factory subwoofer dims lights

I would clean and re-tighten as many ground connections as possible. A lot pf electrical problems ca be traced to poor or rusty ground conns. just a thought

Carl

matt wrote:

nar, it's pulling too much power for the alternator.

you can get a one-farad capacitor and wire it in as close to the amp as possible, but it's only really useful in high-power applications. wouldn't be worth the cost in an oem setup.

perhaps not drive with the dome light on? or turn the sound down when you stop?

you could always get a better alternator if you want to fix it once and for all... but hell, my toyota starlet alternator can handle 600 watts of audio,

400 watts of lighting and whatever it takes for the car to 'go' all at once. without things dimming, etc.

could be the way the factory amp is wired. if it's run off the accessories, instead of straight off the battery with a 'signal' wire to turn it on and off, it could be pulling too much off the acc. wiring without going so far as to blow the fuse.

-mark

clip) When i

(clip) Thanks for any clues! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I doubt it is the alternator. You should be able to listen to your audio/radio while parked, with the engine off. Either your battery can't handle the current draw of the amplifier during big power peaks, or there is a resistance somewhere in the wiring, causing a voltage drop, affecting the dome light and the amplifier. I would check by hooking a voltmeter directly to the battery, and playing the kickdrum thing. If you see voltage fluctuations there, it's the battery. If not, it's in the wiring. If you don't have a meter, you could use a light bulb, similar in size to the dome light, and see whether it dims.

If it's the battery, then the question is: Is the battery too small for the kickdrums, or is it losing capacity because it is several years old, and near the end of its life?

If it's no6t the battery, then you have the chore of finding a bad connection in the wiring. Short of just going around wiggling things, that can be a challenging task, since the wiring goes all over the place, including under the dash, and inside harnesses. You might be smart to just live with the "problem." Do you listen to kickdrums a lot with the dome light on? :-)

I had the same thing happen in my '04 WRX wagon. The odd thing is after I pulled the stock sub. I kept the stock head unit. I added sirius sat. radio, 100w x 4 amp to run my pioneer 3-way 6.5"s in the door and added a

(clip) Thanks for any clues!

If you are sitting idling with the dome light and stereo on be aware that the alternator is *not* putting out anywhere near rated output at idle. If you take the engine up to 2500 RPM does it still happen?