Has anyone been able to make this a bit...well, bearable? It drives me mad to watch my headlights suddenly go dim when the radiator fans kick on. I've tried cleaning all my ground connections, but nothing helps. It's not just a quick dim and then restore, the headlamps run much dimmer when the fans are engaged. I never had this problem on other cars, one of which being another Honda.

I understand the principle of WHY, but has anyone been able to make it stop or not be as noticeable?

 

I've heard that this is just the way Honda's are. Likely related to our extremely small batteries lol.

 

mine dimmed on my old accord; not just the fan, but even when i rolled down the windows. same with my fit.

 

mine only dim when the radiator fans kick on. And it blows my mind as to what it is. Like I said, my '93 Del Sol didnt do it, and my uncles 96 Civic HX and 2000 Civic Lx never done it.

 

i'm sure it has to do with thickness of the wires and size of battery.

 

If you find a solution, let me know because this annoys the hell out of me too lol.

 

I think I'm going to try replacing the battery ground with a larger wire. I also noticed the ring terminal is grounded to a flimsy piece of metal that could easily break off of the body of the car if ever twisted, in addition to not being clean metal underneath.

 

I'd say upgrade battery and check/upgrade grounding wires.

 

All you need is a more powerful battery. It's the same thing as people that get a subwoofer and don't upgrade the battery. Lights dim everytime there is a beat. I've upgraded mine to some smaller batteries that have more power. It' made a world of a difference.

I used to use one, but I got two for free, so I hooked those up too.
SHURiKEN SK-BT20 (SKBT20) 850 Amp 12 Volt AGM Power Cell Battery

 

mine does that too when the ac compressor kicks in too. but it's not a big deal for me.

 

How long have you had the battery(s)? I wonder how they would hold up in the extreme cold of northern ohio winters?

 

I've had these batteries for 3 and a half years. I'm not sure about cold weather. I live in Texas and can't really say anything about that.

 

The Honda Fit has lights?

 

You can add LEDs to everything, lessening the power draw on the battery....that might help as long as their is no weird bulb-out sensor if you put in a normal brightness LED.
My Mini will throw errors unless you swap the bulbs for the extra-high power LED bulbs that cost and arm and a leg :-/

 

I currently have two twelve inch subwoofers and a single ten inch subwoofer, altogether drawing roughly 1,000rms.
I have silverstar headlight bulbs that supposedly draw slightly more power.
I blast my system while alone on highway, shaking the ever-living crap out of the rearview mirror.
I get a hint of a flicker after listening to music for over 45 minutes.

How is this possible?

I when to autozone. I bought a new negative battery terminal that holds 2 4 gauge wires and 2 8 gauge wires. the first 4 gauge goes to factory radiator bolt location. The second 4 gauge goes along radiator support, along headlight, and uses same bolt as the harness ground ON the engine mount. I do not have the 8 gauge spots used. Will be added once I add a bigger amp for the 12s (they are about 200rms each shy of their rating)

I bought ZERO gauge wiring to ADD to the alternator. either crimp really well (properly) or solder with a torch and flux. use quality stuff here.


PM me for pictures if interested, Im too lazy to snap and upload at the moment

 

Sorry to dig up a dead thread guys but I just wanted to know if anyone has got some closure on this dimming issue?

My GD3 I bought (apparently with a new battery) suffers the same issue of dimming lights and slower take off from the lights (a lot less torque).

has anyone tried using an aftermarket voltage stabilizer or regulator? maybe even one of those huge capacitors used for sound systems?

I would really like to experiment with one of these types of hybrid batteries seeing as it would reduce some weight.

 

I would really like a definitive answer to this as well.
I own a 2011 Fit Sport and the dimming of the lights when the defroster is on seems to have increased in frequency, every 15 to 25 seconds when the defrost is on full blast. It also does it when A/C is on but not as often. I have had installed a new louder horn, an electric sunroof, leather interior with heated seats so there has been work on the electrical system. Has anyone on this forum fixed the problem? Is it as simple as a larger battery or replacing the battery cables? I drive to work early in the morning when it is still dark in heavy traffic and I am certain that people in front of me think I am flashing my highbeams at them. Has Honda ever made any statements about the problem? I asked my Honda service department to look at it twice and was finally told, Yes, the lights will dim when the defroster is on...that can't be the final word on this. Does anyone have a proven solution?

 

It is NORMAL operation. The ELD (electrical load detector every Fit has one stock) takes a few microseconds to observe the increased load and tell the alternator to increase it's output. it's doing it's job keep the output as low as possible (and the load) to increase fuel mileage efficiency.

None of the bandaids will cure this as Honda doesn't see it as a problem and no matter what you do the ELD will STILL increase and decrease the output of the alternator as IT decides what output to allow.

 

Best way to reduce dimming is to upgrade your alternator charge wire to the battery (Fuse it!!)

Also to replace the battery ground. It is so puny in stock form! Make a 2 or 4 gauge ground wire for it, and make sure its secure.

I also ran a second 4 gauge wire to the timing chain side of the bay, to the harness ground that is present.


My car flickers dim, instead of dimming then coming slowly back up.

 

AH no you want to go back and review the 0.004 volt increase you get from changing the wire that I did the math for you again?