Pro's and con's of capacitors in a car audio system ?

 

Bronze Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 73
Registered: Jul-07
what are some of the pro's and con's of having a capaciator wired into your car audio system

i know 1 pro is that they reduce dimming of the lights in your car a little

and i heard a new con yesterday and was wondering if it was true that they rob power from your sub
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4247
Registered: Jul-06
" i know 1 pro is that they reduce dimming of the lights in your car a little "

Not true. Capacitors do not supply power, the alternator does that. Dimming lights is caused by the different in voltage between the alternator and battery.



" and i heard a new con yesterday and was wondering if it was true that they rob power from your sub "

Maybe a little bit. The capacitor is just one more thing the alternator needs to charge.




Bottom line is theres no real benefits. So don't bother using one.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 74
Registered: Jul-07
question why is it when i installed a 1 farad cap in my car the dimming of the lights went away quite a bit ?

ps:i found the cap for free in a car my parents bought
 

Silver Member
Username: Basebalz13

Moneta, Va Usa

Post Number: 103
Registered: Aug-07
they might help out because they store power for when you systems hits that hard beat but over all they arent worth it but if you got it for free that iight but if you paid for one you shoulda gotten a battery or a HO alt they are the best thing you can do for you car specially the HO because that produces the power not jus store if then it would be a battery next in line and also do you have bigger wires in your car and wut size amp are you using
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4253
Registered: Jul-06
If that happens, it is an indicator of the cap covering up a bad battery or alternator which will eventually fail completely.
 

Silver Member
Username: Clouduz

Post Number: 240
Registered: Jun-06
i thought caps were good if you had a ho alt b/c they regulate voltage or something like that.I brought a cap long ago and never installed it after reading (learning) here. Got a kinetik hc1800 instead
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 78
Registered: Jul-07
i have a 1k rms memphis power reference amp and i plan on changing my battery to like an orbital

but heres another question should i gett he deep cycle orbital or regular orbital ?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Rawpower

EATONTON, GA USA

Post Number: 29
Registered: Nov-07
deep cycle takes longer to charge alt would be working harder.
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4265
Registered: Jul-06
If you do get a new battery get an Odyssey or Kenetik.

Buy why are you getting a new battery anways? If the old one is still good you won't get much improvement.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 81
Registered: Jul-07
i work for kragen so i can get a batttery for free


and a couple weeks ago i left the trunk open and the light drained the battery not sure how low because i didnt have a digital multimeter but i had to put it on nearly a 48 hour charge to get it back up

the battery that was in the car is a kragen battery a autolite 84 month battery and usually when you run them down pretty low they crap out on you soon after

so thats my reason behind why i want to get a new battery
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4280
Registered: Jul-06
Ah ok, but if your electrical system has not enough power, an HO alternator is the only fix for that
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 84
Registered: Jul-07
its a 97 dodge neon i kinda dont wanna waste the money on the car i only have the car because its a great commuter car

and when it comes time to sell the car i can take the sound system out but to swap an alternator and deal with selling it that seems like it'd be a bit(h

it wouldnt even help if i upgraded to like a 5 farad cap or more ?
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4288
Registered: Jul-06
Cap is not going to fix it no matter what size. HO alternator would.
 

Gold Member
Username: Th3pwn3r

Post Number:...

Post Number: 6075
Registered: Jul-06
One pro of a capacitor could be that it's shiny.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 87
Registered: Jul-07
so why do people buy capacitors ?
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4300
Registered: Jul-06
A lot of the companies that make them claim that they do things they don't. Like enable your electrical system to handle bigger amplifiers.

And people who haven't done any research on the subject or don't know a real lot about electronics believe it.
 

Gold Member
Username: Th3pwn3r

Post Number:...

Post Number: 6114
Registered: Jul-06
They are shiny.
 

Silver Member
Username: Sinful_systems70

15 INCH WANG...

Post Number: 999
Registered: Nov-06
 

Silver Member
Username: Wylie_coyote

Post Number: 122
Registered: Apr-07
I can understand why you don't wanna upgrade your alt its not worth the money unless you wanna keep the car long term. my advice would be to just tone down the gains so that the amp isn't pulling as much power and if its a two channel amp just use one rather than bridgeing it.

i also agree about the power caps. they aren't very useful. never had one in my life but from what i've read from here and other places the logic makes sense.
 

Silver Member
Username: Shak180

Hayward, California Usa

Post Number: 122
Registered: Jul-07
well i spoke to my electrical teacher and he said capictors in electrical systems be they automotive related or audio related are usefull

he said a capicator(depending on the size) can discharge 300 amps and supply a current demand instanly so they are usefull to an extent

but he did say with an HO alternaor the capacitor would not be necessary
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4914
Registered: Jul-06
Like we've said a thousand times here a cap ain't going to help you, HO alt or not.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jones82joshua

Yankton, SD USA

Post Number: 31
Registered: Sep-07
If you think you need a new cap battery or alt, try doing a big 3 upgrade first.
I've seen cases where a cap can help with burps for a couple of seconds(at the beginning), but a proper electrical system still would have been better and not for a *couple of seconds*.
And in effect, when your cap runs out of power, your alternator is trying to provide current to both your amp and trying to charge the cap at the same time. Sounds like more heat from current, and a hell of a lot harder on your entire stereo and charging system.
 

Silver Member
Username: Killswitchjd

Post Number: 705
Registered: Apr-06
a capacitor, imo, helps only if you have a ho alternator. I used it as a temporary thing rather than having a battery in the trunk with my 300 amp alternator, and it stayed at about 15 volts or more with the car audio off. Without the ho alternator, it would have ruined the alternator by drawing all the power
 

Platinum Member
Username: Wingmanalive

A pic is worth 1000 posts!!

Post Number: 11991
Registered: Jun-06
Like a good member always used to say:


"Your charging system is by FAR the most important part of your system. Trust Me"


A capacitor is NOT a charging source. Some reputable ppl say that it acts like a filter, helping to reduce the spikes alts sometimes see. It helps but isn't a replacement for a HO charging source. If you're pushing watts you better be producing them.


But this has already been covered by some of ^^^ these fine ppl.




They do tend to add to the bling bling factor, if that's all you're after.
 

Gold Member
Username: Nd4spd18

Northwest PA

Post Number: 4978
Registered: Jul-06
Haha Muddy :-)
 

Platinum Member
Username: Wingmanalive

A pic is worth 1000 posts!!

Post Number: 11993
Registered: Jun-06
Yes sir. Don't ya hate when they vanish?
 

New member
Username: Zx11_rider

PHOENIX , AZ USA

Post Number: 2
Registered: May-05
HI, I JUST GOT A FOSGATE CPCC2 100 FARAD CARBON CAPACITOR BUT I NEED THE CHARGING RESSISTOR TO LOW CHARGED IT AND MY Q: IS IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO SLOW CHARGE IT WITH OUT THIS RESSISTOR ? OR THE SAFEST WAY TO CHARGE AND DISCHARGE A CAPACITOR I CALLED PUNCH AND THEY DON'T SELL IT ALONE SO PLEASE HELP ME THE PICTURE SHOWS THE RESSISTOR OF ONE CAP I HAD BEFORE AND I SOLD IT IN EBAY A LITTLE WHILE AGO THANX
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us