What to do????

[samiaml]

Ok so i have a 01 Grand Am and i just put in a 1000 watt/520 rms bridged amp..... I also have a 12" sub which is 1200 watts/400rms.... As of now im running it with my stock headunit.... My question is what do i do about the the lights dimmin??? Interior and headlights. And main question is this ruinin my car??? When i just run the sub off one channel its not to bad... but when its bridged and the lights dim quite a bit...As of now i took the sub and amp out cause the light dimmin pisses me off... and i dont want to ruin my car.. I may put it in next summer... Im a chick so i really wouldn't know the first thing to do for the "BIG 3"... i know it includes changin wires and such.... thats just a lil much 4 me... So can i just but a cap or maybe a higher end battery? Or maybe get a better alternator? If so what size alt??? My car is a 4cy... I do plan on puttin a new Pioneer stereo in the future ... so somebody please help!!!!! Thanks ~Samantha~

[Blackhawk]

How old is the battery? If it's stock get a new one. Have your battery cables checked for corrosion, and do some research on the big three upgrade, it's not complicated. 520 watts shouldn't make your lights dim.

[GtAudioFreak]

Buy a red top optima battery, its like $150 and should help, but seriously have your boyfriend or one of your dudes do the big 3 if you cant. Im pushing triple the power you are and I don't dim.

[Blackhawk]

Yeah, I'm pushing double with no big three and a stock replacement battery and I don't dim either.

[kbotk143]

:???:BIG 3??? lol what is dat...:lol: no seriously... i didn't upgrade my battery and i got 2 memphis 12'' runnin a 1000 watt amp with crossover, producin mo' amps. so im sure its weak cables... the only dimmin' i was doin was in da classroom, from da bass:lol::lol:

[tubpub11]

Probably just need a replacement battery. 500w shouldn't need the big 3 unless the cables are in bad shape. I have an 800CCA Energizer battery. it's been good for the last 4 years. most people get red top or yellow top batterys if they have a stereo though, but I have no complaints with mine.

[XoticGA]

I hope you bought an alarm first, didn't your car just get broken into?

[DFizzle]

What guage power wire do you have running to your amp? The big three is a good idea no matter what, but if you're running anything smaller than 4 guage wire that's probably part of the problem.

[samiaml]

Thanks everyone for the help..... My battery is quit new maybe 2yrs old or 3 at the most... I got it from farm and fleet for like $80 or so i believe its like 600-700 cca. My husband put in the amp... i think its 4 gauge power wire. Oh and YES my car was just broke into and yes i now do have an alarm... we also now keep her in the garage at all times of whice my husband installed an alarm on the door... Pretty shnazze!!! So maybe my battery needs more cca??? Or maybe i need to upgrade the power cable from the amp??? The system i had in there before it got stolen was some ghetto Crunch amp with a sony explode 12" and it was fine... I dont know what the deal is wit this one? We just used the existin cables from before... ~Samantha~

[kbotk143]

yeah, hit up your local audio shop and see can you find an amp hook up kit thats made by Memphis audio.. i upgraded my wires to memphis, but i did have a kit made by schoche, and it came from walmart.. it worked fine until the fuse in the power wire blew. but seems to me like you are running some real power so a memphis amp kit would be a good idea(make sure the are gold plated)

[Blackhawk]

www.knukonceptz.com too, about $60 for a 4 ga hook up kit.

[Matt95GT]

A battery alone won't solve the problem... remember, it is just a storage place of power... not what is making it. Now if it's old/worn and not holding a charge, that's a different story.

When does the dimming occur? Only when waiting at a light, idling? How about cruising at highway speeds? If only at idle, a stiffening capacitor might be enough of a band-aid to help. Otherwise, you'll need more current available from the source - the alternator.

What guage power wire do you have running to your amp? The big three is a good idea no matter what, but if you're running anything smaller than 4 guage wire that's probably part of the problem.

I agree. Regardless of what else you do, big 3 upgrade wouldn't hurt.

[samiaml]

So i just asked my hubby and he said its only 9 gauge or so power cable.... Could this b the problem???? If so what size should i get??? Thanks so much for all your help... ~Samantha~

[GtAudioFreak]

You have a fire hazard waiting to happen. You are pulling way too much power(if your amp ratings are correct) for 12 gauge, and your wire will melt or catch fire, and you can say bye to your whole car then. Unhook immediately!

[samiaml]

You have a fire hazard waiting to happen. You are pulling way too much power(if your amp ratings are correct) for 12 gauge, and your wire will melt or catch fire, and you can say bye to your whole car then. Unhook immediately!

I just edited my last message i went outside and looked its actually 9 gauge... is that n e better then the 12 gauge i thought it was. ~Samantha~

[samiaml]

So if 9 gauge is to small then what should it be??? ~Samantha~

[GtAudioFreak]

9 is better, but still not enough, you need 4 gauge.

[samiaml]

ok ill go buy some 4 gauge soon enough but i took the amp and sub out cause the lights dimmin was upsettin me.... and its to cold outside to reinstall a power cable... so it'll have to wait till spring. But do you really think that is it???? Will this help my lights dimmin deal??????? ~Samantha~

[GtAudioFreak]

I really don't think you are pushing enough power to dim your lights, I think your battery or alternator is getting weak. If your auto part stores are like mine here, you can get the tested for free if you ask, just to see if they are functioning properly. It's worth a try.

Im pushing 1500 watts rms with my sub amp and 300 watts rms with my 4 channel and I don't dim very often.

[Ralph]

I hope you bought an alarm first, didn't your car just get broken into?

Alarms are overrated I have a 2-way top of the line viper and I easily bypassed it when it started malfunctioning last summer. No one cares anymore when an alarm goes off because it happens every 30 seconds in the city.

[samiaml]

Oh and for the record when the bass hits my rmp needle jumps....

[Ralph]

Oh and for the record when the bass hits my rmp needle jumps....

Something doesn't seem right there my 2 12" L7s didn't even do that and I was pushing a lot more watts and a lot more DB then your setup so much I sold it and am redesigning.

[slimdog55]

Oh and for the record when the bass hits my rmp needle jumps....

That was what mine was doing, but it was all my gauges! I did the big three the other night, and it doesn't do that anymore. I still get a little bit of dimming, but a new battery should fix that.

[car audio dave]

first off, now that your amp is out of the car, make sure the fuse is disconnected or the wire is taped off so you dont short.

secondly, what brand and model is everything? you will need 4 gauge if its anywhere near 500 watts RMS.

also look at your ground. it needs to be the same gauge as your power wire (or bigger) and needs to be connected directly to metal. if its screwed into a piece of metal thats painted you need to sand the paint off so its a direct connection to bare metal.

then i would suggest doing the "big 3". the wire will cost you $15 at the most, versus $200+ for a new alternator. if the big 3 doesnt work then get a new alternator. I know you arent comfortable with doing the big 3, but its really not that hard. PM me if you need instructions and i can walk you through it.

[DewJunkie]

Sorry to bring an older thread back to life but I have the same problem. I hooked up my amp and sub to my car and my lights get really dim now and i think they actually killed my last battery. I got the alt and the bat tested and had to replace the battery....under warranty. They said the alt was fine. I have a 760 watt amp and just a 10" sub that hardly does anything. It worked in my truck just fine and I just used that kit from walmart. The side post on my battery might be a little stripped but it still screws in tight....would that be the problem?

My light dimming keeps getting worse every since I got the new battery.
Today I am going to shine up the connections and put in the new post to see if that helps anything. I sure hope it does.

[Blackhawk]

If not you'll have to try doing the big three, it's really not that hard and takes an afternoon at the most. Grand Ams are pretty picky when it comes to electricity.

[Crzy]

the stock alt is very weak, do the big 3 and then also add a second battery what i had to do for my 2k watt system. without the second batt my lights dimmed real bad. get an isolator also so when ur just sitting in a parking lot u can bump ur shit and not have to worry about draining ur starting battery

[DewJunkie]

Thanks for the advice I'm pretty sure I fixed it. And i didn't have to do the big 3. All I did was replace my batter post. When the guy at advanced put it on last time I didn't pay attention and apparently he stripped the heck out of it. So thats why my battery was bein drained so bad. I replaced it (without stripping it) and now my lights don't dim at all. Well a very very slight bit but not enough to notice so I'm happy with it haha. Thanks for the help!