Rep Power: 0

Hi guys! I just got my 2002 Civic Coupe today. I have a couple of concerns that I am hoping are just normal. When I have the car in park and step out of the car, I can hear the fan kick on and off at an interval of about 6 seconds. The fan is never off for longer than 6 seconds when I have my A/C on. Is this normal?

Also, as soon as the fan does kick on, I notice my entire lighting system in and out of the car go dim. It gradually works its way back up to full power, but it is quite annoying seeing my headlights and interior lights constantly dimming. I was wonder if this was normal? What can be done to fix it? Is my alternator bad?

Any help you guys can give me will be much appreciated!

Thank you!
-Chad-

 
Rep Power: 0

sweet, good choice man. well i know the headlights automatically slightly dim when the AC is turned on and the car is in neutral or park but when you get goin the lights come back fully on

 
Rep Power: 0

wanna get annoyed even more? turn on your A/C sit in neutral and put all 4 windows down at once... dimming like crazy, do that at the same time after you put a system in it and the bass is hitting, they'll dim even more =) its a civic, everything under the hood is tiny... including the alternator

 
Rep Power: 0

Thanks for the speedy replies my fellow civic owners. Its good to hear my car isn't a POS!


Have fun!
-Chad-

 
Rep Power: 0

its normal, if youre just sittin there w/ the ac on, theres no air comin through the radiator to cool it.the fan kickin in adds extra amperage draw on the alternator, and just sitting there idling it will do that. you dont see it when youre driving because the alternator is spinning faster amd making more amperage and can keep up with the draw. about 90% of vehicles on the road will do it to some degree. did u ever notice if you push auto down on the drivers window, and tap the passengers window so it starts and stops? the drivers window goes down at different speeds. not enough to be seen, but you car hear the extra current draw.

 
Rep Power: 0

with all that said, would running your system off a second battery located in the trunk reduce the dimming effects and battery drains?[IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/IMG]

 
Rep Power: 0

easiest and best thing to do is a High output alternator...

 
Rep Power: 0

No it would make it worse

 
Rep Power: 0

2nd battery requires for the alternator to charge 2 separate batteries, causing more strain on it, and causing for less charge due to the power loss because of the distribution of power and such... also with a second battery you need to put in all sorts of stuff like isolators and who knows what else... you can run loooots of power off a single battery with an upgraded alternator.... other thing would be to look into replacing your existing battery with a deep cycle...

 
Rep Power: 0

yes and no

if you put in an isolator switch(i think thats what its called), it will sense the charge levels of each battery. if the main(at the front of the car) is low, itll charge that one and let the other sit as is. if the front one is fine, itll switch to the rear and charge it. for the rear it is recommended that you get a deep cycle, dry-type, sealed battery, that way you can use it till its completely discharged, and itll still be as good as new when its recharged. plus it needs to be completely sealed so the gases wont leak into the car.

thus, with the second battery pwering the ICE, the main battery will have less of a strain trying to keep up.

 
Rep Power: 0

you should get a capacitor to run with a hard hitting system.