# Lights Dim, whats up with that?



## LittlebittaContact (Oct 12, 2002)

Yea, i know that the base draws alot more power then any other part of the speaker, however, I Dont have a huge system in my car, thiers an Alpine CDE7870 head and two pioneer 6x9s in the back and two sony Xplod (yea, im working on getting rid of those) And i have a brand new ALternator and a brand new Optima red top that i just put in yesterday. my base is set on +3 and treble if i remember is set on -2. I Turned The base down and it didnt dim the lights, but it didnt sound as good.

The Headlights and interior lights dont dim, the only one i notice is the light on the head unit. I Bought the best battery i could get, and its a brand new alternator. so what else can i do without getting a standalone audio system?


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## G_Funk013 (Jul 9, 2002)

Maybe a Cap.


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

sounds like you're drawing too much power off your head unit. does it ever shut off from over heating?


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## Fonque (May 1, 2002)

how do you draw too much power from the head unit if the sup is amped? the head unit is only sending signal


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## LittlebittaContact (Oct 12, 2002)

G_Funk- ?? Cap???

sno, no it hasnt ever shut off on its own.

Fonque, I Dont have an amp, besides the one built in the head unit.


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## infrared (Aug 1, 2002)

I had the same problem with my setup especially when running my system at moderate volume with the engine off. I checked with a techie at my local nissan dealer and he said my problem may be from a overload on my accessory switch.
Nissan wires their cars to run a lotta things fron the acc switch (stereo, windshield wipers etc.) He suggested that I put in relay in between my head unit and the acc. with a direct power wire from the battery(I just ran a small guage wire alonside the power cable for the amps from the battery to the relay). 
It worked for me, I dont know what the other guys may think of this but if you want details on the install lemme know.


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## NissanTuner (Dec 1, 2002)

run a second battery in line with your primary battery. That will fix it pretty much, your headlights wont dim, you might notice slight dimming with your roof light or trunk light, but barely. I have a Kicker KX 1200.1 Amp powering 2 Kicker L7 Solobaric 12's and an efx 925 cca drycell battery in the trunk powering the audio. i have zero headlight dimming.


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

he said the lights on the head unit dim, not his headlights or any other lights. right? this is caused by drawing too much power off the head unit. how many speakers are you running just off the deck? 6? you might want to get a small amp just to run your highs and mids. 6x9's can draw a lot of power, if they're a decent pair the could be trying to draw (atleast) 100 watts per speaker.


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## LittlebittaContact (Oct 12, 2002)

Im running four speakers, two 6's in the doors and two Pioneer 6x9's in the back. the fronts are rated at 160 watts and the backs are rated at 220.

putting a second battery inline is not an option for me, i dont really want to buy another optima just because the head dims a little.

this is really a go fast car (even tho it dosent ) and not an audio only car.


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## nastynissan (Jan 26, 2003)

Run a New power line to your Deck off the Battery or Some other circuit that Nissan hasnt already loaded down and Your problem will be fixed. Trust me Im running @ 1500 watts with Dual batts and a stock alt.


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## LittlebittaContact (Oct 12, 2002)

Cool Thanks. Ill assume your telling me that by putting a hard line right to my stero, the stero wont be always on will it? i mean if its a hard line?? Even so, by removing the face plate will kill the power, so im good to go.


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## SentraStyleEMW (Aug 15, 2002)

LittlebittaContact said:


> *Cool Thanks. Ill assume your telling me that by putting a hard line right to my stero, the stero wont be always on will it? i mean if its a hard line?? Even so, by removing the face plate will kill the power, so im good to go. *


No, you should have 2 power wires on your radio. One is an ignition wire (12 volts switched) which is what turns your radio on with the ignition. The second is a 12 volts constant. The constant wire is the one that you want to run a new line for. Make sure you fuse it accordingly and that you run a sufficient gauge wire. Using the same gauge as the factory will yeild the same results.


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

LittlebittaContact said:


> *Im running four speakers, two 6's in the doors and two Pioneer 6x9's in the back. the fronts are rated at 160 watts and the backs are rated at 220. *


that's almost 400 watts you're trying to draw off your head unit!!! buy an amp to run your speakers!!!! you don't need to run a hard line to your deck!!!!!


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## jblaze (Jan 30, 2003)

Exactly...if you want the problem solved get a 4 channel amp to run your speakers.


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## NissanTuner (Dec 1, 2002)

You dont need an optima in the trunk, you need an optima under the hood, im running an EFX 925 cca drycell in the trunk, its about 6inches square and i can pick it up with one hand easily, it wont weigh your car down as much as running a second optima in the trunk, and its more powerful than the yellowtop. I run my 1200 watt rms system off of it for about 2 hours before i need to start the car up and recharge a bit.


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## Ajaxn26 (Feb 14, 2003)

you need a cap..... 1 farad or even 2! at least one!


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## sno (Oct 4, 2002)

Ajaxn26 said:


> *you need a cap..... 1 farad or even 2! at least one! *


a cap is used for an amp! not for the deck! 
fuck it, i give up on this thread!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## CLocK NX (Jan 8, 2003)

add a farad CAP ! end of story! ha


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## SuperSentra4203 (Dec 17, 2002)

Alpine headunits draw some massive current(10-20amps). Since the constant wire for the headunit is undersized for it and some of the cars lights, if not most run of the same wire, your headunit will pull current from the other stuff. I do believe Alpine recommends running a lone constant to the headunit, 10 or 12 ga. if i'm not mistaken. That will solve your problem. What speakers you have hooked up to the headunit has nothin to do with anything, speakers DO NOT cause a demand on the headunit. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to underpower or clip speakers.


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