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Dear Jim,

I just put a pair of 12-inch subwoofers into my 1994 Ford Crown Victoria (4.6L, V8), and now I'm having an electrical problem. Every time I turn up the bass, my lights go dim. This is a system I bought on the Internet and my cousin helped me install it, but I think maybe we did something wrong. Is it possible we used the wrong kind of amplifier? Is the car just not equipped to handle this kind of load?

-- Tom Stokes

Well, bro, those stereo components tend to be pretty unforgiving. They're built to take whatever juice they need and not stop until they get it, so it makes sense that you're having an electrical problem.

The electrical system in your Ford was designed to power just the standard components inside the vehicle -- not a bunch of extra, high-powered accessories. If you want more, you're going to have to upgrade the original electrical equipment in the car.

The first -- and cheapest -- thing to do is check your battery. In a recent column, I mentioned those expensive deep-cycle batteries that are much better for cold, Northern winters than for conditions out here in the desert. If you happen to have one of these under the hood, swap it out for a cheap one.

The deep-cycle units tend to put a lot of unnecessary load on the alternator, and that's not going to help the situation at all.

If this doesn't solve your light-dimming problem, you might want to consider upgrading to another kind of battery altogether. It's called a PowrCap and it will cost you $200 or so, but it features a built-in capacitor that should be able to store enough extra power to make your new subwoofers blast the way they're supposed to.

Beyond that, you've got one more option: buying and installing a high-output alternator. This will cost you at least $500, but it may be worth it to you, depending on how much you've already invested in your sound equipment. In any case, brother, you can't get something from nothing, and this dimming problem isn't going away until you bring more power to the system.

Tip of the Week:

It's true that turning off the air conditioning will improve your fuel economy in town, but not necessarily out on the highway. Open windows create a lot of drag on the vehicle at those higher speeds -- you're better off rolling them up and turning the A/C on until you're back in traffic.

Buffalo Jim, owner of Allstate Auto & Marine Repair in Las Vegas, writes a weekly column. Send your automotive questions to him at buffalojim@lasvegasniftynickel.com. If Jim picks your question to answer in Nuts & Bolts, you'll also be the proud recipient of a deck of official Buffalo Jim playing cards, presented in a classy, tin box bearing his hairy image.