Upgrading Battery/alternator Wiring On A MK4 - VW Vortex

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malaiwah M I did post a poll in the Golf IV forum.. I was wondering if any owners of MK4 who use this forum could vote in it.. I just wanna know if you guys fixed "dimming headlights" problems by upgrading the ground wiring of MK4.. My lights dim when electric windows stops, when the radiator fan kicks in and when I play really loud bass notes at idle. I was wondering if upgrading the ground wiring from the battery to the chassis of the car could improve my situation since I added a subwoofer in the hatch using 8 gauge coming from the battery to the amp and 8 gauge from the amp to the chassis.. But nothing from the chassis to the battery (for the ground) http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=531482 Thanks a lot! #1 · Oct 2, 2002 I did post a poll in the Golf IV forum.. I was wondering if any owners of MK4 who use this forum could vote in it.. I just wanna know if you guys fixed "dimming headlights" problems by upgrading the ground wiring of MK4.. My lights dim when electric windows stops, when the radiator fan kicks in and when I play really loud bass notes at idle. I was wondering if upgrading the ground wiring from the battery to the chassis of the car could improve my situation since I added a subwoofer in the hatch using 8 gauge coming from the battery to the amp and 8 gauge from the amp to the chassis.. But nothing from the chassis to the battery (for the ground) http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=531482 Thanks a lot! Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · Oct 2, 2002 Re: Upgrading battery/alternator wiring on a MK4 (malaiwah) IMHO, upgrading the factory wiring is just throwing money away, unless you are running 5000 watts or something. The factory service manual shows the MKIVs have much larger wires than normal. Here are the metric and U.S. sizes: Battery to Ground (-), 35mm2 or slightly larger than 2 ga. Battery to Starter (+), 35mm2 or slightly larger than 2 ga. Battery to Fuse Center (+), 16mm2 or approx. 5 ga. Alternator to Battery (+), 35mm2 or slightly larger than 2 ga. Alternator to ground (-), Internally grounded through block I verified these sizes with my 2001 Jetta. For high powered stereos, I would run a good size power wire directly to the battery and also the same size ground to the chassis (depends on length and current draw). If you require larger than 2 ga. or more than 120A of continuous current than yes upgrade the wiring, and the alternator and battery too! [Modified by cchristensen, 5:21 PM 10-2-2002] #3 · Oct 3, 2002 Re: Upgrading battery/alternator wiring on a MK4 (cchristensen) Thanks a lot, that's a very informative post! That was exactly what I was looking for. Then, if lights are dimming a little at idle, playing bass, a capacitor would help? (600w subwoofer) Does a capacitor hooked up to an amplifier, could help headlights (dimming a little) too when the engine fan is kicking on? From what I see, a capacitor is hooked in parallel to the amp, which is in fact, in parallel to the battery too. [edit] typo [/edit] [Modified by malaiwah, 8:42 AM 10-3-2002] #4 · Oct 3, 2002 Re: Upgrading battery/alternator wiring on a MK4 (cchristensen) quote:[HR][/HR] Battery to Fuse Center (+), 16mm2 or approx. 5 ga. [HR][/HR]Does everything electric in the car goes by this wire?! 5ga seems a little bit small, isn't? Headlights are power ungry; could this be upgraded easily? Or would it be a good upgrade to put relays (with inline fuses) in the headlights wiring (if it isn't done so in factory)? [edit] mad typos again [/edit] [Modified by malaiwah, 8:54 AM 10-3-2002] #5 · Oct 3, 2002 Re: Upgrading battery/alternator wiring on a MK4 (malaiwah) quote:[HR][/HR] Battery to Fuse Center (+), 16mm2 or approx. 5 ga. Does everything electric in the car goes by this wire?! 5ga seems a little bit small, isn't? Headlights are power ungry; could this be upgraded easily? Or would it be a good upgrade to put relays (with inline fuses) in the headlights wiring (if it isn't done so in factory)? [edit] mad typos again [/edit] [Modified by malaiwah, 8:54 AM 10-3-2002][HR][/HR]No 5 Ga. is not too small considereing 4 Ga. has a current carring capacity of 120 up to 14 Ft. Your head lights shouldn't be anymore power hungery than any other vehicle headlights. Usally the Low beams are 45W and Highs are 65W on the average for most vehicles. I know on lolder VW the headlights can be improved upon (Better light output) when switching in a relay assembly, due to a voltage drop on the OEM harnesses. Not too sure about newer VW's. #6 · Oct 3, 2002 Re: Upgrading battery/alternator wiring on a MK4 (Non_Affiliated) quote:[HR][/HR]No 5 Ga. is not too small considereing 4 Ga. has a current carring capacity of 120 up to 14 Ft. Your head lights shouldn't be anymore power hungery than any other vehicle headlights. Usally the Low beams are 45W and Highs are 65W on the average for most vehicles. I know on lolder VW the headlights can be improved upon (Better light output) when switching in a relay assembly, due to a voltage drop on the OEM harnesses. Not too sure about newer VW's.[HR][/HR]This is exactly right! Also this approx. 5 ga. cable is about 6 inches long since it runs from the pos. post of the battery to that fuse center mounted on top of the battery. The dimming lights could be reduced with a capacitor mounted close to your amplifiers, perhaps a more powerfull battery and alternator too if your accessories require it. Keep in mind that any significant and initial power drain, such as turning on lights or A/C, will cause flucuations in power and cause lights to dim momentarily. If it is just a momentary dimming, you have to expect it. But say you turn your A/C on and the lights dim without returning to their intensity shortly after or before turning the A/C off again, then you will most likely need to upgrade the charging system. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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