Lights Dimming

[JonniP]

Hi There, firstly this isnt my car it is my friends Peugeot 306 but im totally stumped.

Ok long and short of it is... When he is playing his stereo the head lights are fluctuating. it is not so bad when the car is off, it is terrible when the car is running
Kit:
JL 500/1 (is that right?) powering JL W6
Genesis 4 channel - Powering 2 pairs of JL components.
Alpine HU
Stinger SP440 (or close)
0 gauge to boot then 4 guauge to amps
Amps earthed to chassis
Uprated Alternator 150A

I had him come round the other day to do a few little tests, firstly i d/c the JL amp and ran the genesis amp alone and there was no dimming. then i d/c the genensis and reconnected the JL and the dimming started.
so it is the JL amp causing the problem
with the Genesis amp d/c i did the following all of which solved nothing!

• 4 guage direct from battery positive to amp (no fuse)
• 4 guage direct from battery negative to amp earth
• connect powerstart to battery (reduced dimming but didnt eliminate)
• connect identical sub to amp

i noticed that the stinger battery was quite small in the battery tray so i looked up the stats on the website and the Ah rating was 45 (or 40) i called a few different places and they recommended a 60 ah battery. so picked one up and tested it was alot better but not completly solved.

can someone please give me some advice? my friend is currently just throwing money at it and i tell him he needs to fix the problem not just throw sticking plasters at it!

thanks

Jonni

 

[TOGUSA]

from the sounds of it you prob need a power cap, as this stops the huge draws of power from the battery and protects the battery it self, when the second amp is on and powering the sub its beating intime with the bass, everytime it beats it draws X amount of current from the amp which has to then be drawn from the battery,
the cap with stop those spikes in power traverling back to the battery and affecting the rest of the systems on the car.
if all eless fails wire in a second battery with a twin charge kit, with a huge alternator it should have no problems charging to two batterys, this would mean that you could have the cars items on one independent battery and the audio on the other.

i hope this helps

 

[wallop]

Here we go again.....

Ok long and short of it is... When he is playing his stereo the head lights are fluctuating. it is not so bad when the car is off, it is terrible when the car is running

^^Indicates issue may be directly related to Alternator^^

so it is the JL amp causing the problem

^^NO, its a power supply problem^^

can someone please give me some advice?

Certainly mate....

Firstly, Complete TB3, (Charge circuit upgrades)....

1, Alternator---Upgrade.....DONE
2, Battery---Upgrade.....DONE
3, Charge Circuit Wiring---Upgrade.....??????

Charge Circuit Wiring;
1, Alternator to Battery Charge Lead---Upgrade, (ADD 4awg or swap for 0awg)....
2, Alternator To Chassis Earth---Upgrade, (Alternator usually earths via engine/gearbox to chassis earth strap), ADD 4awg minimum, ADD 0awg if possible....
3, Battery To Chassis Earth---Upgrade, (ADD new Battery to Chassis earth to match new power cable), in your case 0awg....

A few pointers that you may find useful information;

1, An Alternators charge rate varies with engine speed....
2, Light dimming is more likely at engine tickover due to a momentary dip in engine speed, (Alternator saps engine power in accordance with electrical load placed on it)....
3, Each electrical circuit in a car is designed with safety over cost in mind, not simply electrical performance....
4, The most common cause of voltage drop in car audio is the return path, (be it either poor amplifier earthing or failure to ADD a battery earth to match new power cable)....

With regards previously recommended 'power capacitor'.....

A thread I did earlier

Next piece of advice would be to use a multi-meter to check voltages at a few strategic places in varying scenarios....

Engine OFF, music on low volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Engine OFF, music on high volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Engine ON, music on low volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Engine ON, music on high volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Hope this helps.....Another overlong post, sorry chaps......

A last piece of advice----The 'SEARCH' function is your friend:butt::rofl:

 

[JonniP]

TOGUSA:
sorry mate but power cap just seems like a sticking plaster. i want to find the source of the problem first. if it turns out only a power cap will fix it or that it is the most economic fix then fair plar thanks all the same

Jonni

 

[gaz_5103]

What about fitting a paid of aftermarket xenon's?

 

[Dink]

remember that the JL amp will keep working down to like 10v

battery capacity shouldn't really affect it much tbh

i found that adding an extra run of 25mm2 from chassis to batt negative + yellow top pretty much eliminated light dim when i ran my 1000/1 in the clio

 

[JonniP]

Here we go again.....



^^Indicates issue may be directly related to Alternator^^



^^NO, its a power supply problem^^



Certainly mate....

Firstly, Complete TB3, (Charge circuit upgrades)....

1, Alternator---Upgrade.....DONE
2, Battery---Upgrade.....DONE
3, Charge Circuit Wiring---Upgrade.....??????

Charge Circuit Wiring;
1, Alternator to Battery Charge Lead---Upgrade, (ADD 4awg or swap for 0awg)....
2, Alternator To Chassis Earth---Upgrade, (Alternator usually earths via engine/gearbox to chassis earth strap), ADD 4awg minimum, ADD 0awg if possible....
3, Battery To Chassis Earth---Upgrade, (ADD new Battery to Chassis earth to match new power cable), in your case 0awg....

A few pointers that you may find useful information;

1, An Alternators charge rate varies with engine speed....
2, Light dimming is more likely at engine tickover due to a momentary dip in engine speed, (Alternator saps engine power in accordance with electrical load placed on it)....
3, Each electrical circuit in a car is designed with safety over cost in mind, not simply electrical performance....
4, The most common cause of voltage drop in car audio is the return path, (be it either poor amplifier earthing or failure to ADD a battery earth to match new power cable)....

With regards previously recommended 'power capacitor'.....

A thread I did earlier

Next piece of advice would be to use a multi-meter to check voltages at a few strategic places in varying scenarios....

Engine OFF, music on low volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Engine OFF, music on high volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Engine ON, music on low volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Engine ON, music on high volume....

Across battery terminals = ?
Across amplifier power terminals = ?

Hope this helps.....Another overlong post, sorry chaps......

A last piece of advice----The 'SEARCH' function is your friend:butt::rofl:

Wallop!
thank you i searched google for so long, i didn't bother to search CS! my bad. apologies
Ok now for the excuses to roll...due to my tonsilitis and me not thinking properly i missed a bit out lol

TB3 was the very first thing done (before any purchases) has been done all with 4 guage tho. i will get him to upgrade battery to chassis earth to 0 guage.

ill ask him to measure the voltage as above. me being silly thought if anything we would have to measure ampage which you just cant do on a normal multimeter!

also apologies i gave the wrong impression i realised its a power supply issue i just meant that it is the JL amp that instigates it!

what does the lights dimming with the car off indicate? that the battery isnt capable alone?
i have exactly the same system in my car (different component sets) and i have no dimming of light when my car is on or off.
also where do amperes come into play?

thanks - sorry for being thick!
thanks for your help. ill search the forum a bit now.

 

[JonniP]

What about fitting a paid of aftermarket xenon's?

not his thing!

 

[JonniP]

remember that the JL amp will keep working down to like 10v

battery capacity shouldn't really affect it much tbh

i found that adding an extra run of 25mm2 from chassis to batt negative + yellow top pretty much eliminated light dim when i ran my 1000/1 in the clio

so you ran 25mm2 twice from battery to chassis?

 

[Dink]

nah it was only 10mm2 standard and added a piece of 25mm2

 

[colossuss]

TOGUSA:
sorry mate but power cap just seems like a sticking plaster. i want to find the source of the problem first. if it turns out only a power cap will fix it or that it is the most economic fix then fair plar thanks all the same

Jonni

Im sure the amp is just drawing too much power at certain points, thats why power caps where created