Easiest/Cheapest way to prevent light dimming

[lukeman269]

I just installed a tantrum 500.2 amp in my car and have it hooked up to my rsdc 122 bridged at 4 ohms. It is drawing quite a bit of juice. What is the easiest and cheapest to lighten the load on my whole electrical system. My car is a 95 Mercury Grand Marquis and I believe it has a stock 130 amp alt in it now. I'm not completely sure though. I figure the Big 3 would be the way to solve my problem but I was wondering about just adding like a Kinetik HC600 would do me any good. I haven't ever really done anything with adding batteries or the big 3 but any suggestions will help! Thanks.

[kg1961]

i had 2 of though in my 99 golf with only a 90 amp alt. with the big 3 and a red top gel cell i never had a prolem

[NewOldStock]

cheapest/easiest - Big-3 upgrade.

[kg1961]

get your alt tested and are you using bass boast on the amp?

[Stryker]

Not sure what engine you have but this may work for you if ya gots the 4.6
you should do the big 3 as well but have a look at the boneyard
http://forums.tccoa.com/showthread.php? ... tor+police

[ttocs]

adding another battery can create a larger load for the alt and sometimes cause more problems then they help by shortening the life of the alt. personaly I would go big 3, bigger batt, then bigger alt, 2nd battery.

[Eric D]

I would consider a bigger amplifier or a Class D amp prior to any other (and costly) upgrade. As far as typical stereos go, the T500.2 is a pretty small amplifier. You are probably driving it into clipping to a point where its efficiency is very low. So, you are draining even more power with little increase in output. If you run a more powerful amplifier, and set it to get similar output to what you have now (not more output than what you have now), your drain will likely decrease significantly. I know this is probably pretty radical thinking, but I have installed or been involved with countless installations using Class A/B amplifiers at 200Wx2 or more which had no electrical problems on stock electrical systems.

When I first read your post I was pretty shocked to find out you are having issues with an amplifier of this size.

[kg1961]

I would consider a bigger amplifier or a Class D amp prior to any other (and costly) upgrade. As far as typical stereos go, the T500.2 is a pretty small amplifier. You are probably driving it into clipping to a point where its efficiency is very low. So, you are draining even more power with little increase in output. If you run a more powerful amplifier, and set it to get similar output to what you have now (not more output than what you have now), your drain will likely decrease significantly. I know this is probably pretty radical thinking, but I have installed or been involved with countless installations using Class A/B amplifiers at 200Wx2 or more which had no electrical problems on stock electrical systems.

When I first read your post I was pretty shocked to find out you are having issues with an amplifier of this size.

Eric great point i was starting to talk about clipping what kinda speaker are you running

[lukeman269]

For the most part, any amp I throw in my car has always made my lights dim. I have noticed the difference in efficiency between class d and class ab. I had an alpine pdx 1.600 and that only made my lights dim a tad. I wanted to match all my stuff up as far as brand goes because I like PG equipment. I dont run bass boost on the deck or the amplifier and my gain is set at approx. between 2 to 3 o'clock. I don't think it is clipping at all, because it doesn't sound distorted. I know once I hit past 3 o'clock on the gain it will distort. My deck only puts out 2.5 volts. It's an alpine deck. I don't blast my music that loud either, my volume is usually at 22 out of 35. So I think my alternator should probably get checked out and the big 3 would make a big difference i'd imagine. Thanks for the pointers guys!

[ttocs]

I am looking forward to seeing the difference in power needed in going from my Diamond audio D9 amps to the roadster. They were just beasts with the 125 amp fuses on each of them.... I just hope the difference in SQ isn't noticable....

[Eric D]

Maybe your stock alternator is not putting out the current it is rated to do any more. If pretty much any amp makes your lights dim, I would guess it is not functioning 100%.

I drive a truck, and I believe my alternator is actually rated lower than yours. I have a Ti800.4 (100Wx4), running a set of components at 4 ohms stereo, and a single sub at 2 ohms mono (rear of the amp bridged into 2 ohms). This should be a tougher load than your T500.2 with the way I am using it, and I have no light dimming problems.

Stock alternator, stock battery (7 year old battery as well), and only a 4ga power wire. I typically tune with an o-scope but I was in a hurry on this install so I just set it by ear. It is one of the louder setups I have had in this vehicle, so I am sure I am running it into clipping at least a bit.

[lukeman269]

Maybe your stock alternator is not putting out the current it is rated to do any more. If pretty much any amp makes your lights dim, I would guess it is not functioning 100%.

I drive a truck, and I believe my alternator is actually rated lower than yours. I have a Ti800.4 (100Wx4), running a set of components at 4 ohms stereo, and a single sub at 2 ohms mono (rear of the amp bridged into 2 ohms). This should be a tougher load than your T500.2 with the way I am using it, and I have no light dimming problems.

Stock alternator, stock battery (7 year old battery as well), and only a 4ga power wire. I typically tune with an o-scope but I was in a hurry on this install so I just set it by ear. It is one of the louder setups I have had in this vehicle, so I am sure I am running it into clipping at least a bit.

Am I able to test my alternator at an auto parts store? I might just invest in buying a new one if it is bad. I don't think it has ever been replaced. My grandma barely drove the car. Think it will make a big difference if I buy a new alternator rated for the standard 130 amps? I will probably run some new 4 gauge wire along with it as well. But I can't seem to find my engine ground. It is behind the block where I can't access it. Can I do a different engine ground somewhere other than the original place? Or maybe even just add an extra engine ground elsewhere if I can find a spot?

[gridracer]

Yes you can run a new thicker engine ground and leave the stock one alone. Doing the big 3 upgrade will help your car. If your alternator is charging there is no need to replace it, to check it just use a dmm and see it's putting out 13.8 or better at the battery with the engine running.

[ttocs]

actually to test the alt you need to go to your local auto parts store, it can be putting out near the correct voltage but not supplying the current.

[BillM]

I suspect these cars have a very sensitive headlight circuit affected by any swing in voltage. I did the Big 3, plus upgraded the fuse box wire and added an additional ground all in Streetwires 0 gauge OFC. Replaced my battery with a Die Hard Platinum (rebadged Odyssey 1750). Replaced my Alternator with a New Motorcraft 200A Police unit and I still have an issue with dimming and flashing in my 05 Crown Vic Sport.

[lukeman269]

I suspect these cars have a very sensitive headlight circuit affected by any swing in voltage. I did the Big 3, plus upgraded the fuse box wire and added an additional ground all in Streetwires 0 gauge OFC. Replaced my battery with a Die Hard Platinum (rebadged Odyssey 1750). Replaced my Alternator with a New Motorcraft 200A Police unit and I still have an issue with dimming and flashing in my 05 Crown Vic Sport.

Really?! Dang, that sucks. It kinda sounds like I am at a loss then lol. Well I will upgrade the wires and get the alt tested and if the alt is good, I am just gonna leave it. There is no use dumping more money into an issue that won't get fixed. Well I will know in a couple of days if the big 3 worked. Just gotta wait for a decent day to do it.

[Phoenixcolt]

A lot of times, I had issues in an older car that I had lots of goodies in. Sometimes it even helped a little to just cut the end of the amp power wire and/or ground wire and just make a fresh connection.

Maybe you even just have a bunch of corrosion on your main engine ground that is hurting the flow, that has been pretty typical in my older vehicles. But it is def worth running a new ground if you are back there cleaning the existing one anyway.

In the end once I parted out and later gutted and sold the old Phoenixcolt, I found a direct drain on the main battery that was responsible for my dying battery issues all along...I wish I found that earlier, would have saved me some upset. I had a wire going directly from the main battery to the lighter style power outlet, but that was covered by a screwed down fiberglass piece so I never thought to check on it, I didn't even have a relay in the wire, so it was just a 24/7 drain on the battery that I never realized.

[ttocs]

I would assume any dimming problems after upgrading everything would be while at idle. This will always be a problem as HO alts are not rated at idle.

The cheapest way to keep your light from dimming if it really bothers you, is to turn it down a little while at idle.

[lukeman269]

I did the big 3 today and it seems to be helping out. I used some nice PG 4 gauge that I bought from KHPower. My volt gauge doesn't bounce up and down like it used to. I had to add an extra engine ground because I couldnt access the original engine ground. I didn't end up bringing the alternator in to get it tested because I figured i would try this first to see if it helped. I will put it to the test tonight when it gets darker so I can put my lights on to see what happens. Thanks for all the input guys!