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<blockquote data-quote="helotaxi" data-source="post: 2004568" data-attributes="member: 550915"><p>A cap makes sense under certain conditions.&nbsp; 99% of the systems that have a cap do not meet those conditions.&nbsp; As was menioned above, with the car running, the alternator is the primary source of power for all electrical components in your car including the stereo.&nbsp; If you are regularly drawing more current than your alt can provide you will eventually kill the alt.&nbsp; The primary consideration if you are having undercurrent problems, will be to upgrade the alt to a larger one.&nbsp; Once the alt is big enough that it can provide all the current needed, it is not uncommon to get headlight dimming still.&nbsp; The alt doesn&#039;t prvide full current all the time, it only produces what is needed at any giver time.&nbsp; When the current demand increases it takes a finite amount of time for the voltage regulator to recognize the voltage dip and increase current output.&nbsp; This transition will still manifest itself as headlight dimming.&nbsp; Many times an upgraded battery or two will fix the problem.&nbsp; A battery when fully charged will hold the alt voltage over a brief discharge.&nbsp; This brief discharge will usually be enough to mask the momentary dip in voltage as the voltage regulator catches up with demand.&nbsp; A cap can help wih this also since it can provide current faster than a battery due to its lower internal resistance.&nbsp; A cap can only provide its current for an instant, but in this case that instant is all you need for the alt to catch up.&nbsp; Notice that this is very different than expecting a cap to make up for the fact that your alt is fully tapped out.&nbsp; If your alt is overtaxed, only a bigger alt will fix that.</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="helotaxi, post: 2004568, member: 550915"] A cap makes sense under certain conditions. 99% of the systems that have a cap do not meet those conditions. As was menioned above, with the car running, the alternator is the primary source of power for all electrical components in your car including the stereo. If you are regularly drawing more current than your alt can provide you will eventually kill the alt. The primary consideration if you are having undercurrent problems, will be to upgrade the alt to a larger one. Once the alt is big enough that it can provide all the current needed, it is not uncommon to get headlight dimming still. The alt doesn't prvide full current all the time, it only produces what is needed at any giver time. When the current demand increases it takes a finite amount of time for the voltage regulator to recognize the voltage dip and increase current output. This transition will still manifest itself as headlight dimming. Many times an upgraded battery or two will fix the problem. A battery when fully charged will hold the alt voltage over a brief discharge. This brief discharge will usually be enough to mask the momentary dip in voltage as the voltage regulator catches up with demand. A cap can help wih this also since it can provide current faster than a battery due to its lower internal resistance. A cap can only provide its current for an instant, but in this case that instant is all you need for the alt to catch up. Notice that this is very different than expecting a cap to make up for the fact that your alt is fully tapped out. If your alt is overtaxed, only a bigger alt will fix that. [/QUOTE]

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