Lights dimming normal?

[Ru Dawg]

First, here's my setup:
Infinity Kappa Perfect 12.1
JBL 180.2 Amp (bridged for 360W)
Lightning Audio Strike Series .5 farad cap

Noticed my lights dimming with hard hits.
Came home and put my multi-meter on the cap.
Read 14.11 volts.
On big bass hits drops to about 13.5volts, a couple REAL hard hits sent it to below 13, lights dim, but come right back and cap reads 14.11 again. So, I know the cap is working, but is this normal for the lights to still dimm? I was under the impression that a .5 farad cap could support up to 500watts?

 

[Ru Dawg]

 

[SiLenZe]

i have 2 12" rockfords with a 400watt bridged rockford amp. 1 farad cap. no dimming.

 

[NusenseSD]

what size wire are you running? however when large bass hits the dimming lights just mean that your battery doesn't have enough juice in it to run everything.. Might want to upgrade your battery and the wring to the cap, also .5 farad should be enough but with the price of a full farad I would recommend going up to that.. Shoot I got a 3 farad cap on ebay for under $100 shipped......

 

[agzaretzka]

the dimming lights just mean that your battery doesn't have enough juice in it to run everything..

With the engine running, its the alternator that is supplying the power, not the battery, thus the popularity of aftermarket HO alternators.

 

[davesexplorer]

yeah, is everything ok with the alternator cuz dang, youre not drawing THAT much power? I dont believe in capacitors, they dont support anything....

Make sure the cap isn't hurting your electrical, take it off once, and check and see if that helps/hurts? If your voltage is real bad then, you need to take a serious look at your electrical system! Upgrade the ground wire for the alternator/engine too.

In my old 95, the alternator wire fried, so I replaced it with full aught guage wire all around, went from 14v even at idle to 14.4, dont ask me how, but efficiency and such was much better after the upgrade.

 

[Ru Dawg]

Why do you say cap's don't support everything. I work in the Electrical Power Transmission System business, and caps are a vital asset to supporting system voltage. A cap opposes any change in volts. In a DC system, the cap only discharges when needed, so when the voltage drops in a DC system, the cap discharges to quickly restore voltage to the nominal value, and recharges itself at the same time.
I showed a friend of mine what's happening, and it's hardly noticeable & my truck's battery voltage meter doesn't even budge...the lights barely flicker...guess I just kinda paniced....
But I will check my alternator wiring just to be safe...
Thanks guys for the replies!!
Oh, and I'm running PG 900 series 8 gauge wiring, should be good for 500 watts.

 

[goobenet]

8ga for 500watts... barely. You're on the edge of needing 4ga wire...when you get to that point though, there's a link somewhere on here to the "big 3" upgrade. Do that first, then see where it leads you... Hell, i didn't change anything in my setup other than a new set of battery terminals on my + and- and now i sit and watch my volts needle go up and down with accel/decel... methinks i need a new alternator/battery. :/

 

[Ru Dawg]

I don't have 500 watts....I'm pushing 360 watts.....

 

[goobenet]

guess that's what i get for posting after a few beers. Missed that part. JBL amps are really high current, and, yea, i think you're just being a bit panicked for nothing. If the battery guage doesn't move, don't worry.

 

[Ru Dawg]

guess that's what i get for posting after a few beers. Missed that part. JBL amps are really high current, and, yea, i think you're just being a bit panicked for nothing. If the battery guage doesn't move, don't worry.

I here ya man! Been there myself a few times! Just like now!!!
Thanks man, I'm pretty cool about it now....went out tonight and bumped some Petey Pablo!

 

[riverst]

battery gage

What wrong when your battery gage do flicker up and down when the bass hits?

 

[kaisertj]

Get a good battery like an optima redtop or a bigger capacitor, im putting out 1800 watts and the lights hardly ever dim anymore. the Redtop seemed to make a bigger difference than my cap did though. However, a new alternator will help much more than anything else.

 

[Afboy143]

Caps wont help unless your system can already handle what you have.

Think of a cap as another load on your alternator, your better off spending the money on a bigger alternator or battery.

I have a 1500 Brutus and 400 watt Zues amp running my system and all i have is a yellow top, no dimming at all. Id suggest going red or yellow and sell the cap.

 

[jayhawk137]

i got a 1500 brutus and a 200 arc audio amp on the stock battery and i experience little to no dimming. i think something is wrong with your setup somehow

 

[davesexplorer]

erm my headlights get real dim when I crank it..... dropping to 10v will do that though :thumbdwn: