i have about 90k miles on my car. i noticed that whenever i had my headlights on, and i used my turn signals, everytime the arrow blinked, my headlights and dashboard lights would dim noticeably. to the point where if you were standing in front of my car, you'd notice the headlights. thing is, the headlights already feel really dim as it is, because they barely light up the road in front of me, and when i put my mom's RX300 and my car next to each other, her lights are 10x brighter. and i'm pretty sure my right headlight is brighter than the other.

my alternator had the death whine so i got it replaced. the acura mechanic said that the new alternator should fix the headlight issues but it hasn't. he also said he checked to see if the bulbs were damaged or warped but didnt find any problems.

is this an electrical issue? do i need a higher amp alternator? i left for school almost right after i got the alternator replaced so i havent had time to take it back to acura. but i would like to know what im dealing with before i go in, so anything you can suggest would be a big help. thanks

 

How old is your battery? Did they do a amp load test on your battery before they changed the alternator? If you don't have any aftermarket stereo equipment that is drawing alot of current, you do not need a higher output alternator. Did this just happen or was this a gradual process? Based on my experience, I would say this is a battery issue.

 

not too sure. i've had the car since early 2003 and the headlights were always pretty dim. it was my first car so i had no other headlight comparison.

what type and brand of battery do you recommend?

 

Optima red top is the best. You pay a little more now but with its awesome cold cranking power, you will be glad you got an Optima.

 

Could also be a bad ground.

 

no need for an optima battery if you're not running a stereo or anything.

The 1st gen CL headlights do tend to suck to begin with.

 

is it an issue with the bulbs or something? i dont want to blind people...i just want to actually see whats on the road ahead.

 

I think its normal. It's an old car, the wires are probably old and developed more resistance, so your alternator is just not producing enough juice. In any case, it has nothing to do with the battery at all, once the car is started it doesnt use the battery power at all, in fact it does exactly the opposite - uses power generated by the alternator and charges the battery.

In fact this is fairly normal for most cars, it's just that most people do not notice it. And your moms RX300 is 10x brighter because it most likely has HID system with high power ballasts. You can buy an HID kit for your car for maybe $350.

Another thing you can do is buy a more powerful alternator, but
1) It will most likely eliminate the problem with dimming headlights
2) It will not make your lights brighter however
3) You might lose 1 or two horse powers

Hope that helps.

 

I had the same problems with visibility with the headlights on my '97 2.2CL, so I made a conversion and I now use 9005 type bulbs on my lows and my brights, and I gotta say the difference is amazing compared to the 9006 that I was using until then (I went from Sylvania 9006 Cool Blue to 9005 SilverStar)... as for the dimming thing... I get that too, every time I use my windows, my moon roof, or just about anything involving power on my car the headlights dim noticeably, I think I just need to replace my alternator, but I could be wrong... I have no idea when it comes to electricals