any car audio/ electrical guys out there??

[79elcamino]

ive never had a problem with lights dimming when the bass hits,i have 2 batteries and a high output alternator and a 5 farad cap, but last week when i was sitting at a light i noticed that my dash board lights were dimming with the bass, then i noticed that on two songs same of the bass notes clipped which again ive never had a problem with before. i did not touch any of the gains or change anything so my first thought was the alternator was going and it wasnt putting out enough amps, so i took my Digital Multimeter and checked the voltage at idle across both batteries and the cap and there read 14.4v so then my next thought was one of the batteries itself(yellow top optima) but with the car off both batteries read 12.53 v and so does the cap, also none of my components where going into protection mode, so i started lowering the gains on the bass amp which didnt help the dimming or the clipping so then i lowered the gain on the 2xs that is for my subs and midbass and it fixed the clipping problem but not the dimming problem. i cant figure out why all of a sudden the bass was clipping and the dash light dimming, when ive had the every gain and setting set the same for 6 months. my headlight or fogs dont dim,this might be due to the fact that i have HIDs but i dont know. thanks for your help.

[SVT Lightning]

Re: any car audio/ electrical guys out there??

Hope you figure it out but when I hear you guys coming from 2 blocks away.....well,

[79elcamino]

Re: any car audio/ electrical guys out there??

thanks,lol

[Nappers]

Re: any car audio/ electrical guys out there??

I suspect a bad ground or alternator not putting out enough amps, powers at 14.4volts but not enough amps or too small of wires. You can have a 200gpm well, but with 1/2 in pipes, you won't see the 200gpm out of 1/2 inch pipes.....

Check your wires when running the system, if they are warm/hot to the touch, the wires may be too small. I haven't been in the game for many years but with DC voltage, the more amps, the bigger the wires and again, check the grounds, especially on the sound system or make sure the ground for sound system isn't on something that isn't a good ground (chassis preferably), if that made sense..... Sorry loss of 1 hour of sleep and my brain is still in bed!

[722ish]

This may or may not be helpful, but I have a friend who chased down electrical issues for months in his car. He replaced a factory engine harness in excess of $1000 with no luck. Turns out it was an optima yellow top causing all his trouble. The battery tested fine repeatedly somehow too. Put a budget Walmart battery in and it was all good. Switched back and the issue came back. I have also read a few people with aftermarket plug and play hid kits with electrical troubles as well. I suppose those are also possibilities. Good luck!

[Showmob]

I would guess your wires are too small. Had the same problem with my car and fixed it with larger wires for the amps.

[79elcamino]

Re: any car audio/ electrical guys out there??

i figured out what is was, it was actually 2 things, one of my subs was no longer at its oringinal resistance,4ohms, it was now at 2.4 ohms and one of my cross overs was bad, i took it apart and saw that a resistor was burnt, my wires are fine, ive had my system in my car for 2 years with no problems, i have 2 gauge silver wire. i never thought it was the alternator because when i the car on and system full blast the lowest my battery dropped down to was 13.32 V when a bass note was played