lights dimming in relation to steering

AKs_SlickPolo · Post by **AKs_SlickPolo** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:32 pm

a few posts up or down, ive mentioned i get the howling noise. Glad to know its normal, but driving today and pulling up to someones drive way i found that my headlight reflection shows that the headlights slightly dim out when turning the wheel?!? is this normal? I understand that the power drain on steering is quite high but should this still really be happening?

dino · Post by **dino** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:22 pm

Mine used to do that before Xenons. Always found it funny tbh

rob-g · Post by **rob-g** » Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:06 pm

mine is the same too, they even dim if i open or close the windows!

xx_loopy_xx · Post by **xx_loopy_xx** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 8:03 am

Yeah it is funny.... mine do it if you check that both the windows are up...

Maybe the battery can't handle it all.... lol

AKs_SlickPolo · Post by **AKs_SlickPolo** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:06 pm

hmmm, well im in the process of wiring my sub and amp in. In this case have any of u had problems with dimming lights in line with the bass too? cos in this case i may have to upgrade my battery i think

I think the electric windows one is normal as my old Renault Clio, Mk4 Polo and MK3 Golf does it too. But the steering one is a bit wierd.

NornIron · Post by **NornIron** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 5:10 pm

AKs_SlickPolo wrote:I think the electric windows one is normal as my old Renault Clio, Mk4 Polo and MK3 Golf does it too. But the steering one is a bit wierd.

It's not that weird...don't forget the 9n has electrically assisted power steering.

tom-polo53 · Post by **tom-polo53** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 7:44 pm

i think the alternator needs to be slightly adjusted.

When i stick my blower on, push my windows fully up or turn the steering wheel, i get the same lowering of the headlights.

im going to VW on sat about some other things too. I'll reply back on here then

mk4po-low · Post by **mk4po-low** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 9:06 pm

AKs_SlickPolo wrote:hmmm, well im in the process of wiring my sub and amp in. In this case have any of u had problems with dimming lights in line with the bass too? cos in this case i may have to upgrade my battery i think

With regards to i.c.e on any car you'll always get headlight dimming, changing the battery isn't the answer, you'll only get the dimming with rubbish amps, an alternative is to get a capacitor, this will stop the headlight dimming when the bass pumps!

ModifiedMadness · Post by **ModifiedMadness** » Wed Mar 01, 2006 11:09 pm

That's not true!

You could get dimming with the best amps in the world, it's all to do with current draw, upgrading the battery can help, because if the battery can't cope with the amout of amps you're pulling the lights will dim.

Which is why pretty much all SPL cars will have loads of battery's, I've never seen any with powercaps, becase a lot of people say they're crap.

AKs_SlickPolo · Post by **AKs_SlickPolo** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:08 am

mk4po-low wrote: With regards to i.c.e on any car you'll always get headlight dimming, changing the battery isn't the answer, you'll only get the dimming with rubbish amps, an alternative is to get a capacitor, this will stop the headlight dimming when the bass pumps!

I agree with Modified madness,

I wouldn't say that is normal as that is clearly a sign of lack of voltage, which can start to damage your audio equipment.

I never found my headlights dimming on my old MK4 with bass, it did with the steering a bit and quite a bit with the electric windows but i expected it as it was older.

Power caps are a no go imo, ive heard bad things about em and i wouldnt think of using em.

@ tom-polo53, let us know how it goes with yours mate?

mk4po-low · Post by **mk4po-low** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 12:56 pm

well i've been installing car audio for over 2 years now and i found that heavy duty batteries do help but the capacitor works wonders, ive got 2 in my car and it stopped all my headlight dimming plus they make the audio sound so much better

ModifiedMadness · Post by **ModifiedMadness** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:12 pm

That may be the case for you but as I say, just about all of the SPL boys on Talk Audio and everywhere else will disagree with you on Power Caps!

mk4po-low · Post by **mk4po-low** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 1:48 pm

fairplay dude

tom-polo53 · Post by **tom-polo53** » Sun Mar 05, 2006 4:17 pm

yeah my alternator needs adjusting

ModifiedMadness · Post by **ModifiedMadness** » Mon Mar 06, 2006 7:22 pm

Just thought I'd put this on here.

This is typed by a guy who has achieved the following:

2005 dB Drag Extreme 2 167.2dB
2006 dB Drag Extreme 2 167.1dB
2005 idBl Ultimate 261-520 169.1dB

Personal preference, but use a second battery rather than a cap.

What happens with a power cap is this:-

It will charge up from your cars power supply (battery), then when the bass comes in, it will drain. Then it will re-charge from the battery and when this happens, you lose power from your battery and also lose bass too.