[Morph]

I have a lot of auxilary equipment on my car, but even when none of it is running my dash display and headlights sometimes dim in and out. My car is powered by an Optima Yellow-Top which is kept on a deep cycle trickle charger whenever the car is not in use.

I've asked countless shops how to correct this problem, but since I never get a straight answer I've been hesitant to proceed. Do I need a second battery, a capacitor, two alternators??? Here is a rough list of the accessories on my car:

5 neon kits (5 transformers, approx. 28 tubes)
6 sections of neon wires
2 commercial grade strobe kits
neon license plate frame
3 tv's
PS2
2 10" Kicker Solobarics
Kicker 400W amp
AudioPage alarm w/ remote start

Again, even when none of these accessories are running dimming still occurs. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated...thanks.

 

[crazyoldcougar]

not sure about a second alt definately get yours checked...

where the heck would you squeeze in snd alt anywa...hehe...have to get rid of the ac or something..

 

[ChenZhen]

hey murphy I get that problem on my coog and I don't have half of the amperage draw you must have .....I also have a 1 farad capacitor and that doesn't seem to fix this particular thing ....my guess is it's the crappy alternator that was came with the 99-00 that everyone seems to complain about.....it's never really bothered me that much so i have just left it alone

 

[99CouGSweetRide]

its def. the alternator, you need a more powerful one. I have the yellow top, and my lights flicker and dim only with my headlights on, 6 neon tubes on, and my system, (500W) which isn't even turned up all the way most of the time.

Mike

 

[Cougaritus]

Go to a car shop and have ure alternator "rewound"... talk to PuckPuck or Atlas on the subject... they have a lot of knowledge....

 

[BigCountry]

Murphy, I have the same problem, and I don't think it has anything to do with your alt. I have had mine checked, and I am pushing plenty of amperage. No matter what of my stereo is connected, it does it. I think it has to do with the voltage sensing circuit. There is a thread in How-tos on how to fix the volateg sensor. I have not done it yet, because I need a decent lift, but it has worked for a number of people

 

[Lukydogg]

Voltage sensor fix worked for me. Not as much as a flicker at normal driving. But when they amps are drawing power, then maybe minor voltage drops. 100% better after voltage sensor fix. Takes about 30 Minutes and I didnt remove anything but wheel and inner fender wall. Best to have someone with small hands to help with wire crimping and splicing. I couldnt get both hands to re-connect main alt. lead. Little g/f hands are good for something!

 

[Jason J]

same for me did the alt fix wire thingy and it is 100% better when i have everything running i get a very slight flicker on really big bass hits but on the whole its sorted it pretty well

 

[Excelcier]

This thread is interesting. I also have tonnes of electrical draw from all my toys but I don't have this problem nor have I heard of it. Can someone put a link to the thread that has the how-to on this for reference? It's good information for the future.

 

[JScullin]

Check to make sure all your grounds & contacts are not dirty. Especially the ones in the engine bay that is just behind the fusebox & another that is below the battery (towards the firewall side). Grime & stuff will coat & corrode them thus not giving you a proper ground.

I have the exact same problems but without all the electrical do-dads running. I had my battery & alt checked by a shop and both are putting out a steady amount with everything in the car running. But if I look at some of the grounds they are dirty or starting to show signs of corrosion.

 

[Morph]

I'll see about getting my alternator tested and if all is okay there, I'll try the voltage sensor fix and let you know what happens. Thanks for all the feedback and suggestions. :thumbsup:

 

[PGCougar]

I'd say get a cap or two. I've got 2800watts of amps running, with five 1 farad, 24 volt caps, and I have no dimming at all.

 

[ChenZhen]

did some searching and i didn't find the voltage sensor mod but i did find this:

Originally posted by: PuckPuck
I have seen 2 alternators that were blown, emitting the light at high rpm....

what went wrong you asked?

on the inside is a solder mark joining a metal rod coming from the (forget part name) to the main rotor... each alt has 2 of theses solders on it... if one of the breaks (solder joint), the metal rod will bounce back off and on the rotor causing spikes in the current therefore causing your batt light to come on... this only happens at high rpm, as the rod is stiff enough to stay on the rotor at lower rpms....

visteon (oem supplier of the alts) has made 3 (or 4) revisions to this one given solder joint... yes they have revised the same joint multiple times.... the joint gets corroded easily because of the location of the alternator in our cars.... when i brought mine to a specialized shop, he told me it wasn't the first time something like this has come across him, and to fix it they use a different type of solder which doesn't corrode....

since that time my alt has put out a constant 14.7-14.9 volts at ALL RPMS. The only thing done to my alt was the solder joint redone and a new regulator installed.... total cost was less than 200$ CDN and about 2.5hours of my labour to take it in and out of my car.... i was also without use of my car for 24 hours.

oh one more thing... he did mention i may want to try running a pulley with built in fins to help keep the alt cool and corrosion out of the alternator itself... i never really pursued this but it could be another fairly cheap option for more peace of mind....


oh and i confirmed the part revisions and main reason of failure with a contact i had working the warranty division at the autoalliance plant.... where our cougars were built...

 

[Lukydogg]

This is all I had of the original post from way back when. And I couldnt tell you much about a how to because I dont remember. But it shows the basic wires to cut and splice. Maybe someone else has the written how-to somewhere??? Or ill have to think about a new one-