Here's what I've noticed with my new 09 fit. When parking at slow or stopped speeds, I turn the steering wheel, and the front headlight dims. I know the Fit has electric power steering, which probably draws a lot of current, is there a way to add a ground wire somewhere so it's better able to handle this high power draw? A simple "add wire from this bolt to body" would be great. even better with pictures.

 

with the tiny batteries our cars come with, you might be better off with a capacitor. hahhahaha

 

very funny. It's not the battery because it can handle AC, full fan, lights and steering, so I know it can handle it, just somehow the electrical system takes a split second to adjust for the steering. I thought I read somewhere that it's a grounding issue, the wires aren't thick enough to handle the high current sometimes, and boosting the grounding helps.

 

Watch the RPM gauge when you do this.

If it's like my 99 civic, the rpm dipped a bit when I pulled the steering wheel at low speeds. This drop in RPM will cause the alternator to fall out of the optimum RPM range, and thus lowers the voltage.

Try hooking a multimeter up to the 12V accessory jack and watch it while you crank the wheel. Actually, I'll go out to the parking lot and do this after I get done with work tonight. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Wait. We've got electric steering on the GE8, right?

Disregard most of my last post.

 

I will have to check this out... Maybe a kinetik battery sooner than I thought! I'm sure someone will be able to figure it out.

 

the lights will dim when the compressor for the a/c turns on too though.
i think it's just a matter of load on the battery.

if the gauge is too small for your power steering
chances are it will prematurely wear and possibly
catch fire... so i this is why i think it's just a matter of
battery capacity. but if you find anything on this
let us know.

 

Battery has nothing to do with it. The battery only provides the juice to crank the starter, prime the fuel pump, and a few other electrical bits during startup. Once the car is running, you can actually remove the battery altogether. The alternator takes over after that.

 

Correct, once running, the battery is more of a buffer, a capacitor so to speak.

 

Actually at idle speed the alternator does not provide all the current needed to run your car and accessories (including power steering).

 

There was a discussion in another thread related to headlights dimming at idle, describing a power management feature that reduces the alternator load on the car to help with fuel mileage and/or emissions. It may take a moment for the system to gear up for a sudden increase in electrical demand, such as the power steering or AC, thus the lights dim.

I have no idea if this is true, but it sounded feasible.

 

here you go guys:
Frequently Asked Questions - the Official Honda Web Site

and here's just a bunch of other faqs:
Frequently Asked Questions - the Official Honda Web Site

 

I used to notice that all the time too, until I disconnected the Auto AC. Everytime that fan spun at low speeds or parked it would dim the lights.

 

Thanks for the FAQ post, still somewhat unsatisfactory though. Sounds likea design deficiency and they're trying to justify it with an eco explanation.

how do you disconnect the auto AC? Is that when the aC turns on when the vents are turned to defrost up front? Manually turning on the AC still works by the pushbutton right?

 

The part is called an ELD (electric load detector). The following TSB illustrates its location and instructions to replace. It is not for our Fits. There's a similar TSB for the 4-door Accord pre-2009, but I'm having trouble finding it again. That one actually discusses the headlight dim issue.

http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/A05-006.PDF

 

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...c-defrost.html

I disconnected it because it was such a nuisance for me. It won't disable your fan or AC. In defrost mode it won't turn on automatically.