1.2 Farad Capacitor.. Need Help!

**pancit175** · 11-06-2006, 07:42 PM

Nicely put shadow. Do you work for Exide.

**LaxPlaya8513** · 11-06-2006, 08:01 PM

And why is it bad to run multiple batteries? I'm running a yellowtop for audio and a redtop for a starting battery both relocated to the hatch of my car. Of course i did the big3 upgrade.. it's a pain to run 3 4ga wires through the firewall, and of course i have a battery isolater as well.

A 10-15 farad cap is going to be a bigger drain on the car. Once those caps go the battery is next and chances are the caps with a high current system will deplete very very quickly. Upgrade the battery, reground the engine bay if you have room, i see you have a delsol, you should be able to see the engine ground battery ground etc etc. Upgrade the factory grounds.

Capacitors are not necessarily ALWAYS bad... they're meant for stiffening purposes only, if you are getting slight dips in current, not like major (oh my god, my alternator is going to burn etc etc dips) but slight drops in current the capacitor will smooth it all out. In many competitions cars that are competing are allowed one capacitor... So even in professional systems they still are used...

^^Of course that's what i have determined through using caps and through reading/researching/selling equip/trained...so if i'm incorrect, please help me out

otherwise i think i'm on the dot?

**Shadow** · 11-06-2006, 08:21 PM

No, I don't work for Exide. I've just used 'em in competing and they were rock solid. For some reason the positive terminals melted out of the buss bars when they dead shorted to ground. Other than that, good deal.

It's bad to run multiple batteries if your alternator isn't powerful enough to keep one charged. The electrical load from the amp would deplete the rear battery enough to where the front battery would be below 12V and then your alternator's pretty much useless. The car would stall out.

**LaxPlaya8513** · 11-06-2006, 11:05 PM

^ well, in that case i'm all set then

as long as my alternator is fine.

**Megalomaniac** · 11-09-2006, 04:53 PM

Originally Posted by LaxPlaya8513

And why is it bad to run multiple batteries? I'm running a yellowtop for audio and a redtop for a starting battery both relocated to the hatch of my car. Of course i did the big3 upgrade.. it's a pain to run 3 4ga wires through the firewall, and of course i have a battery isolater as well.

A 10-15 farad cap is going to be a bigger drain on the car. Once those caps go the battery is next and chances are the caps with a high current system will deplete very very quickly. Upgrade the battery, reground the engine bay if you have room, i see you have a delsol, you should be able to see the engine ground battery ground etc etc. Upgrade the factory grounds.

Capacitors are not necessarily ALWAYS bad... they're meant for stiffening purposes only, if you are getting slight dips in current, not like major (oh my god, my alternator is going to burn etc etc dips) but slight drops in current the capacitor will smooth it all out. In many competitions cars that are competing are allowed one capacitor... So even in professional systems they still are used...

^^Of course that's what i have determined through using caps and through reading/researching/selling equip/trained...so if i'm incorrect, please help me out

otherwise i think i'm on the dot?

Its not bad to run multiple batteries. I recomend doing the big 3(with 1/0sawg wire) first. But a HO alt is the solution. with a good alt u shouldnt need a cap. i believe a cap is just a bandaid.

**GoHybrid** · 11-09-2006, 05:46 PM

with a good amp you shouldn't need an alt. with a cap your good amp won't have to work as hard to maintain it's working voltage whenever there's a sudden draw on the system from something unrelated like say.... hitting your brakes or turning on your defroster. Don't believe all the hype. Just do the research and find out what's really at work here.

**Megalomaniac** · 11-09-2006, 06:01 PM

Originally Posted by GoHybrid

with a good amp you shouldn't need an alt. with a cap your good amp won't have to work as hard to maintain it's working voltage whenever there's a sudden draw on the system from something unrelated like say.... hitting your brakes or turning on your defroster. Don't believe all the hype. Just do the research and find out what's really at work here.

a cap is still a band aid. i say just get a better alt so it can keep up alltogether, rather than slappin a cap on everything

**LaxPlaya8513** · 11-09-2006, 07:15 PM

the cap solves dips in current, like as said, whenever you're turning on your AC or when your car is idling at a red light. It is USED as a bandaid for weak electrical systems. But its INTENDED purpose was to be used as said above. To stiffen the current to make sure there aren't dips/drops/etc etc.

**Megalomaniac** · 11-09-2006, 07:16 PM

im stubborn

a good alt wont require it

**GoHybrid** · 11-09-2006, 08:05 PM

i think amplifiers have enough capacitance internally to handle dips from a regulated dedicated power supply.

The issue of voltage drops arises from the fact that your alternator is responsible for so much more than just the amplifier. Granted it has it's own voltage regulator, but that is more for the purpose of not generating excess voltage as the engine speed varies... not so much for making sure your amp is powered cleanly.

Simple fact of the matter is that your defrosters or brake lights or headlights are simply not affected adversely by the typical voltage drops incurred by said devices, thus, why would an auto maker put so much extra effort into voltage regulation if the built in regulator is doing it's job fine?

Bottom line: your car's power supply on it's own is simply not audiophile grade, nor are most amps robust enough to genuinely handle the fluctuations that occur. Thus, capacitor with the energy storage enough to compensate for such drops can only be deemed beneficial when all other power requirements are exceeded by at least enough to keep the battery and capacitor fully charged.

So my contention is this: if you really want constant voltage, and you've gone out and spent $600 on an high output alternator, what's another $150 to give your amp bench-quality power?