I recently got RGB drl’s from “HCmotion_usa” On eBay. A buddy of mine from the forum installed them for me and they’ve been working great.

recently, I noticed, this happened yesterday (sunset time), I had the headlights on auto, they were on and it flickered 2 times. Headlights went off, interior brightened up, as if there was enough light outside, and then the headlights turned back on again.

Do you guys think this issue could be caused potentially by the DRL wiring or maybe because I’m on the factory battery? Not sure what to make of it. Never happened before though.

 

Not an expert but sounds like the new DRLs may require more juice than OEM. I would double check wiring and connectors.

 

Interesting you say that because HC motionz said that since it's LED, it requires less energy compared to stock DRL's but I feel like you're right. It's very intermittent because last 2 days, it hasn't happened. I'll look into getting a new battery and see if that helps.

My battery is also from 2015, car has 90k miles on it. I was speaking to my dad and he said 'as long as the car starts, your battery should be good' lol

 

Flicker might be caused by the LED driver circuitry inside the DRL assembly. It may sensitive to supply voltage fluctuations.
The output voltage of the alternator is throttled back when the battery State of Charge exceeds a certain threshold.
With the headlights and other power hungry consumers are off the alternator output voltage may reduced down to 12.6V,
then after a while when the battery SoC falls below the programmed threshold the voltage output jumps back to 14.4 - 14.5V.
(with headlights on the voltage is regulated to 13.6V instead of 12.6V when battery SoC allows)
The DRL's LED driver circuitry may doesn't follows these sudden voltage jumps quick enough,
and the over-current protection of the driver is momentarily disables the LEDs.

 

Do you think a stronger battery can fix this issue? I do have a lot of aftermarket electronics such as my remote start, new rear view mirror w/ compass from RCF, subwoofer, lc2i converter. It hasn't happened again recently.

Also, I don't know how to read battery specs since it is the first time I am purchasing so if anyone knows what specs to look out for on batteries or if OEM is good, I would appreciate that

 

Well, replacing the battery to a stronger (or just to a new) one can prolong the time between switching reduced and maximum alternator output voltages, but it won't eliminate the voltage changes.
So if my theory is correct, battery replacement is not the cure.

The factory Panasonic battery has 70Ah capacity and rated for 600Ampers of cold cranking current (CCA).
EFB type with improved charge acceptance and greater cyclic durability (also makes suitable for start-stop).
Positive terminal should be on the left.
Dimensions [WxDxH]: 10.3 x 6.8 x 7.5 in

 

Thanks for the response and the explanation, essentially the lights are the issue. I believe the issue is so intermittent so it shouldn't be that big of a deal.

I looked up an Optima red top battery which has 720 CCA and 90 reserve capacity (posted link below) Are those the specs I should be looking at for battery quality?

https://www.optimabatteries.com/sear...&sortType=DESC

 

From CCA point of view the current exceeds the factory battery, but the Ah capacity of the Optima is lower,
which is not a big problem if the car is in daily use, and the stand-by current in the car doesn't exceed 60mA.
To be at the safe side I'd recommend to look for a closer Ah rating, while keeping eye on the CCA figure as well.
Also the red-top Optima series is designed mainly for "starting only" use, not Optima...l for cycle use, for that
the blue-top series would be the right choice. The advantage of spiral cell technology is increased mechanical durability,
and a significantly higher starting current from the same physical size.

I've heard rumors about decreased quality of the Optima batteries, since the production moved to Mexico. Someone might confirm this.

 

Just had my battery tested and it was fine but he said my “aftermarket sound system” looks like it could “kill my alternator” even though it’s a relatively lower end subwoofer and amp combo (300 watt).

So this might be an alternator issue or is it an issue with the actual aftermarket LED? I’ve been doing some testing keeping the LED’s on 1 light versus the rainbow, seems like the lights don’t flicker if I keep it on a solid color light versus the rainbow show mode.

Would replacing the alternator fix it or no it’s more of an issue with the lights itself? Sorry don’t know much about how battery / alternator work, I just know they power the electronics and assist in starting the car.

 

IMHO a 300W load shouldn't kill the alternator output, because at idle speed alternator should deliver at least 50A current which means at least 700 Watts.
The current demand is also measured, and based on that the idle speed is raised slightly when needed.
(Rated current is 150A / 2100W, available above ~1800 RPM in case of a 3rd gen IS250.)
Before replacing the alternator I'd suggest to check it's output current (by using a suitable DC current clamp) and voltage at idle speed,
you might be able to save at least $200 on the part plus the labor.

If you can narrow down the flicker to a certain mode then it seems that the issue is more like LED unit related.

 

Just posting in case anyone gets this issue. Bought a new battery thanks to @Ethanol help in finding me a good spec one. My battery was the OEM, ran it up to 92k miles pushing 8 years. Headlights were flickering more and more these past few weeks and haven't had issues since new battery.