Hello everyone, I Have a 1995 sunfire . 2.2L , when i crank my music my lights and headlights dim. I have done the Big 3 with 1/0awg. i run 4awg wire to my amp and ground. I run a small system, 1 12in infinity perfect 12.1 in a sealed box, with a JBL 6000.1D amp. so initially I have a 400rms/1200peak sub with a 600W amp, and its not cranked up. My next option would be a cap?? or what? my alt is new since i blew my old one last year. I think it is 120amps, and my battery is a motomaster eliminator which his only 2 years old i htink. could my grounds not be good? or should i use a cap?

who did the installation? amp and everything?

That would be me.

The easiest way to fix this would be to use a 1 farad capacitor. You are just drawing too much amperage on the circuit to power everything.

Did you try some diagnosing?

If the headlight are off do the dash light dim?

Are you running anything else while this happens i.e heat/AC?

I wanna see dimming headlights?? Come see my car when the subs thump, lol... I only have a two 600watt 12's fed off on a 760watt amp... I would suggest a cap though.




Cavalier z24......A poor man's Camaro....close enough, right?

yea ive paid attention to when it dims and basically when the head lights are off I can turn it up just a little further before my interiors and my deck lights start to dim. So 1 farad, will a bigger cap hurt like 2 or 3 farads?? I only ask becuase there are raelly cheap caps on Ebay that are bigger than 1 farad. and at my local Best Buy they want 150$ for a 1 farad stinger.

Why in the hell does everyone think caps are the end all be all? So the lights dim on the second bass drop instead of the first.


Either get a bigger alternator (and make sure you have power wire to support the amperage this amp is drawing) or get a more efficient amp. 600w amp at a 70% efficiency is drawing 857w which is around 60A. Rest of the car MIGHT use 20A.

This leads me to believe your gain is too high. Also, if your power wire is too small then there is a significant voltage drop. Since power=voltage*amperage, when the voltage drops the amp pulls more amperage to compensate. This causes your light dimming.

So make sure for loads up to 100A have a 100% copper 4 gauge power and ground. 0gauge is good to around 300A depending on whose wire it is.


PM me if you have any questions.

I have 4 gauge running throughout like i mentioned above. your saying the gain on my amp is too high and i should turn it down?

turning down gain which was at 1/2 did not do to much,

No one said a cap would completely solve the problem....Only a small step in fixing the problem. Honestly, if you want your lots to stop dimming take out your system....or shell out the cash to have it all wired properly... You want it to thump with no problems to the alt. and add a cap and make you sure you have the wiring to support like mentioned above.....If not, get used to it...whats more important? Good bass, not having your lights dimm, or spending the money??? The choice is yours....




Cavalier z24......A poor man's Camaro....close enough, right?

no one mentioned the big 3?



JBO Stickers! Get yours today!

Alternator was mentioned and from my own experience it's the only true fix. I've done the big 3 running 0 guage. I run 4 guage on my system 2 10inch type Rs and 2 1200watt pioneer amps. I've got a 5.0 farad cap too keep it from eating my battery. But it doesn't stop the dimming. Upgrading the alternator isn't cheap though

Havoc you dont have to be a butthole dude. As far as having it wired properly well, umm it must be wired somewhat correct if it works... and if you read im running 4awg throughout with 1/0 big 3. And yea ive looked at alternators and thats big $$$

haha a cap will not solve the problem.
do the big 3 in 1/0 and make sure your alternator is still healthy...

and the gain won't do anything. it ISN'T a volume control. match it with the prevoltage of your HU. Easiest way to cook a sub is with the gain set wrong ( clipping)
Make sure your battery and alt are all putting out the correct voltages.
Don't waste your money on a cap.

1/O is slightly overkill. 4gauge is fine and a lot less pricey.

what ohm is your woofer wired at? could be to low of ohms to hook to the amp which would cause the amp to draw more amperage. thats a thought.

the woofer should be wired at 4 ohms. Could my problem also be fro ma bad ground??? such as my amp ground is not good enough???

yes where is your ground located? if its on paint sand the paint away and ground it to bare metal. i'd think if the ground was bad id lose voltage and the amp would shut down until voltage came back.

i have 4 12's at 1ohm ohm on a 2000 watt brutus and you make it sound your lights are dimming more than mine and i have stock alternator battery and wires from alternator. hell you could have a lose wire from doing the big 3.

maxZ24 wrote:yes where is your ground located? if its on paint sand the paint away and ground it to bare metal. i'd think if the ground was bad id lose voltage and the amp would shut down until voltage came back.

i have 4 12's at 1ohm ohm on a 2000 watt brutus and you make it sound your lights are dimming more than mine and i have stock alternator battery and wires from alternator. hell you could have a lose wire from doing the big 3.

Eh, if you're going to grind the paint off, you need to paint over the ground once its attached. Otherwise the metal will oxidize and you'll be worse off than if you hadn't scratched off the paint.

think of it this way, a big funnel compared to a smaller funnel, what will flow better?
do 1/0 so you don't have to go back through and tear it back out when you need to upgrade.
order it from weldingsupply and it really isn't that pricey. REAL copper, not nickel clad aluminum

I have it bolted to a bolt over my wheel well ill look at it 2maro, mayby i didnt clean it good enough first time. also, slocav i already have big 3 done with 1/0.