Interior lights dimming

[shealy]

First of all, please excuse my lack of electrical knowledge!

I installed two Aux lights under the bull bar the other day. They work great! The only problem is today when i went to turn on my regular headlights my dash lights dimmed (ie. clock and temperature gauge). I figured I'd messed up the wiring of the Aux lights, so I disconnected them from the battery and tried again - same issue. The weird thing is when I turn the Aux lights on, it doesn't have the same effect on the dash lights - only when I turn on the headlights and fog lights. The car runs fine, and starts no problem. (I'm assuming then, its not due to a partially drained battery?)

Any thoughts??

[TardisDeli]

Where are you getting the power from to your new aux. lights ?

[shealy]

They're wired to the positive terminal of the battery. The issue is happening whether they're attached or not though....

[shealy]

Disconnected the battery, checked/tightened connections and cleaned terminals. Re-connected the battery and the problem seems to have gotten better! I must have accidentally jostled something when putting those Aux light in. It still dims ever so slightly when the headlights or fogs are used, but I'm pretty sure it did that before. However, the aux lights have absolutely no affect on the interior gauge lights..weird. Well, hopefully it stays this way!

[FalcoColumbarius]

Just a thought and one of those thoughts that get overlooked that can make a difference. It's Autumn, the weather has changed and it's about that time that battery terminals start to develop a thin film that can "inhibit" all things electrical. The thin film is not really something that is easily seen but a good cleaning of the terminals and connectors with a wire brush can make all the difference. Another thing you can do once you've cleaned and reconnected them cover them with some petroleum jelly to keep air from them so they don't corrode (as much).

Falco.

[shealy]

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but as I said the dash lights are still dimming slightly when turning on my headlights. I had a really close listen to the engine when turning them off/on when idling and it does in fact seem to have a very subtle effect on the idle speed. Not much, MAYBE slows it down by 10 RPM, as its hard to even see the needle move on the gauge. Seeing as it happens if I turn the fogs or the main lights on, I'm assuming its not the switch mechanism on the steering wheel.

My question is this: Is this something common that happens with anyone else, and should I be concerned?

[nxski]

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but as I said the dash lights are still dimming slightly when turning on my headlights. I had a really close listen to the engine when turning them off/on when idling and it does in fact seem to have a very subtle effect on the idle speed. Not much, MAYBE slows it down by 10 RPM, as its hard to even see the needle move on the gauge. Seeing as it happens if I turn the fogs or the main lights on, I'm assuming its not the switch mechanism on the steering wheel.

My question is this: Is this something common that happens with anyone else, and should I be concerned?

My rpm's go down by quite a bit more than that when I switch my lights on. I wouldn't worry about a minor fluctuation like that.

[shealy]

Makes me feel better that it's not just my rig. I wasn't sure if the lights were maybe drawing unnecessary power or something. Again, I have hardly any vehicle electrical knowledge so I wasn't sure!

[TardisDeli]

The headlights draw close to ten amps as do the running lights so thats close to 20 amps, so yes they will dim a bit depending on the size of your altenator.

[LeeHammy]

A simple fix that helps over all draw on your batteries especially when the engine is off is to replace all your interior bulbs with LED's. No dimming, very little draw, leave your doors open for hours without draining your battery. Try Autolismo.com
I got all my bulbs from this guy, super good price, cash in hand, very pleased with them, he also gets them in strange sizes including HID's for much less than most places. I usually just tell him what I want and meet him at a spot to get them.

Liam