at least 20% more amperage power than the entire vehicle and sound system combined for a cap to be of benefit which is ironically the same requirements for an amp to be efficient. A cap does it's best to keep the voltage at a certain level, but if the voltage changes so will the cap voltage. The cap just makes the change smoother. The diming light syndrome isn't a voltage issue but rather a current (amperage) drop. The voltage simply follows what the current does. A cap does not help this situation at all. A cap doesn't provide more power nor does it try to correct it.



and i even have a capacitor and my lights STILL dim, with only a 400 rms watt system, my stock alternator is 115amps, i have 2 12" mtx thunder 4500 subs with an alpine mrp-m450 amplifier. and my lights dimmed, i purchased a 2.0 farad cap.. did it fix my light dimming? lol nope, i can show you a vid of my lights still dimming if you dont belive me, oh and also i did my big three upgrade by using 1/0g wire.

dont waste your money on a cap.



___________________________________

edit:

what kind of amp/subs do you have?
 
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