cap still not showing high voltage

[kizzo 10+ year member]

My current setup:

Optima Yellow Top

Stock Alternator

Profile CA600 2ch amp pushing 150w rmsx2

Cadence 6.5 Components

Viper D1200.1 mono amp pushing 600w rmsx2 @1ohm

(2) Diamond Audio D6 12's wired to 1ohm

Soundquest (stinger) 1.0 Farad Cap with Digital Voltage Display

My problem is that my cap is not receivving enough voltage, i have not put the subs in yet but the cap is hooked up to my amp, all i have to do is wire up and mount my subs. I had my alt. and batt. tested and it showed very good results, my battery is 100% perfect and my alt. is giving off 14.2-14.4v with the car running. I have (from my positive terminal on my battery) 4AWG wiring -> 100a fuse -> 4AWG to (4)8AWG distribution block -> 4AWG (divided wire in half and used up 2 8awg terminals) running to my cap for my viper d1200.1 and 8awg going to my profile ca600.

With my car running i recieve 12.5v or below on the digital display for my cap. I used to have 8awg going to my cap and a different distributer block (the amp and cap were grounded seperately). The only thing i have changed is the increase to 4awg wire running to the cap and sub amp, and i wired the cap parallel to the amp, representing one ground total for the viper amp and the cap.

Did i do something wrong with my wiring?

Click to read more...

 

[MikeyB 5,000+ posts]

1/0awg big 3 and amp wiring and loose the cap

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

"Big 3" and loose the cap.

A cap can only use what it can receive from your electrical system (wiring and all). If you have a weak electrical system, a cap isn't going to help a bit.

 

[kizzo 10+ year member]

so losing the cap will solve the problem?

or does this mean that my wiring is at fault and i need to go with bigger wiring?

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

After rereading your post again, with what you are currently using, even with the cap, it should be getting a better reading than that. How far is the cap from the batt? The wire size should be OK for the power you are using. Double check all your connections and make sure you have a solid ground. Bare metal to bare metal. Get a DMM and check the power at the cap and make sure that its not the meter on the cap itself.

 

[kizzo 10+ year member]

the cap is in the trunk of my car, i have a 4dr elantra gls (smaller sedan). is there a place i can go where i can get the voltage on the cap tested like autozone or something?

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

the cap is in the trunk of my car, i have a 4dr elantra gls (smaller sedan). is there a place i can go where i can get the voltage on the cap tested like autozone or something?

I would not suggest that you go to AutoZone and ask that they voltage test a car audio "stiffening" capacitor...

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

hmmmm... after looking at this chart again, your wiring may need to be a little bigger. CLICK ME and scroll down.

But you still should be showing the same as or real close to what you have at the battery, at the cap also.

 

[helotaxi 5,000+ posts]

Chances are that you have a bad connection somewhere between the battery and the cap. It could be on either the positive or negative side of the supply. Recheck all of your connections and make sure that nothing is loose.

With the amp off, you should have exactly the same reading as the battery with the car off or the alt with the car on. If that is not the case then the voltmeter on the cap is simply wrong.

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

AS far as a DMM goes, If you have a Harbor Freight Tools near you, here is a "get you by" DMM. Cheap quality, but it'll do. CLICK ME

 

[kizzo 10+ year member]

so i checked the cap with a DMM and it was reading around 14.0v (13.9-14.3v) and the cap was still giving me an 11.5v reading or some other low number. This all with only a "decent/not so great" ground, while i was there i bought some ring terminals and good screws and im going to reground it for some better results im hoping.

Should i just ignore this and continue to use the cap?

-or-

Does this mean my cap will not function properly because it is reading the wrong voltage?

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

If you are getting the voltage needed to the cap, you should be OK. Check the voltage coming out of the cap and see what it is. If it is low, I would make sure to check the ground. If its the same, I would think its the meter on the cap that is wrong.

 

[kizzo 10+ year member]

how would i check the voltage coming out of the cap? the input and output are on the same terminal, so wouldnt the output be the same as the input?

 

[Rattlebrain 10+ year member]

Im sorry. Your right. For some reason I was thinking the cap had and input, an output and a ground.

I still think from what im reading that its a ground issue. Sorry I'm not much help. But Im trying. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[kizzo 10+ year member]

word.