Does anybody think that Capacitors really do work for stopping your headlights from dimming so much? I am not sure if i should get it or not. I have to Alpine SWR-1042D powered by a Rockford Fosgate T10001bd. When ever a real hard bass line hits my lights dim out. I was wondering if a cap would help or should i just save up money and but a higher amperage alternator.


Thanks

 

Everyones gonna have there own opinion.
I personally would never put a 1farad cap in my car.
They are some decent caps out there,I know Rockford has a 40farad and stinger make some big ones.But if i were to get something like that id go with Batcap.Like a small battery that wont put drain on ur alt. the way an extra battery will.
Good Luck.
Also do u get dimming or just flickering of lights?

 

Yes a cap can help, if installed properly and assuming that the rest of the amp wiring is done properly, it will supply the "power" the amp needs when those "real hard bass lines hit".

A 1 farad cap should be about right, anything bigger is just putting an extra load on the alt. and will not give you any more advantage. [any extra batt. cap, "Batcap"] puts an extra load on the alt.

Although I have no experience with Batcaps, in theory they sound like a good idea, [a batt./cap with super low internal resistance]. 94

 

I dont know why there are so many people that say capacitors dont work. Those people dont know wtf they're talking about. If your lights are dimming get a cap. the general rating is 1 farad for every 1000W. People that dont recommend a capacitor dont have nice sound systems that require real power.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboLaxx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I dont know why there are so many people that say capacitors dont work. Those people dont know wtf they're talking about. If your lights are dimming get a cap. the general rating is 1 farad for every 1000W. People that dont recommend a capacitor dont have nice sound systems that require real power.</TD></TR></TABLE>
true 1250 watts
No cap.no dimming

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboLaxx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">People that dont recommend a capacitor dont have nice sound systems that require real power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

WTF...I have a JL Audio 300/4 Running a pair of MB Quart reference series and a JL 13.5" W1 sub all running off 300W and it sounds awesome and I hit a 134.6dB with the sub installed in a ported enclosure. So don't sit here and say that if you don't need a capacitor then you don't have a nice system....That is just purely ignorant. You don't need alot of power to have a great sounding system, its all in the selection of the right components.
I would not get a capacitor (I myself don't need one) I would try a better battery first (optima yellow top)... I had one of those in my old Civic which had 3 12" W6 JL's ran off a Rockford BD1000 and had no light dimming problems at all. Not to mention it is much safer going that route.

 

1 farad cap worked great for my 900 watt (rms) system. before the cap, my headlights would dim, and in some cases the bass would make my revs drop a few hundred rpms while idling. After the cap install, both problems were gone.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboLaxx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">People that dont recommend a capacitor dont have nice sound systems that require real power.</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's not true. an extra battery beats the hell out of a capacitor, but only the people with sound systems that require real power would need a extra battery instead of a cap. &lt;1500 watts, and you're good with a cap.

 

Aaaa, the cap battle rages on.......

To be clear, a cap and a batt. are not the same, other then the fact that they "store power" they are two diff. animals, and they serve two diff. purposes in a car audio system, and one will not work without the other, or I should say the cap will not work without the batt.

A cap will be no more then an extra expense unless everything else, [alt., batt., and amp wiring] is in proper working order and done properly, what the cap can do that the batt. can't is "release" the power the amp needs in that split sec. of high bass output, [loud and low sub bass] the amp requires a lot of current very quickly to do that, and it will try and draw it, and if it's not there it's not just your lights that that dim because there is not "enough" power, the amp is also not getting "enough" power, and that will have an effect on not only SPL, but on sub bass SQ as well.

So if everything else is done properly and working properly, and you still have dimming, try the cap, I have installed 100s of caps on systems that had "dimming" problems, [along with first checking everything else] and it has always solved the problem, if the problem was not solved some other way, like replacing bad batt. and/or alt. or rewiring.

For those of you who think that you have to have a cap, or have to have a high watt system for good sound, or the only way to get rid of dimming is a cap, better batt. or upgrading the alt., well your all wrong, what works for you may not work for others, believe me I have seen them all, I have installed them all and heard them all. 94

 

I'm not replying to any post on purpose.

A second battery is not better then a cap.

Now lets calculate the load a capacitor places on the electrical system. ESR*current^2= power disipated by cap.

lets take an example ESR of .005 ohms and 100 amp current draw.
.005*100^2=50w wasted by the cap.

Now put 2 caps in parallel what happens?
.0025*100^2=25w split between the two caps, was this a surprise? Shouldn't have been.

For the people that think caps are worthless I think you need to rethink you position on that.

You can also calculate how much your voltage will sag called the ripple voltage. To much ripple is what causes your light to flicker.
I*ESR=voltage drop 100*.005=.5V

You should think of things two different ways.
Continuous current -&gt; battery and alternator is better, DC world
Changing current-&gt;"transient response" Capacitor is better, AC world




Modified by nsxxtreme at 1:14 PM 1/9/2006