the 2 10 inch subs that i have installed are causing my cluster to dim quite a bit, i used to have 1 12 that didnt dim or maybe i just didnt notice it. so i have two questions…
would 2 10’s cause more draw than 1 12 and cause the dimming?
is the dimming something i should be worried about or just dont even pay attention to it?
its not necessarily the size as much as the amount of wattage they consume which then causes the amplifier to draw more power and work harder which then consumes more of the cars power supply which makes less power available to the cars electrical system needs.
As far as not worrying about it i wouldn’t just ignore it because this could cause premature failure of the cars charging system there are a couple of things you can do to minimize the dimming like upgrading wire gauge shortening grounds and power cables basically removing as much slack as possible a better battery or you could get a capacitor which doesn’t necessarily mean the dimming will stop but it should be much much less noticeable. I am currently running at 1000 rms and when i really turn it up my lights barely even dim. my wire is 4 gauge and everything is a short as possible and my grounding points are to bare metal i also upgraded all my engine bay grounds to 4 gauge and this alone seemed to help immensely. I tried the cap but it really didn’t change much and lasted only a year.
[QUOTE=hondattic;2126286]its not necessarily the size as much as the amount of wattage they consume which then causes the amplifier to draw more power and work harder which then consumes more of the cars power supply which makes less power available to the cars electrical system needs.
As far as not worrying about it i wouldn’t just ignore it because this could cause premature failure of the cars charging system there are a couple of things you can do to minimize the dimming like upgrading wire gauge shortening grounds and power cables basically removing as much slack as possible a better battery or you could get a capacitor which doesn’t necessarily mean the dimming will stop but it should be much much less noticeable. I am currently running at 1000 rms and when i really turn it up my lights barely even dim. my wire is 4 gauge and everything is a short as possible and my grounding points are to bare metal i also upgraded all my engine bay grounds to 4 gauge and this alone seemed to help immensely. I tried the cap but it really didn’t change much and lasted only a year.[/QUOTE]
ok, i already have a capacitor, but like you said, it doesnt help too much with the dimming, but it must help the electrical system enough, so im not going to worry about it too much, ill try and do all the wiring stuff when i can afford it also.
as long as you can live with the dimming for a lil while then take your time and good luck i upgraded evrything over like a 6 month span or so its just nice when you damn lights dont dim all the time.
i know how u feel bro, i switched back to my 12. but its just showing you how old the car is, maybe get a new alternator. that helps alot.
Dimming is bad. If it gets worse the car could stall while driving. I’ve been there and it sucks. How big is your cap?
Take it to a parts store that offers free Alternator testing. Advance and Autozone do it and probably other places. No need to remove it, they have a tool that tests the output. If the wiring and alternator is ok then consider upgrading the battery if its old or nothing special. I’ve had good results with Optima batteries.
Does it dim less with the 12? or was i just not noticing it?
[QUOTE=therealkroysc;2126451]Dimming is bad. If it gets worse the car could stall while driving. I’ve been there and it sucks. How big is your cap?
Take it to a parts store that offers free Alternator testing. Advance and Autozone do it and probably other places. No need to remove it, they have a tool that tests the output. If the wiring and alternator is ok then consider upgrading the battery if its old or nothing special. I’ve had good results with Optima batteries.[/QUOTE]
the cap is 2 Farad, i have had the alternator tested at autozone recently, they said its just as strong as a new one, and i just bought a brand new battery, had an optima red top before this one with nothing but problems, i cant justify spending another 2 hundred dollars on another optima.
it depends on how the sub was wired ohm wise and how much wattage the subs are rated at and you best bet would probably be to do you engine grounds believe me it helps they are from negative side of battery to chassis to transmission and engine to chassis and upgrade your wiring from the alt to the fuse box and fuse box to battery and the other wires i stated in my first post.
depending on the amount of power ur pulling now is going to cause it. the capacitor is only going to keep a certain amount of power kept to the amp not the whole car. my car has 1 12 kicker l7 and im pushing 1800 rms and the lights almost go out out it draws so much. like the other guy said go to auto zone ur alternator might be bad if so u can order an upgraded one that will push out enough amperage to make the dimming stop. mine is new and still does it.
aside from bragging about your setup, everything you just said was already stated clearly in this thread…