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New member Username: StardumbPost Number: 8 Registered: Jun-04 | I have a kx1200.1 pushing about 1.5 OHMS and my lights dim on big bass hits. What would you recommend? I'm running 0 gauge wire from battery to amp, should I upgrade my alternator/battery wire to 0 gauge or 4 gauge, because i have excess 0 and 4 gauge wire laying around. Or should I install a cap? Any help would be much appreciated Thanks. |
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Silver Member Username: Sploosh56Post Number: 253 Registered: May-04 | You have to go get a new alternator. |
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New member Username: SlamnthweightPost Number: 1 Registered: Jun-04 | get a cap too or you'll burn out ur amp. like i did |
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Silver Member Username: JayjPost Number: 159 Registered: May-04 | NO Don't get a damn CAP they are WORTHLESS. You need to upgrade your alternator to something like a 180amp. That should do the trick. Those caps will not do ANYTHING for that all they will do is make the problem even worse then it already is. |
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Silver Member Username: Pat_lTucson, AZ USA Post Number: 332 Registered: Apr-04 | Yes, go Jay J |
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Silver Member Username: JayjPost Number: 163 Registered: May-04 | This is so crazy LMAO. why does everyone think just because their headlights dim they need a cap?? A cap isn't an alternator. So how is it suppose to stop your lights from dimming? A cap makes it worse if your lights are dimming. Cause then you got that piece of crap sucking up even more juice. That power could be going to the rest of your car. A cap is use to smooth out the voltage to the amp not a cure for every problem you have with your car's electrical system. Tim if your amp blew because you didn't have a cap then you got bigger problems. I have had about 6 or 7 systems of my own and not counting ones I have installed for friends and family and never once have I seen an amp blow because it didn't have a cap. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfNorthWest, Michigan USA Post Number: 3600 Registered: Dec-03 | you'll want 0ga cable for the alternator, battery ground, etc as well as the amp. remember it's a circuit.. the current has to complete the path, so it all has to handle the same amount of power from ground to amp. you'll want to look at a larger alternator if you keep that system at those high volumes for extended periods. |
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New member Username: SkinnPost Number: 4 Registered: Jun-04 | don't forget the ground wire by the battery. the stock ground wire from the battery to the body is like 6 gauge. you'll want to have that wire just as big as your amplifier wire. a cap won't hurt either, it might not stop your light from dimming but it won't hurt anything. |
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Bronze Member Username: GrmncrsnbrVA Post Number: 61 Registered: Jun-04 | i dont see how a cap will make it worse. The point of it is to store energy when the amp isnt using it so that when it needs it it can pull it from the cap and keep the lights from dimming. if you have a lot of constant hard hitting bass in a song a cap wont help because it wont charge fast enough |
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Silver Member Username: JayjPost Number: 203 Registered: May-04 | Yeah your right. A cap stores power. But guess what That cap has to get charged. Do you know how it gets charged? The answer is from the ALTERNATOR. So look at it like this. You got a 1000 watt RMS system. Your lights are dimming. So this tells you that your car isn't getting the power it needs to run all the elecrical components. Then you add a cap. Well guess what now your car has to charge that cap EVERY time it runs down. So now you got all your car's stock equipment and a 1000watt stereo system. You are having to power all of that equipment the LAST thing you need to add to a UNDER powered system is another component that uses more power so YES it will make the problem WORSE. Caps are ok if you got all the right power to everything. But whats the point? All it does is smooth out the current to your system. If you got the right power you don't need a cap. I have never used a cap and never will. The price you pay for one you could put a big dent in a new HO alternator which would be a whole lot better anyway. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfNorthWest, Michigan USA Post Number: 3618 Registered: Dec-03 | capacitors http://p079.ezboard.com/fcaraudiotalkfrm27.showMessage?topicID=49.topic |
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Bronze Member Username: GrmncrsnbrVA Post Number: 64 Registered: Jun-04 | JayJ go about half way down in Glass's website and look at the pic of the amp and cap then read below it. The cap only takes extra voltage in the system it doesnt pull it out so therefore it wont make anything worse. This is something i know quite well i just took two classes on electrical theory. Thanks |
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Silver Member Username: JayjPost Number: 205 Registered: May-04 | Oh I'm sorry Mr I'm 19 and I know every f*cking thing. If you know so much then Why have you been asking some of these stupid questions? Oh yeah here is a QUOTE from glass's post on the OTHER page maybe next time you should INVEST your money into some READING classes. So by adding a capacitor to try taking the place of a high-output alternator, you are actually causing more work for your alternator, and causing even more damage to that stock alternator. |
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Bronze Member Username: Iamduff_87Michigan America! Post Number: 59 Registered: May-04 | OUCH Damn Grmncrsnbr (dumb name by the way) you just got shut down. Hope you dont feel about 1/2 as big as you did because that might suck. Nice page Glass. I always wondered what the hell i would need one of those for. Now i know. I DONT need one ;) haha |
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Bronze Member Username: GrmncrsnbrVA Post Number: 70 Registered: Jun-04 | wow john smith you should feel completely awesome about yourself as you have nothing better to do with your time than be an a*se. I personally like my screen name. I never said i know everything as you can read in the webpage found where I said to it says that the cap will store the extra power in the system not pull it in from what needs to be used as it is. So according to that website it shouldnt make anything worse. And I never said he didt need to replace the alternator that I agree with that I also never said the cap would fix the problem. I dont think a cap will make it worse im sorry. As far as my learning and understanding go what I have read has said it shouldnt make anything worse. Whether glass says it does or not No offense to glass he has been extrmemly helpful to me in understanding some things that I dont know about. This is one thing im pretty knowledgeable in. So now about your attitude you need to relax a little bit there was no cockyness in my post though you may have read it that way your intrepretation is wrong and still dont feel that I am wrong with what I have said and I will stand by it. So yes John Smith before you go find your life which you obviously dont have one I figure you could understand the fact that I still feel just as intelligent as before the unnecessary posting by JayJ which with a little maturity could have been made much better. Just because I'm 19 doesnt make me an idiot. As a matter of fact im quite smart. One thing I currently understand is that the both of you lack the maturity to even open you mouths in my direction so I suggest that you both go and grow up before trying to throw any of your crap in my face. This will be my last posting in this thread go ahead and show your immaturity by A saying something back B starting threads bashing me and or C posting in my threads and wasting more of my time. Hope you all enjoyed the book. PS John can you even interperate my screen name? |
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Silver Member Username: JayjPost Number: 206 Registered: May-04 | Dude you have said it about 10 times already.(the cap get power from the alternator) I'm not trying to be a smartass. I'm just trying to help you understand that a cap gets its power from the alternator. And if it gets it power from an under powered system then yes it is going to make it worse believe what you want but you will learn the hard way. Don't say I didn't warn you. |
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Bronze Member Username: Car5_14Post Number: 59 Registered: May-04 | but the alternator stores and gives power anyways so its not really losin anything? |
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Silver Member Username: JayjPost Number: 207 Registered: May-04 | Ok neon I'm done with this you people will learn when you blow up your car's entire electrical system. Then you will wish you would have listen to what I said when you see the repair bill. |
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Bronze Member Username: Car5_14Post Number: 61 Registered: May-04 | dont wry im not usin a cap anyways i was just wonderin what i said in the last post |
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Bronze Member Username: GrmncrsnbrVA Post Number: 77 Registered: Jun-04 | well now that things have calmed down this is how i understand his problem his lights dim when the bass hit hard so it when the system is momentarily underpowered so if he charging a cap while it is not underpowered when it gets to those underpowered points it should help a little but i doubt too much. thats how i would judge it but i wouldnt use one either. everyone seems to disagree on the capabilities of these things and what there for so until hard evidence comes out dont trust them |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfNorthWest, Michigan USA Post Number: 3629 Registered: Dec-03 | the alternator generates AC voltage the rectifier and Vreg actually change it to DC voltage and set that voltage to the proper amount. usually 18.8 to 14.4VDC. now, the current supplied by the alternator is determined by the load placed on that device by the components connected to it. that'd be your engine, onboard computers, lights, stereo, etc. the capacitors will store energy as long as the alternator isn't at or beyond it's peak limits to supply the needed current. when the alternator is taxed beyond it's abilities, then the battery no longer charges, voltage rails sag, amplifiers clip, and not only will the battery get drained, but the capacitor will get fully drained very quickly. the capacitor will attempt to recharge, and that will put more strain on the already overworked alternator. This by no means helps anything, and in reality can cause even more accelerated premature failure of the underpowered alternator and charging system. the point is this: a capacitor will not replace the need for a bigger alternator and adequate charging system for a high current audio system. what a capacitor can do, is increase transient response to momentary peak surge demands for current from amplifier power supplies that can draw up to ten times the power that the amp is rated to supply to the speakers. the capacitors can also supply additional current for *brief periods* of peak demand above the RMS values of the amps at peak output, but this only lasts for a matter of seconds after which the caps need a relative multitude longer to recharge to full capacity. |
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New member Username: SlamnthweightPost Number: 4 Registered: Jun-04 | hoestly to me the cap doesn't seem to make much of a difference either way. i got my subs and the lighs dimmed. then my batt. went dead and i found out the alt. was bad. so i got a new one with more amps i think it was like 140. then i was told to get a cap. so i ddn't keep losing alternators and got one. I think it helps somewhat but not enough for all of this and definently isn't tha great of the thing. but i guess if it causes this much contreversy, give one a try and "don't knock it 'til you try it" |
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New member Username: SkinnPost Number: 10 Registered: Jun-04 | Caps are big thing for spl cars. You will se alot of competition vehicles have a number amount of them in thier vehicles. During these shows they only do 2 or less second burps, just enough for the meter to read. In their case they work well. |
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Gold Member Username: GlasswolfNorthWest, Michigan USA Post Number: 3635 Registered: Dec-03 | skinn, yeah for 3 seconds. these aren't daily driver cars though. the boxes are usually tuned around 65 to 70Hz, and they sound like crap for listening. they serve one purpose, and that's to be as loud as physically possible. not the sort of thing most of us are after to be honest. tim, your larger alternator is what fixed the problem. the capacitor just smoothes out spikes in demand so that the current draw from the alternator is a more even draw. This should extend the life of the alternator in the long run. |