Light's dim when the bass hits!
 

Hey guys, what do I have to do to correct this problem? When I got the ol' "jukebox" cranked up to about 30 and ther bass hits...my lights dim and my voltage hand drops to about 9! What's a fix for this? Going to a 140amp alternator?

you could get a better alt. or get a nice capacitor. this helps with draining straight from the battery. the cap will fill up and hold the charge. the bass uses that charge and then the cap fills itself up slowly from your battery. this takes the dimming and stuff away since your battery isnt getting the full load. the size cap depends on how much power your system takes.

Capacitors are a waste of money and are just a band-aid. The real fix will be an alternator upgrade (190-200 Amp). First thing to do is replace the stock wiring with 4 gauge or better. This would be: Battery to Ground, Battery to Alternator and Alternator Chassis to Engine (ground).

Get the alt, caps arent cheap and will only slow the problem down !

I got a cap for mine after my subs/amp install almost 2 years ago, and it fixed the problem with the lights dimming even under the hardest hits. So I wouldnt go that far and say they are a waste of money.

I can get a 140 amp alternator for basically nothing, but I'll have to pay top dollar for the cap, so I'm figuring the Alternator would be the eaisiest way to go right?

Nightrider, what part of Virginia are you from?

Higher quality wiring from the alternator to the battery and a ground strap might help a little. A lower ESR battery would also help (Optima). The best answer though you already know about, more alternator! Caps do help in some circumstances, they do a decent job of keeping headlamps bright. However they do not offer increased performance for your amplifiers.

No doubt about it get the alternator then.

If you can get it for basically nothing, mind picking me one up?

I went from JL audio 10's to Memphis audio 10's and the Memphis Audio's are more power hungry, but hit harder. So now I have lights that dim, normally at a stop light, but when rpms are up, it is fine. I have a capacitor, which helped with the JL audio's, but now it doesn't help at all. I added a Optima Red top that is bigger than the stock one, but still dims, so a alternator is what I am going for next. Make sure if you get a alternator it charges in the lower rpm area, some start to work in upper rpms and defeats the purpose.

Southwest VA

Caps aren't a waste, as they provide the max amount of power your amp craves under heavy load and relieve lots of stress from your electronics system. Of course a bigger alt is the best thing you can do but caps aren't a waste at all. A decent 1.5 farad can be had for $80.

Caps are a waste of money. If you don't have the power to keep the battery charged, how are you going to keep the cap charged? Now you just put more strain on the alternator, it's trying to charge the battery and the cap. Those who say they added it fixed the dimming. False, you problably fixed a ground problem. A poor ground will cause the blinking also.

caps are a marketing tool, period. The best upgrade after you do the big 3 should be an alternator.