Headlights flickering

Hey, about a year ago i noticed my head lights would flicker when i would turn the system up because it needed more juice, and i understand that. Now they even flicker regardless of the volume. I took the car in and they said the stock battery and alternator, about 6 months old, are fine. So do I need the big three upgrade, a capacitor, or something else?

BTW: i am drawing about 550 wrms from an alpine mrd-m501.

thanks in advance for your answers. -gary

I would at least START with "the big 3"

Whats the output of a stock VW alt.

I am pretty sure its 90 amps.

The car is going in to get serviced on thursday, so how much would it cost for them to upgrade the wiring?

Any other suggestions? thanks

If the headlights are flickering even with the volume down, you should check the voltage at the battery, at the alternator, and at the headlights... you might have other problems. If you know how to do voltage drop readings you can determine if you need to do the 'big 3' or not.

Jim

nouseforaname wrote: all you need is a cap. KIDDING!! i actualy had that same problem with a car i used to own. the alternator "checked out" fine, but in fact the alternator ended up being bad. the voltage regulator was going bad causing power surges, thus making the lights flicker. as mentioned earlier, upgrade the big 3 first. it can't hurt anything if done right and will definately help out. next, i'd check on a good HO alternator.

Yeh, my car does seem to have weird power surges. Had a 6 hour drive last night back to school and the headlights would flicker at times, and at other times be fine. But it seems that I need the big three upgrade. After that, if nothing changes, would a h.o. alternator or optima yellow top battery( or any other strong battery) be better? thanks