Almost anything electrical dimming my lights!

[Lexxer]

I know its a problem with either my Alt or my battery. Awhile back when I had my system running, each pound my dash, headlights, rears, everything would dim. My lights also dim when I change my air from panel, to floor, etc. I see it happen various other times also, my friend did a check on my battery and alternator while my engine was running, and everything seemed fine.

I don't think the whole dimming thing is normal, doesn't happen in any of my friends cars, so I know something must be going. I was going to get a black top or yellow (I believe its still stock battery so I know it needs changed to run a system), is there any way to check if its my alternator? Someone told me if I remove the positive from my battery with the engine if will tell me if its the battery or alt but I forget exactly how it went.


Thanks for any help.

 

[fordsvt98]

Ya dont pull your + off your battery when engine is running. When your bangin wattz at vol 28 your lights will dim a wee. Your alt might have been taking strain for a while now and its not as fresh as it once was as a young scrapper. But now times have changed, and that big bass amp you got in da trunk is asking for some amps from dat strained alt when it bangz. a capacitor added to your system may help your situation 20 percent or more when your beatin the ghetto knockers, but, when you are using all accessories, with radio off, and still experiencing this dimming issue, a cap will not help you in that area, unless your amp is on and possibly draining amps from your system even on low volume, you will only know for certain if you disconnect your amp, and find that you are still experiencing this dimming, then you have eliminated your amp as the power drain in the chain. Lemme ask YOU this, when you step on your gas, and kick the RPM's up a lil, does the lights get brighter? Maybe you need a new Serpentine Belt, cause maybe yours is old, and stretched out. In the longrun, a new battery will only help for so long, then the real adversary will surface, the dog, the hated, the meanest, the (gasp) Alternator. bum dum bummmmmmm (insert drama music here)

 

[Tony2005]

Test the battery and alternator, this way....VVV......
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=3535

 

[trhlz1222]

im experiencing the same issue. when my subs are hitting the lights will flicker. i was told that instead of getting a cap replace all the battery wires with new ones and that should fix it. is that true?

 

[fordsvt98]

no. It wont, maybe thicker power wire MAY help, but my thought is, a better, newer,fresher power wire, only means your AMP will get good juice, it doesnt mean your dimming problems will go away. also a good adapter from/for your AMP to "grab" the + off the battery will be a good upgrade too, some people have the power wire attached to Battery with a cheap ass crimped on connection. But a cap will only help when your Subs are bangin'. Heres a fun test....put a voltmeter on your power wire BEFORE you install Cap, Play one track off a cd at a certain set volume, Watch how low those volts go...Then INSTALL Cap, perform same procedure. And see if your Volts stay at a more stable (higher) rate with the cap installed. Its hard to see cause those numbers rise and fall very fast. Most Caps come with a sweet digi led voltmeter these days. lol. My 5 farad bad boy helped tremendously, Not only do I have less light dim, but my amp also bangs more wattz cause it can get the juice a lil faster to make it a a slight bit more efficient.

 

[Lexxer]

Damn man. How much do you think it costs to get done at a Ford shop? I get 50% discount on labor and 10% on parts, but if I get a new alternator I want to make sure its good enough to support my system w/o going bad...(I rarely have my subs on when car is off, even when I do its no longer then 5 mins)

So if I do get it changed, should I get the stock duratech alternator or is there a way I could get a beefed up one?

 

[fordsvt98]

oh my god dude, you get half off labor? that makes it like 33 an hour or something. Wow. I wish I had that hookup. I dunno what the ALT book time is, but this dude said on here it was like 800 bucks with alt. Some crazy stupid price like that. You cant walk out of a dealership these days with less than a 500 dollar bill. I try to stay as far away from dealers as these two hands will let me. lol.

I believe there are beefed up ones, from stinger, or streetwires, or im sure plenty others, but theyre like 400 bucks or somethin. I seen a 200 amp on ebay, but at least Im kinda leery on it cause, I dunno if you can "overjuice" your electrical system. But I think you can. So Ill stick with Motorcraft. I think theyre 130 amps stock. The 4 banger alt is more expensive than our V6 one....go figure. Ive never read a "Alternator should last THIS long" report before, but I believe they are a regular maintenance item, just like almost any part on your vehicle, and wont last the life of your car. I need to swap my alt. Im gonna do it myself soon.