Civic Light Dimming 1/3 Complete, Big 3

ok i replace the stock ground today with the same gauge of power wire running to back same brand same everythign etc. I noticed a DIFFERENCE in the light dimming i am able to play it a bit louder now at idle with less dimming and it was noticeable. Now the 2nd step is ALT to BAT + correct? but problem is its a 99 civic 4dr sedan the alternator is barried on the drivers side. I cant even see where the wire that leads to BAT + is. Does ANYONE have any experience in this particualr car and have done the big 3 in it? I feel as if i accomplished somethign as my lights were severly dimming when everythign was cranked before today. I think if i do the last 2 steps ill be fine and dont need a new alt. Im running a PG tantrum 500.2 500wrms brided @ 4ohms and a pg tantrum t300.2 75WRMS * 2 @ 4 ohms stereo. Total peak current draw is 90 A (60 + 30 ). AM i gonna have to get this car up on a hoist to do this simple upgrade?

With a 90A amplifier only load, you WILL need to upgrade your alternator. If I am not mistaken, the stocker is only good for 70A on that car, and so therefore, you are already at a 20A defecit... then you have to add all of the car's accessories - lights, ECU, the radio itself, ignition system... I could go on. I don't have any first hand experience with THAT car, but the '98 is the same generation, and it was a pretty easy upgrade. I put a 165A in one from Alterstart, and I added a #2 power cable to the battery. I did leave the stock alternator cable attached as well, as the accessories will not draw any more current than they did before, so the OEM cable will do fine... The battery cable is buried in the wiring harness that runs across the top of the engine. Stupid, I know, but there it is. WHEN you replace your alternator, you will also need to add a ground wire (equivalent to your power [B+] wire) from the engine block to the chassis, and from the chassis to the battery. When you ask about the "Big 3", but have no intention of actually DOING the "Big 3", why are you asking about all of them? The "Big 3" is power supply wiring, alternator and battery. I will still recommend doing them all... ggain, you are going to need it... You are wasting your energies to try to upgrade the alternator output cable if you are not going to upgrade the alternator as well... The OEM cable is fine for the amount of current the alternator is capable of.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

i was at the local shop in town. Someone in a 95 civic had stock alternator. running 2 pG titaniums each with a 60A max current draw total of 120A. He said the STOCK wire in the car is a POS 8 guage. He said he repleaced with 4 guage car audio wiring and noticed a huge differnce. He was pretty experienced with civics as he was the "civic" guy for this store. Anyways he said i strongy reccomend you upgrade the alt to bat before considering a alternator. He had a much higher current draw. Oh ya but that 90A is a PEAK current i never have anything that high at all times. My lights are only dimming on idle now with real bass hits with everythgin cranked to the point where everythign shakes and you cannot see outta rearview lol. I turn my sub level down when im idling cuz i dont want it to dim and still getting decent amount of bass. As i said huge differnce in me upgrade the chassis ground yesterday dimming is much less now.

If you are getting ANY dimming at all, your alternator is not up to the task. I am telling you right now, that if you keep going like that, you will eventually run into problems. Even if you only have things turned up to a total power output of 10 watts, and your lights are dimming at all, you do not have enough alternator in your system to keep up... The dimming is an OBVIOUS sign of underpowering or a lower current than necessary power supply. The computers on Hondas are quite sensitive, and I have seen people have to replace them from lack of power. I can remember one case in particular, where the guy didn't even have a system, all he added was two Halogen foglamps, and upgraded his stock headlamps to HID. The HID lamps pulled LESS current than did the OEM incandescent lamps, and within two months, he was replacing his 1350 dollar ECU, because it DIED on him... All it took was adding two 55 watt foglamps to the electrical load. 55 watts times 2 equals 110 watts, divided by 14.4 volts equals 7.6 amps. Honda ONLY puts in a minimal alternator - usually just enough to run the car and it's accessories, with mabe a little to spare... If you do the math for your alternator, if you were to add only a 110 watt load to your system, this is a little bit more than 10% of your total alternator capability. If you are already running close to 100 percent right now, a 10% overload might be just enough to do your alternator in... Think about it.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

i see what you are saying. i understand the problems i will run into if i continue. but when im idling i turn my sound levels DOWN and sub level down to where nothing dims. when driving my lights dont dim as my alternator puts out more current even with highway driving im driving 120-140KM everymorning and no dimming its just the idle that i probably wont ever get rid of im fine with lowering the following at idles its just the sub level i turn down a bit and no dimming. wont i be safe if just dont crank it that loud. like i mean i have my sub level at 12/15 with volume at like 30/32 it dims but if back my sub level down to 5 or 6 no dimming :). Using a alpien 9831 where it has a sub level control from 0-15. Its just at idle not enough current. I was considering buying a new amp a PG TI 600.2 for my components as the seller is givign a good price for it and will throw in a anl fuse holder and a 1F Lighting audio cap.