Cap install

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

running 8gauge wire on power and neg. running 10 and 8 from battery to alt. 4guage and 8 neg to ground chassis and 8 to ground engine and 8 to ground body.

 

[BeAlLsTaR13 10+ year member]

running 8gauge wire on power and neg. running 10 and 8 from battery to alt. 4guage and 8 neg to ground chassis and 8 to ground engine and 8 to ground body.

im sure that if you upgrade all of your big three wiring to 0g wire, and your main power wire to at least 4 gauge that you would see a little better voltage drop (without the cap)

but first wire your cap up and see if it helps any first

 

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

You know I think your right, positive connected to both the battery positive and amp positive, then negative connected to chassis...good lord and I call myself an electrical engineer? (or at least I will when I graduate, lol)


lol, no

I've read a lot about that stuff and its ok, at least your not arguing and saying your right. we're only human.

I am going to connect it and find out myself i just wanted to see maybe my cap is defective cuz it wont shut off. i didnt wait that long maybe like 4min.

 

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

im sure that if you upgrade all of your big three wiring to 0g wire, and your main power wire to at least 4 gauge that you would see a little better voltage drop (without the cap)
but first wire your cap up and see if it helps any first

That would be overkill but knowing me I'll do it as soon as i get extra cash or someone has a real good deal on that wire and ring terminals.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[midnightg35x 10+ year member]

Actually that's what caps are made for //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif
If it's actually a decent cap, and your not running an ungodly amount of power, yes it will help with your voltage drop. But it should be run in series with the amp...

should go: battery -> cap -> amp

I'm pretty sure a capacitor placed in series with anything blocks DC //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I see you corrected it later, but anytime you put a cap in series (even that little 1uF cap) you are going to block DC. Wire the capacitor in parallel with the battery.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

I'm pretty sure a capacitor placed in series with anything blocks DC //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif I see you corrected it later, but anytime you put a cap in series (even that little 1uF cap) you are going to block DC. Wire the capacitor in parallel with the battery.

No, caps won't block DC, I know that for sure because I've worked MANY homework problems solving for voltages and current using caps

But to use a cap as a stiffening capacitor (as in audio instances) it was to be wired in parallel.

 

[midnightg35x 10+ year member]

No, caps won't block DC, I know that for sure because I've worked MANY homework problems solving for voltages and current using caps

You're kidding right? A capacitor wired in series with a line will certainly block DC. Find me an example where this isn't true. I'm guessing in your homework there are other components in parallel with that cap if any DC is getting through. That or your homework is whack //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Unless you're talking tiny fractions of the power supply voltage due to capacitor parasitics, a capacitor in series is going to block DC.

If you don't believe me, go get a tiny cap, a resistor and an AA battery. Hook up +battery --> +cap- --> +resistor- --> -battery (everything in series). Tell me what the voltage drop across that resistor is.

 

[bubbagumper6 5,000+ posts]

Eh forget it, I have no idea...it's Friday and I've officially stopped caring about electronics //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

We'll just say your right

 

[midnightg35x 10+ year member]

Eh forget it, I have no idea...it's Friday and I've officially stopped caring about electronics //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif
We'll just say your right

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Fair enough. Even on Monday though it will still be true. All I can say is don't go up to your professors and say a capacitor wired in series does NOT block DC. They may fail you on the spot! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[gunz4me2 10+ year member]

I know that everyone here is into cap bashing, but, an installer friend of mine told me that he has successfully utilized a capacitor to solve the Honda ELD problem. Basically, he claims to have figured out how to make the ECU see the capacitor as a "load" and said that the charging voltage will never drop below the 14s because ELD will NEVER kick in. I need to ask him how he did that.

The only other thing I have successfully used a capacitor for was as an inline filter for a noisy power wire.

Oddly, I have never tried using a capacitor for what the mass market advertises them for because I know that they ARE NOT a substitute for an inadequate electrical system.

 

[supermaxx123 10+ year member]

I know that everyone here is into cap bashing, but, an installer friend of mine told me that he has successfully utilized a capacitor to solve the Honda ELD problem. Basically, he claims to have figured out how to make the ECU see the capacitor as a "load" and said that the charging voltage will never drop below the 14s because ELD will NEVER kick in. I need to ask him how he did that.
The only other thing I have successfully used a capacitor for was as an inline filter for a noisy power wire.

Oddly, I have never tried using a capacitor for what the mass market advertises them for because I know that they ARE NOT a substitute for an inadequate electrical system.

I see what your saying but if the cap releases its power and the alternator is charging everything wont that still be a lack in power?

My truck has a 100amp alternator which i think is enough for one 4ch amp with a fuse rating of 90amps, the voltage goes down to 14 then back up to about 14.2, which means i just need a little help, not a 1000000000amp alternator and 2 extra deepest cycle in the world batteries, right?

 

[Plutoman 10+ year member]

You don't need anything at all.

That drop is to be expected from that. It's nothing. Seriously. The drop in voltage is the amplifier pulling slightly more power than the alternator can produce.

A battery rests at 12.6 volts, the alternator charges it to 14.4. When more current than the alternator is producing is being pulled to the amp, the battery drops down towards 12.6 volts, the natural resting point.

A capacitor won't make the alternator produce more power and keep the battery there. You'll still have minor voltage drops.

A better fix is upgrade the wires. You have a voltage drop as the wires are smaller, you can lose as much as a half a volt if the wires are only the bare minimum of what you need. It's either an alternator upgrade, or see if bigger wires fix it, as it's been said, a cap won't help.

Jesus. This is freaking out over the most unimportant thing.

Quick fyi - 90amp of current draw from the amp at maximum. 100 amp alternator. You are forgetting that the car draws anywhere from 20-50 amps by itself, averaging around 30. Leaving you with 70 usable amps. At the maximum current draw you'll always have the slightest drops which are recharged during a low point in the music.

 

[s1ctech 10+ year member]

THis is why a cap is terrible. You need a batcap. That is what you gotta do

 

[swat2380 10+ year member]

If you decide to hook it up make sure you charge it properly.

 

[quins90lac 10+ year member]

shit i sit at 14.26 at 800 rpms and have saw drops down to 12.05 with 2 760 pioners when i get the hu up past 50 depending on the song