Dash lights dim and engine tick

[romeoridgee]

For a few days now Ive noticed that my light out indicator on dash flickers, (I have led bulbs for my tail lights and so there isnt enough resistance as the oem bulbs, and they complete the circuit to the parking lights when i press the brake, So that stays on when I have the brake pushed in, along with my parking lights lol, and when they actual parking lights are on) Ive got my headlights on and should be completely on. and the battery light, and the brake light (when not pulled) are both dim, like very low when it shouldnt be on. Also there is a ticking ive been hearing, so this morning I lifted my hood and heard ticking around the connectors at top rear of engine, and at the end of the video when i go back to the motor, it stops, also when i rev or going down the road, the flickering/ticking/dimming stops... I left after that to go to college, and the speedo and tach are at zero.. and the car is on, and the car is moving, and i try to rev in neutral while rolling and it wouldnt go past 3k, I turned the heat off and tried revving again, was able to redline, and then the lights on dash got a lot brighter and the tack and speedo kicked on and then no problem after that. Bernie (nova) (who swapped my motor for a working one in feb, and transmission with other upgrades to my na couple weeks ago) told me to check the belt to alternator. I dont know what I would be looking for, but I will check it i guess if its loose, also Im going to go to autozone to get the alt checked (volts/amps).

has this happened to anyone?

Ive got the video right here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Dj_ltPqCI8

If it is the alternator, then Im going to get it switched, now I saw this alt on CZP
https://conceptzperformance.com/Cart/de ... p?II=15453
I dont know if 170 amps is real for 200$ or I should get a tt alt with 90 amps instead of the na 80 amp alt. for more than 200$
has anyone used/gotten this 170 amp alt before? It says I also need a larger wire to the battery. z1 doesnt have any. and my head unit tripps when the volume is at like 30 out of 35 and i only have my front speakers on. and plan on getting higher quality speakers, head unit, and maybe subs.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[romeoridgee]

Update.
My dumba** left the lights on, so it completely drained my battery, so i got a jump, and it started right up. the downside is that after I took off the cables, the car bogged down and died and couldnt start itself. I tried again like an hour later, except i just kept the cables on for a little while (20 minutes) with both cars on. I did what I did last time this happened when i left for school (revved the engine to redline) and shockingly, well not that shocking to me, it stayed on after I took off cables. It started right up after I turned it off after 10 minutes by its self. So im guessing high revs "jumpstarts" the alternator? lol.
I will be changin the alt, I just need to know If that 170 amp alt from czp is good, or get a tt alt. and i was told a tt alt with 90 amps will fit just like the 80 amp na alt.

[ThisIsSparTTa]

Think of your battery as your main supply of voltage to the system. The alternator helps charge the battery, and supply extra load. If your battery is dead, it can take it a few minutes to get up to a level that it's able sustain on its own, especially at idle.

Speaking of idle, have you changed to an aftermarket crank pulley? They have a smaller diameter which will cause the alternator to turn slower, producing less power, especially at idle.

[romeoridgee]

Ive got the stock dampener. At my first attempt to jump it, i left it connected for a couple of minutes while both cars are on, then disconnected the cables, and then not even a minute later, the car was having trouble remaining at idle, and eventually bogged down and died, and had to be jumped again to start. would 170 amps alt be too much? I think that would work well with an underpully, like you said it would be producing less power, it would produce less than 170.which at that point wouldnt be too many amps. I dont want to overcharge the battery.

[ThisIsSparTTa]

You sure your battery is good? Maybe take it to an auto store and have them test the alternator and battery.

170A is overkill for most systems unless you're running e-fans and a big sound system. The TT alternator should be fine. Either way, it can't overcharge the battery. Common point of confusion is that the alternator only produces, and thus the system only draws whatever current (amps) is needed. The alternator doesn't force a certain number of amps out of the system.

Otherwise, I don't have experience with the 170A alternator.

[Ziggy1621]

moving thread to technical forum

[romeoridgee]

It was the alternator, bought one from autozone and it was an 80 amp one. It took me like three hours but it was worth it. about an hour and a quarter was trying to get the actual alt and setting up and cleaning up, so it wasnt that bad. Also the radio doesnt trip anymore which tells me that my old alt wasnt producing the full 80 amps, but less than that.