My cars having problems handling the 1600watt amp in my trunk and along with the other things I'm going to do to remedy it......I was planning on putting a strike cap (capacitor) in the car. I was wondering if they really do help with the dimming and what not when the subs hit if only a little....and what type whould I need to make a difference with 1600watts?
As of the moment, the stereo is actually draining my battery faster than the alternator can charge it... I had to shut the subs off for now. I'm going to put a smaller pulley on the alternator (maybee), wire the alt directly to the battery, and get a new (good and strong) battery..maybee one of those high output dry cells.
Any input would be helpful, and If anyone had any other tricks on getting more out of the charging system let me know. Thanx
p. s. the alternator is new and already higher output than stock.
perhaps you need to upgrade your wiring to at least 4gauge
Peace Out!!!
ok get aknife. Cut yourself. Put a band aid on it. Did it stop the bleeding?(ie you are putting a band aid on something that needs stitches.) of course not. Its the same situation with a cap. If it is draining your battery what is a cap gonna do? Its not gonna hold enough of a chargeto help. and iuts gonna need recharged too just adding more strain to your charging system.
think of a cap as a small pond fed by a stream. your amps keep taking water from the pond and but if the stream isn't filling it up fast enough, you still won't have enough water
._____________________________.
Causa latet vis est notissima
DIY Clear 03+ Headlights
Ya....I'm going to fix the charging thing....so that won't be a problem.....I was just wondering if strike caps actually do anyting once everything else is in check, and the battery is keeping up with no problems.
in otherwords....do strike caps do anything if the stream is filling the pond faster than the amp can drink it. I've heard there easier on the alternator.
it worked for me. i had 2 MTX 425watt amps and they would make my lights dim and sort of made the engine stumble lightly. i installed a 1 Farad amp and it didnt dim anymore.
Peace Out!!!
they help to even out the power curve some and also provide a cleaner energy curve. your Alt takes a little bit of time to read that your system is drawing more power and needs to put more out, the Cap will help with the bass hits that provide a short high draw. They won't help with large constant draws other than cleaning up the voltage spikes some.
._____________________________.
Causa latet vis est notissima
DIY Clear 03+ Headlights
Thanx guys...always wondered if they where a rip-off or not....
One other thing.....ya think it would hurt anything if I put a smaller pully on the alternator to speed it up....like off a grand prix or newer J-body....I've noticed that they don't have cooling fins on them and mine does.
they are great at raising profit margin...but they lower your voltage at the same time!! lmao
--------------------------------------------------------------
Offical dealer for the following-
SOUNDSTREAM
DB LINK
DB DRIVE
PANASONIC
GARMIN
ROSEN
SCOSCHE
XE DESIGNS
SOUNDGATE
PAC
LITEGLOW
they work well in specific applications, it cut my dimming completely
Its not how fast your car goes....its how much nerve the driver has to push it that fast.
I ahve one for sale...
check the misc. classifieds
You're reading my line-break, you are a loser. Lurch <3's the c**k.
caps blow, buy another battery and stick it in the trunk. i'd rather have 2 deep cycle battery's than a battery and a cap.
i am pushing about the same watts and my lights looked like strobes at night and i got a 2 faret digital lightning cap and it stopped it completely and i upgraded the battery cables as well i think a lightning cap is a good investment if you are pushing alot of power some of the guys on here a strickly against them but alot of us are for them because they work and when i put mine in the bass seemed to hit crisper because it helps the subs get a sterady current of power i believe that is how it works but i'd say get one and upgrade your battery cables.
Fast isn't always good, looks and sound is sometimes better
Imamarine
Hey neo...I know that you have a cap for sale....I was there when you took it out of your car....remember
It will be easier to just pick one up when I'm out getting all the other stuff.
I thought about putting the battery I have now in my trunk, but I dont want the risk of shorting the thing...and I dont want to run a neg cable back up under the hood. I know that I would have to wire them parrelel, but i'm not sure if grounding both batteries to the body would work well.
if your battery is drainging that means your alt can not keep up with your system in that instance a cap is just something else the electrical system can't charge, upgrade your wiring and your alt. what kind of amp are you using that an upgraded alternator cant keep up. i know we have guys on here running stock alternators with close to 2000 watts without any issues. did you buy a cheap upgraded alt that is actually putting out less power at idle?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sndsgood/ https://www.facebook.com/#!/Square1Photography
SomeGuy wrote:caps blow, buy another battery and stick it in the trunk. i'd rather have 2 deep cycle battery's than a battery and a cap.
wysiwyg wrote:they are great at raising profit margin...but they lower your voltage at the same time!! lmao
It's funny how some people who have little knowlege of electrical distribution or circuit design are the ones who latch onto particular applications of capacitors that are harmful to a system and use that knowlege to emphatically proclaim that all caps are bad in every application.
It doesn't matter if you have 10 batteries and a 1000amp alternator connected to your amp with 1000mcm cable, a cap can help with certain aspects of the distribution system such as the delay associated with the chemical reaction of the battery (Pb + PbO2 + 2H2SO4 <> 2PbSO4 + 2H2O) and the response time of the voltage regulator in the alternator (one cause of dimming lights).
Weeble, if your stereo is drawing more power continuously than your alt can put out (which is what it sounds like), you need to upgrade your distribution system. Only after you get the current supply greater than the
continuous current requirements of your stereo should you consider putting in a capacitor.
SomeGuy wrote:uh oh, another cap war.
I know. I try to ignore most of the capacitor questions because I know where it will lead, but it gets to where it bothers me too much to resist.
how many amps is your new HO alternator? i have a 180 amp alt and my setup doesnt dim .. i have a 1500 watt memhis pushing 2 kicker L7s and i listen to mine at volume 63 out of 70 all the time
SomeGuy wrote:caps blow, buy another battery and stick it in the trunk. i'd rather have 2 deep cycle battery's than a battery and a cap.
Only thing I have against that statement is that because the dielectric is thicker in batteries, their resistance is higher, therefor they cannot supply current as quickly as a capacitor.
-Chris
Besse wrote:SomeGuy wrote:caps blow, buy another battery and stick it in the trunk. i'd rather have 2 deep cycle battery's than a battery and a cap.
Only thing I have against that statement is that because the dielectric is thicker in batteries, their resistance is higher, therefor they cannot supply current as quickly as a capacitor.
you're right, batteries can't react as quickly as batteries, but it's not because of dialectric thickness. Capacitors store electical charge on plates separated by a dialectic insulator and the thickness of those plates affects the speed of the reaction, but batteries store energy by converting lead sulfate (PbSO4) and water (H20) to lead (Pb), sponge lead (PbO2) and sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Capacitor reaction is electromagnetic, Battery reaction is chemical.
I read the whole thing, and I didnt see this, but I might have missed it: Did you ever upgrade the 'big 3'? That would definitely help, and if it doesnt solve it, you could try the cap if you really want.
Well, I fiqured it out.
The alt I got is a delta wound factory replacement. Nothing special, it's only a little better than stock. Acording to the cap (bought one) when it was installed....there was 11.5 watts at idle going to the cap. For some reason now it reading around 13.5 to 14 something. Its one of the bigger 1 farad caps w/ electronic display.....all the problems I've been having have seemed to disapear. I also ran everything the the top post of the battery, instead of having it wired with the battery cable on the side wich was a bad idea to begin with. The only problem I had installing the cap was that it was so hot I had sweat dripping off my hands and I ended up getting the living crap shocked out of me.......now i'm afraid of the damn thing, but it works.
Oh ya....this might sound like I'm a moron....but what the heck does "The BIg 3" mean....I know how to wire systems (been doing it for a while) and I can't seem to fiqure that one out on my own.
I'm glad your problems are gone, but like sndsgood said, the cap didn't fix your problems. A cap won't keep a stereo from draining the battery.
