12 replies to this topic

[israel_davis]

does any1 no a good brand of capacitor? thinking about tsunami 10 farrad e bay $130 or power acoustic 20 farad $130

[Dane186]

Any of them that don't blow up or vent is typically good.

[ShakAttack15]

capacitor usually isn't gonna solve the problem if you need A LOT of juice. may need to skip on the capacitory and get a kinetick battery with battery isolator.

[GTredfire03]

Better battery is a better investment, then a cap.

[JLeach12]

before you waste money, try upgrading the wiring between the battery and alternator, battery and ground. "hybrid" capacitors aren't a good way to go. use a regular 1-1.5 farad cap or 2 if you want to use a capacitor. don't add a second battery, that will only help when you play your system with the car off. think about it dimming lights are caused by low amperage. why add another piece of equiptment that takes amperage. all i had to do was get rid of the 8 gauge wire betwen my alternator and battery and battery and ground. i simply upgraded it to 4 gauge. i would recommend starting there. if that doesn't solve the problem i would get a higher amperaged alternator and run at least 4 gauge between there and the batter. the goal is to gain amperage, not use up more.

[JCinderella]

Changing the gauge of the wire between the alternator and the battery isn't going to make a difference. The manufacturer isn't going to put wire on the car that is not suitable for what the alternator is pushing out. Just because you put thicker wire on the alternator, doesn't mean that it is going to be pushing more current at all.

If you are still convinced that this would make a difference, take it into a mechanics shop and have them hook a D-TAC up to it and run a alternator probe test. If you are looking to run your system without the car running, then go for another battery. If you want your lights not to dim while you are driving, go with a capacitor and let it juice up before you crank your subs on.

[jimmy 2 times]

do the big 3, and get a bigger amp. Caps are crutches

[dbebesi]

don't laugh but i have 4 large caps on my setup for power stability and they also filter the audio to a certian extent. one nice side effect is if you don't set a drain on them your stereo will play for 2 minutes after you shut the car off then you go to make a phone call and you hear someone saying "hello" from your car bc the bluetooth is still synced

[galzamar]

Here is the low down on caps.
Electrically all caps are for is regulation of voltage for electrical equipment.
Caps only work for electrical equipment installed with in 12" of the cap. (SO IF YOU ARE HAVING HEADLIGHT DIMMING YOU SHOULD INSTALL THE CAPS ON YOUR HEADLIGHTS NOT YOUR SUBS)
If you are going to spend $130 on a cap why not spend the money and spend $150 on a car audio power cell battery.
If you have a 800w power cell if will have over 100x the capacity of a 1f cap.
Also check with what amp you are using alot of new amps use RIPS power supply and if you use a cap with them you will void your warranty.
On a final note after the first couple of big bass hits not only does your battery and alternator have to deal with the drain from the amplifier but now it has a depleted cap that it has to recharge also.

[basstoy]

caps are for newbies, ricers and showoffs......

big 3, good battery and good wiring is all you need.... if your lights still dim, then your pulling too much amps from your alt and need a bigger one or turn it down,,,,,

[sp00nix]

don't laugh but i have 4 large caps on my setup for power stability and they also filter the audio to a certian extent. one nice side effect is if you don't set a drain on them your stereo will play for 2 minutes after you shut the car off then you go to make a phone call and you hear someone saying "hello" from your car bc the bluetooth is still synced

Sounds like you have something miss wired if there is still current on acc when the car is off.

[faithhevans]

As per my knowledge that the capacitors of different categories the best one for you depend on the your requirement and use of it in your work.There are different branded companies manufacturing capacitors.

[Aaron_versa2012]

If you actually understand what a capacitor is used for then you're 2 steps ahead of half of the people who have posted opinions on them.

A capacitor is used to smooth out power distribution, this is why they are used in all power supplies. An AC/DC power supply is a whole other animal, but the basic principles still apply. the rectifier (or battery and alternator in car) never sends a smooth 0 Hz signal. there are "bumps" in the signal, and the capacitor acts as a filter to remove those "bumps."

This is about the best way I know how to simplify what a Cap does. I have worked in car audio for several years, and always recommended when someone wants to have clean sound and stable power for the entire car; that a Cap is the way to go. They are inexpensive versus an extra battery hook-up when you're just a casual or someone who cares about their car audio kind of listener. If you are in competitions and such, then the extra battery idea is prob the way to go.

If you're still having trouble grasping the core concept, check out this link:
http://electronics.h...m/capacitor.htm

I'm sure google can turn up a lot more info. Read, learn, apply.

Aaron.