Capacitor Needed?

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

Okay I have yet to hook up a new system in my car. I used to have a Fosgate 801S Punch powering 2 JL Audio 12w0's. The crap JLs are gone and I will soon be getting a Premier 3002SPL. My problem's here...

When I had the JLs hooked up, my lights would dim and all that when the bass hit. But the real problem was that if I drove around for a while and then turned my car off there was always a chance that my battery would be dead. NO power was being drawn from the car after being turned off... I felt that the battery was being taxed so heavily while driving that it was near dead right after the engine went off. In any case I bought a new battery and have yet to install any amps so I'm not sure if I'm going to run into the same light dimming. I highly doubt my battery will die on me but I don't look forward to dimmed headlights - what are the odds that it was just an old battery that caused the previous problems? and should I look into a capacitor? if so how much would they usually go for?

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[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

Deep cycling a regular lead acid battery is a good way to go through batteries quickly //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Look into a battery made for deep discharging over a long period of time, such as a Kinetik, Optima or one of the OEM's that make deep cycles (Hawker, Rolls, Yuasa, etc...)

 

[Prowler573 5,000+ posts]

When I had the JLs hooked up, my lights would dim and all that when the bass hit. But the real problem was that if I drove around for a while and then turned my car off there was always a chance that my battery would be dead. NO power was being drawn from the car after being turned off... I felt that the battery was being taxed so heavily while driving that it was near dead right after the engine went off. In any case I bought a new battery and have yet to install any amps so I'm not sure if I'm going to run into the same light dimming. I highly doubt my battery will die on me but I don't look forward to dimmed headlights - what are the odds that it was just an old battery that caused the previous problems? and should I look into a capacitor? if so how much would they usually go for?

If your old battery was on its way out just before you replaced it and it wasn't holding the charge it should have been then your car could have been running off of the alternator more than the battery and it is certainly possible that this could have been the source of dimming headlights.

But - what kind of vehicle are we talking about and what is the amperage capacity of the stock alternator if yu know it?

While capacitors do have their uses if the intent to add one is driven by a desire to rid yourself of a constantly depleted battery then the charging system itself is more likely the culprit that needs to be addressed.

The commonly accepted wisdom around the forum here is that upgrading the "Big 3" underhood should be your first step. See here for more details.

Remember, however, upgrading the Big 3 will not increase the sharging system's capacity but rather provide a more efficient path for the already-present current to travel upon.

If that doesn't satisfactorily cure your problems then most likely your system is taxing the charging system beyond its capabilities and an upgrade to a high-ouput alternator (or having your current one rewound to a higher capacity if that is an available option for your vehicle) would be the logical next step.

Capacitors intended to stop headlight dimming and low-voltage issues are nothing more than a band-aid....not a cure.

Just my $0.02

 

[chibahawk 10+ year member]

true.. I've got a 2001 Mitsubishi Galant and wouldn't have figured that my electric system and alternator especially might be weak. I would like to give the Big 3 a shot probably in the summer time or when I can do such work without needing gloves. Right now I've got an Optima Red top... I figure it will at least last me a year or something like that

 

[Class D 10+ year member]

Bottom line... do the BIG 3 Upgrade and get a High output alt and you should be good to go!