'95 Civic alternator question...

[Tofuboy]

Your indiglo gauages are pulling to much voltage from that circuit (note not ampage). It's casuing a voltage drop in that parelle circuit leaving other lights to operate with insufficent voltage.

The reason you haven't blown the fuse yet (fuse 19-10amp, under dash fuse block), because you haven't use all the options that fuse provides to at the same time.

I don't know the schematics for your indiglo, so I am assuming there is only a positive (B+) and negative (ground) wire to a black box like converter and then from there to the gauges (if not please let me know).

I recommand you to relocate the indiglo guage power source to "fuse 2" at the uder dash fuse block. It's empty/no fuse there, but it's a constent battery volage source instead of hot when you turn head light switch (You can use that slot to customize it to whatever after market electrical system you want as long as it uses under 50 amp).

You just need to put a fuse (in this case I am guessing a 5 amp fuse should be enough) in the slot and connect a switch before it to control it on and off.

Your ground wire that connects to the dimmer switch is fine, there is no need to relocate it, but it's easier for you to remove it when you relocate your power source, just hook it up to a chassis bolt.

[fiberglasscivic]

Wow. You've got that really off track. Voltage is the constant force pushing the electricity. Amperage is the amount of electricity that's moving at one time. It's like water coming out of a garden hose. Voltage would be how hard that water would push against your hand and amperage would be how many gallons flow through the hose per second (or minute or whatever you would like to put there). Because this world is based off of a constant voltage (which is easier to produce over constant amperage) most electrical devices are centered on the need to frequently change amperage. The dimmer in the car is designed to change the amperage of the electricity passing through it. By changing the amperage, this determines how many electrons are available to be released from the lights. With fewer electrons, the light will be dimmer because there aren't as many there to be released. Now onto the voltage portion of how this works. Voltage can also be looked at as a magnetic force (thus the reason for 12V+ and a - ground) the higher the voltage the further the electricity can travel and pass through resistance. This is why you have a 12V system in your car. It allows more than enough force to travel the entire length of the car and back multiple times. If he was experiencing a voltage drop then it would be because of his battery or alternator because on a parallel circuit, voltage stays the same while amperage changes, thus the reason for a fuse with an amperage rating and not a voltage rating. The voltage isn't going to change unless the source changes or the device using the voltage changes it via a transformer (such as the high voltage application for glass tube neons) and the voltage change in that application never affects the voltage of the source because the transformer would convert current to voltage. According to the description of how the indiglows were placed into the already existing circuit, then we know that it was a parallel attachment which means that there would be an increase in amperage because there is a need for more. If this increase were enough to cause a major problem, then the fuse would have blown, thus giving us an indication that it needed to be relocated or, a fuse rated with higher amperage needs to be used. I would agree that it wouldn't hurt for the indiglows to either be placed on their own direct line to the battery with an in-line fuse or that the fuse needed to be replaced with a higher rated one if the dimming was of the interior lights but the dimming was also in the headlights, as previously stated. The headlights are on separate fuses. The only other problem that the indiglows may have caused would be that if the alternator was bad (bad meaning that the recommended amperage output was low) then the indiglows would have simply made obvious, a pre-existing problem.
Did they tell you what your amperage output on the alternator was when you had it checked? If not, have them (or someone else) check it again. If you’re not blowing fuses left and right on your interior lights then it’s not the indiglows. I'm going to stick with the alternator until we can find a different culprit. Have you added any other electrical items to the car like upgraded headlights? Eurobeaner is using 100/120 watt bulbs (100 watt low beam, 120 watt high beam) and I think that it may have a small part in why his headlights are dimming.

[songsandstars]

they did come with a seperate dimmer and it has a red, red and black, and black wire. right now i have it wired with the black one grounded under the dash, the red and black one connected to the red factory dimmer wire and the red on isn't even hooked up to anything (per the instructions i received). what do you think?

[fiberglasscivic]

Who is the manufacturer for those indiglows? I personally don't think they are causing a problem. If they are working fine and you aren't having to replace fuses all the time, then you don't need to change anything. That's why I needed to know if you've upgraded any other electrical components or added anything.

[Tofuboy]

Actually fiberglasscivic is right (good save). Sorry for the confusion, I switched the fundermental of the parellel and series circuit by accident (falling asleep last night).

There seems to be insufficent current going into the circuit, that's why your lights dim when you apply the brakes. Possibilities are your alternator is not putting out enough ampage for your use, a loose wire connection in that circuit, or somehow a damage wire.

When you had your charging system check, did they tell you how many amps does your alternator put out and how many amps is going into the battery when you have all the electricals turned on?

Anyways, the red wire from your indiglo is for in case if you want the factory dimmer to control the gauges instead of the one it comes with.

If you want the factory dimmer to control your gauges, just disconnect the ground wire from your indiglo and tap the red wire from the indiglo to the factory dimmer red wire.