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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 25 Registered: Apr-07 | I will have 2 PA LT1920 watts ran, should i get a 4.0 or 5.0 cap before the distribution block. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 6108 Registered: Nov-04 | 1F for every 1000w peak. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Southeast PA Post Number: 1474 Registered: Jul-06 | Neither, lol. Capacitors don't do jack. |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 26 Registered: Apr-07 | All i want is to help stop dimming, will it at least do that. |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 3976 Registered: Feb-06 | yes, it'll help stop the lights from dimming. but it will also help mask the fact your car might stop from running. upgrade the charging system. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Southeast PA Post Number: 1499 Registered: Jul-06 | Justin, use a DMM to check your battery voltage while playing your system. If it drops below 12 volts, you need an HO alternator. That is the ONLY fix for an inadequate charging system. Some light dimming is normal, it is caused by the alt's voltage regulator not being able to respond quickly enough to the current demand. This can happen with even the best electrical systems, and there's not much you can do about it. If your voltage stays above 12 you're fine. Don't waste your money on a capacitor. |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 29 Registered: Apr-07 | If it does drop, i am running around 1500 RMS, should i get like a 4.0 farad cap? |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 4000 Registered: Feb-06 | have you even upgraded your charging system yet? and are you even reading the help being given? |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 30 Registered: Apr-07 | Everything ive read is different. Ive been told to not even get a cap, and just get 2 gauge wire and battery life will be shortened..thats it. ive been told my alternator will burn up. and ive been told to get a cap adn things will be good. what is true? |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 4001 Registered: Feb-06 | if your lights are dimming it is a good sign your charging system needs some upgrading. what size is the alt. in your car now? is 1500wrms all the power from all amps? |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 31 Registered: Apr-07 | The altnerator is stock, but is newer replaced only a year ago due to just normal use. 1500RMS is what im getting total from all the amps. I have dimming and just dont want to ruin anything and still get good strong sound. |
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Gold Member Username: CtmikeCt. Post Number: 4002 Registered: Feb-06 | well what size is the alt.? if you don't know you could check www.autozone.com and find out. |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 33 Registered: Apr-07 | 105 amp |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Southeast PA Post Number: 1555 Registered: Jul-06 | Did you read my last post? |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 34 Registered: Apr-07 | yeah from all amps 1500 RMS and i have a 105 amp on my alternator |
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Gold Member Username: Livin_loudF uck fuckid... Fi Audio Post Number: 1660 Registered: Jan-06 | buy a bigger alternator. its the solution to all of your problems. don't cheap out on it, or else you'll just be paying more in the future |
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Silver Member Username: OlegSanta Monica, CA USA Post Number: 926 Registered: Nov-04 | Justin, if you can't afford an HO alt, don't get a cap - you will mess up the charging system even faster, as you'll now be charging the amps in addition to the cap. If you can afford an HO alt, get one and you won't need a cap anymore. Not sure how wiring got into the mix here, but if you do get the bigger alt, you'll need to upgrade the wiring then. |
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Silver Member Username: KillswitchjdPost Number: 416 Registered: Apr-06 | "charging the cap"? the cap holds energy and releases for short needs that the alt cant keep up with. I dont think it wastes a notable ammount of power |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 11911 Registered: Dec-03 | Nate, if the alternator can't supply enough current, the battery will try to hold the voltage rails.. when the battery can't recharge, it'll get drained since the alternator is already ovetaxed, causing a sag in voltage rails. if the battery and cap can't handle things, and lights are already dimming, all a capacitor is going to do is discharge, then try to draw more current to recharge, putting even more strain on the system. without an adequate charging system, capacitors are worse than useless. on top of that, all a cap will do to stop light dimming when you don't have a big enough alternator, is smooth out the spikes in demand, so you won't see the symptom, but the voltage will sit at a steady lower voltage instead, like 11 volts, which is going to do more harm, cause amps to clip, etc.. but you'll be blissfully ignorant to the damage till it's too late because the capacitor just masked the warning signs that you have some serious problems. this is why I hate companies tying to tell people that all you need aare caps to use huge amps on a stock charging system. it's BS |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 6121 Registered: Nov-04 | This is why everyone needs to be educated so that you won't get ripped off. Like I always said in the past, caps aren't "useless" piece of electronic part. If/when used properly, it will do the job as intended. |
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Silver Member Username: KillswitchjdPost Number: 419 Registered: Apr-06 | yes, but I dont think a cap will waste power. It may pull more than the charging system (alt) is supplying, but thats seems like a volume control issue. I would stop playing my sh*t if it went under 13.5 running. |
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Silver Member Username: OlegSanta Monica, CA USA Post Number: 930 Registered: Nov-04 | Nah, I was right and glass confirmed it. Either way, Justin, no cap for you bf a bigger alt. |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 11915 Registered: Dec-03 | Nate, if you turn the volume down till the voltage rails stabilize, then you aren't overdrawing the system anymore. Not everyone is willing to turn the volume down that far when they have a weak charging system to start with, then they run out and buy these friggin' 2500 watt class D amplifiers and expect it to run on a Honda 55A alternator. |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 36 Registered: Apr-07 | I did research and actually found a 105 amp alternator is as big as my car can go. I talked to a mechanic on it. Also when my bass lets off my voltage gauge goes up and above 12V meaning my charging system may not be producing full power, but nothing in my charging system is harmed. From what i understand caps charge much more quickly then a battery, so wouldn't a cap allow power through much more frequently then a battery could? |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 37 Registered: Apr-07 | I did research and actually found a 105 amp alternator is as big as my car can go. I talked to a mechanic on it. Also when my bass lets off my voltage gauge goes up and above 12V meaning my charging system may not be producing full power, but nothing in my charging system is NOT harmed. From what i understand caps charge much more quickly then a battery, so wouldn't a cap allow power through much more frequently then a battery could? |
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Silver Member Username: OlegSanta Monica, CA USA Post Number: 932 Registered: Nov-04 | That's a very confusing paragraph you wrote. Not sure why your mechanic is BSing, but I'm almost 100% positive that you can order a much more powerful alt for your car without doing any midifications. If you still don't understand that a cap won't do anything for you at this point, then you're really not reading this right. |
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Bronze Member Username: Justin_15_07Manitou Beach, Michigan United States Post Number: 38 Registered: Apr-07 | http://www.betteraudio.com/geolemon/newmain/battcapalt/ is what i read and seems to make sense. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Southeast PA Post Number: 1620 Registered: Jul-06 | " I did research and actually found a 105 amp alternator is as big as my car can go. " That is, how can I say this, BS! What kinda car ya got? Let me guess, GM of some sort? " I talked to a mechanic on it. " ^^^ And there's the problem right there " Also when my bass lets off my voltage gauge goes up and above 12V meaning my charging system may not be producing full power, but nothing in my charging system is NOT harmed. From what i understand caps charge much more quickly then a battery, so wouldn't a cap allow power through much more frequently then a battery could? " No. Just no. If your voltage is going below 12 volts, you ARE harming the charging system. An HO alternator is the ONLY, I'll repeat THE ONLY solution. Cap will do absolutely nothing, batteries will do absolutely nothing if the alt can't keep them properly charged. There's no two ways about it. When the engine is running, the alternator is the sole source of current. GlassWolf, who is by far the most knowledgeable member on this forum, has already explained it better than me. But if you don't want to listen to he or I, go out and waste your money on capacitors/batteries. There's nothing we can do if you want to learn the hard way. |
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Silver Member Username: OlegSanta Monica, CA USA Post Number: 934 Registered: Nov-04 | Justin, you're forgetting that what's charging the cap is the alternator. If alternator's not up to par and your lights are dimming, guess what? The alt then needs to charge the battery(which is drained b/c alt can't keep up), the capacitor, and the amps. Does any of this make sense to you? You want a test?? Here's one for ya: I had a stock alt for years. My lights always dimmed, my stereo never got really loud. Recently I got a 180A alternator. Lights no longer dim, my subs play waaaaay louder and punchier. W We've so far established that you're lacking current. The solution is not to add a storage device for the current, but to put something in that PRODUCES more current, NOT something that STORES it. I hope you also know that your amps themselves possess capacitance and if they're decent, then they should have enough of it for you to not need a cap. Now that I do have an HO alt and a quality deep cycle battery, I'm getting a cap to test out its performance myself. If you don't believe us, ask some people on this forum who have great systems - doubt you'll find anyone without an HO alt and at least one deep cycle battery. |
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Silver Member Username: KillswitchjdPost Number: 422 Registered: Apr-06 | yes he needs a ho alt. But a capacitor may replace the need for a battery in back if played when the car is running and voltage is watched |
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Platinum Member Username: GlasswolfWisteria, Lane USA Post Number: 11919 Registered: Dec-03 | the only things a cap really does, would be reduce propagation delay, and filter AC ripple. a capacitor will never, ever replace the need for an alternator or a battery. if you watch the voltage, and keep the volume down low enough not to over-stress the alternator, you don't really need a second battery or a capacitor, unless you want the dedicated battery to run the system with the car off. you can put pretty much any size alternator in any car. you just have to fabricate some simple mounting brackets to do so. This is just a matter of cutting a few pieces of metal, and drilling a few holes. Nothing difficult. If the casing fits, and the mounts are in the right place, you can stuff nearly anything in a car. I stuffed a 150A alt from an ambulance into a Festiva. It can be done. |
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Gold Member Username: Nd4spd18Southeast PA Post Number: 1643 Registered: Jul-06 | ^^^^ Well said Except that I will bet anything that he can get a direct bolt-on HO alt from Iraggi or Ohio Gen or someplcae. His so-called research was probably looking at autoparts sites and talking to mechanics, lol. |
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Silver Member Username: OlegSanta Monica, CA USA Post Number: 948 Registered: Nov-04 | Yep, the mechanic I spoke with told me I can't put in a bigger alt in my lil civic. I didn't find out he was wrong until i talked to Nate at excessive. |
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Gold Member Username: CarguyPost Number: 6124 Registered: Nov-04 | Lot of the mechanics are like fish out of water when it comes to electronics. Just cause they know how to change a battery in a car, or replace a dashboard, doesn't make them an electronic technician. This is why they have 2 rates, $75/hr for standard repair/install, and $150/hr or more for "HO" alternators. |