I turned the car over and was waiting for it to warm up and idle, and noticed that the interior and exterior lights were dimming/flickering while the revs were dropping.

I was running the defroster and have a full stereo system that is always being played, and HIDS, which is all hooked up to an OPTIMA RED TOP ( it has like 800-900 CA!!). It has a newly replaced alternator as well, new belts and all that too.

I noticed that once i turned off the defroster, the lights stopped flickering, but was still fighting to keep up with the rest of the electrical power demands. Once i revved up the engine a bit, all the lights brightened up and all seemed normal... ?? It looks like the battery isn't completely charging at idling revs? possibly the alternator too?

Could it be that i need a grounding kit or a 2nd battery or a Capacitor to help keep the power constant !?

Try cleaning your grounds and installing a bigger gauge grounding kit.

If you ask the guys in the audio forum, they'll laugh at you for suggesting to get a cap.

Oh and btw, I have all that stuff running off of a regular advanced auto battery with no flickering.

+1

Funny thing happened to me once, I was using my highs to parallel park (Use the reflection to judge how close I am to the bumper), and my music was blaring w/ the AC on full blast of course (don't forget I'm a manual) so while navigating my way in, the revs dropped a bit below 500 and the lights got really dim, anywho, still fidgeting my way into this space and by the time I was about to pull up to straighten out, the whole car just died... Nothin... No interior lights or anything... Popped the hood to find that the negative terminal is covered w/ corrosion , it was 11pm @ night, so I ran to a corner store got a can of coke and a bottle of water, then viola! car started up!

*long story short* Clean all of your terminals, even go as far as sanding down the ground points on the chassis.

If you have an audio system, then you need to upgrade your wiring.

I had big and powerful eclipse amps, but I had 0ga wiring to the distribution block and the 4ga to the amps. No dimming whatsoever.

THanks. ill get on that.

the terminals are spotless, no problems with them.. but still having the same low power problems.. what else could it be, alternator?

I'd take it to an auto parts store to get it checked. Autozone and Advance will check the alternator and battery for free. They'll be able to tell if the alternator is charging, how many CCA's your battery is actually putting out and how many volts without taking them out of the car.

You're absolutely right it's good to run the biggest cable your amp will accept. I run a 4 gauge to each of my JL amps. I bet you spent some big $$$ for that 0ga though. Start with the free stuff first then upgrade to $4/ft cable later.

Most of the audio companies have amp wiring kits. I know stinger has a few kits.

I got my wire from Pearl96max a few years ago, and I don't remember how much I paid. But if you do it right the first time and pay a little more. It's better than doing it wrong the first time and having to spend more money to get it right the second time.

i have a huge audio system, 0ga power (batt to amp) and 0ga ground. dash lights pulse, tail lights pulse, anything non-led pretty much. no capacitor though. just bought a UDP due to the stock crank pulley literally falling apart. worried about underdriving my altenator too much to the point where it cant handle the draw. should i run a 2nd bettery or just get a capacitor.

still what are the gauge sizes going to ya amp or amps?? i have 0 gauge running from batt to amps then 4 gauge and i barely flicker at all...gonna go 0 gauge throughout soon but gonna buy a custom alternator soon too better than factory alternator but a cap only stores the charge from the batt but if you watch any system with a cap and look at the voltage when the subs hit...they still drop...ive got a 3 farad cap and when a good hittin song hits my voltage still drops to a 9 lol and im only runnin two JL 10's lol... get ya alternator checked first while music is playing hard then check a REPUTABLE audio shop out and get advice...(one of the main reasons im going to school to get certified in this area...crappy *** audio shops in my area always trying to hit people over the head for crap and more crap lol)

Very possible you need a better alternator. You might just have to much demand for a standard one.

Weird Result... Turns out i up-ed the fuel mix with the vafcII and opened the idle rpm s a bit higher and were good! guess the low power was a result of low idle and low rpm s not spinning the alternator to its minimum operating range?? ... I might still need an alternator haha

Recommended idle is 625-700 (Depending if your auto or manual) w/ A/C off.

I'd get that alternator checked, but with all that sht you got, im backin gto400no1 for getting a stronger alternator

I might do a 0 awg from battery to ground

UPDATE:

the alternator ended up draining the battery. The alternator went bad and since I didn't take action sooner, I had to replace the battery too.

New Battery w/ Alternator made everything back to perfect, and no flickering.

DONT get a cap. I repeat do not get one. You wanna ruin the life of your alt and your battery go ahead. I would put a 2nd battery in or a 3rd if you have a system. It is really the best way to go.

Capacitors are a Joke.. The logic behind it is sound.. Realmofexcursion.com

Do the BIG 3, get a H/O Alt..

afaik, a capacitor works if there is a momentary period of extra high current draw (i.e. a loud bass note) that dims the lights for a second or two, then it goes back to normal. It's meant to smooth out the power draw.

However, it's not going to help at all if your electrical system is not strong enough to power it normally. Yeah it can help out for a couple seconds of extra high load, but if the load is too much for the car all of the time, it's not going to do anything at all.

If your alternator isn't putting enough power out, another passive component isn't going to *magically* make everything ok.

Capacitors in electrical systems are meant to smooth out the current draw... when your car is taking low current, the capacitor takes extra current from the alternator to charge. when your car is taking a normal amount of current, the capacitor does nothing. when your car is taking extra current, the capacitor provides extra current. It stores the electricity it took in the first scenario, and uses it in the third scenario.

If your lights are dimming whenever the stereo is on, not just during the loudest notes, the capacitor won't do a damn thing.

altho feel free to correct me if I'm wrong... I'm not a car audio guy, just an electrical guy

I have a 1.3 F Cap for my 100 Watt rms amp. I havent done the big 3 upgrade put at one point i did want to.

CAps are more of a band aid fix. They work cuz it definitely helped with light dimming on my first maxi. But i before buying a cap, i would recommend buying a stronger battery w/ a lot of reserve capacity first.

a. caps are pointless... i have had a cap and still had issues, removed and sold it. (as the reasons stated above).
b. do the big 3 with 0 ga wiring
c. if your running big dog ****, then go with a dry cell (i.e. kinetic) battery as well.
d. for about $350 (last time i checked) you can get an upgraded alternator from a company such as stinger which will benefit you also.

if you are one of those that constantly bump your system, you WILL need these, as your amps demand more power than your car can give it and run everything else in your car to operate...you will burn thru alternators 2...maybe 3...or if your like me, 7 times a year. yes, i went thru 7 alternators in ONE year (when i was an audio noob)